“The state Freedom of Information Law isn’t particularly long, it isn’t complex, and it isn’t written in difficult-to-decipher legal mumbo-jumbo.
Yet day after day, government boards act like they’re trying to translate the federal tax code whenever presented with a request for public information.
Public officials don’t flout the law because they don’t understand it.
They do it because they don’t want people to know what they’re up to.
The most recent example of that comes from the town of Niskayuna, where the town ignored a request made three months ago by a Gazette reporter for documents related to complaints brought in an investigation into two members of the town police department.
Didn’t say no or yes. They just ignored the request as if it never happened.
According to an article in Friday’s Gazette, our reporter filed a FOIL request with the town clerk on March 20. But the town never responded to the request in writing, as required by law.
So The Gazette appealed.”
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Editorial Board Schenectady Gazette 19 June 2021.