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Council denies Aug. 5 FOIL appeal including training-record request
Summary
On Sept. 22 the Lackawanna council denied an Aug. 5 FOIL appeal about sealed court records and related communications — including a request for employee training records the city said it would produce by Sept. 24 — and recorded a 5-0 vote to deny the appeal as nonresponsive.
The Lackawanna City Council voted unanimously Sept. 22 to deny an Aug. 5 FOIL appeal that sought records and communications about alleged improper requests for sealed court records, including a five-year request for employee training records.
Ariana, the city attorney, told the council the city had provided responsive documentation for the request’s first item, had no responsive documents for items 2 and 3, and was "conducting a diligent search, and, we will respond and provide the training documentation on or before September 24," noting that producing five years of training records required additional time. Despite that, the council debated timeliness and the 10-business-day code window and adopted a motion to deny the appeal, including item 4, on grounds the appeal was nonresponsive; the motion carried 5-0.
Nut graf: The denial came even though the law department pledged to produce the training records within days; council members expressed concern that failing to act within the 10-business-day period could put the item "in jeopardy," prompting the motion to deny rather than tabling the appeal.
