Court orders Chestertown Fire to address FOIL requests

from the North Country Gazette:

CHESTERTOWN, NY —-The Chestertown Volunteer Fire Company has been ordered to show cause why they shouldn’t answer outstanding Freedom of Information Law requests that sought copies of fire company minutes, run sheets, raffle proceeds and other financial information pertaining to fire company operations.

They’ve also been ordered to show cause why they shouldn’t have to comply with the state’s Freedom of Information Law and answer future FOIL requests.

On Friday, Warren County Supreme Court Justice David Krogmann signed an order to show cause submitted by Chestertown fire district taxpayers and residents Christine Hayes and June Maxam which directs the fire company and fire chief Jack Crossman to show legal cause why they shouldn’t answer the FOIL requests which they have ignored since last May.

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NFOIC awards Knight FOI Fund litigation grant in New York public records suit

from NFOIC.org:

COLUMBIA, Mo. (September 28, 2010)—A news website publisher in upstate New York and a citizen open government activist have been awarded a litigation grant from the Knight FOI Fund to press a legal action against a volunteer fire company.

According to a complaint filed in the Warren County (NY) Supreme Court, the Chestertown Volunteer Fire Company continues to insist it is not subject to New York state’s Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) and Open Meetings Law (OML), despite repeated requests for records and meeting access by the plaintiffs in the case, and an advisory opinion issued in June by the state’s Freedom of Information Committee.

The $2,000 litigation grant was announced by the National Freedom of Information Coalition (NFOIC), which administers the Fund that was created by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. The grant was the first awarded for a New York case since the Fund was established in January.

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