March 12, 1997

 

 

 

Ms. Linda McParland
P.O. Box 2626
North Babylon, NY 11703

The staff of the Committee on Open Government is authorized to issue advisory opinions. The ensuing staff advisory opinion is based solely upon the information presented in your correspondence.

Dear Ms. McParland:

I have received your letter of February 13 and the materials attached to it. You have sought an advisory opinion concerning the application of the Freedom of Information Law to volunteer fire companies that were created as private corporations. You also referred to a fire and rescue corporation and questioned its status under the Freedom of Information Law.

In this regard, I offer the following comments.

First, the Freedom of Information Law is applicable to agency records, and §86(3) of the Law defines the term "agency" to mean:

"any state or municipal department, board, bureau, division, commission, committee, public authority, public corporation, council, office or other governmental entity performing a governmental or proprietary function for the state or any one or more municipalities thereof, except the judiciary or the state legislature."

As such, the Freedom of Information Law generally pertains to records maintained by entities of state and local governments.

However,in Westchester-Rockland Newspapers v. Kimball [50 NYS 2d 575 (1980)], a case involving access to records relating to a lottery conducted by a volunteer fire company, the Court of Appeals, found that volunteer fire companies, despite their status as not-for-profit corporations, are "agencies" subject to the Freedom of Information Law. In so holding, the Court stated that:

"We begin by rejecting respondent's contention that, in applying the Freedom of Information Law, a distinction is to be made between a volunteer organization on which a local government relies for performance of an essential public service, as is true of the fire department here, and on the other hand, an organic arm of government, when that is the channel through which such services are delivered. Key is the Legislature's own unmistakably broad declaration that, '[a]s state and local government services increase and public problems become more sophisticated and complex and therefore harder to solve, and with the resultant increase in revenues and expenditures, it is incumbent upon the state and its localities to extend public accountability wherever and whenever feasible' (emphasis added; Public Officers Law, §84).

"True, the Legislature, in separately delineating the powers and duties of volunteer fire departments, for example, has nowhere included an obligation comparable to that spelled out in the Freedom of Information statute (see Village Law, art 10; see, also, 39 NY Jur, Municipal Corporations, §§560-588). But, absent a provision exempting volunteer fire departments from the reach of article 6-and there is none-we attach no significance to the fact that these or other particular agencies, regular or volunteer, are not expressly included. For the successful implementation of the policies motivating the enactment of the Freedom of Information Law centers on goals as broad as the achievement of a more informed electorate and a more responsible and responsive officialdom. By their very nature such objections cannot hope to be attained unless the measures taken to bring them about permeate the body politic to a point where they become the rule rather than the exception. The phrase 'public accountability wherever and whenever feasible' therefore merely punctuates with explicitness what in any event is implicit" (id. at 579].

Moreover, although it was contended that documents concerning the lottery were not subject to the Freedom of Information Law because they did not pertain to the performance of the company's fire fighting duties, the Court held that the documents constituted "records" subject to the Freedom of Information Law [see §86(4)].

More recently, another decision confirmed in an expansive manner that volunteer fire companies are required to comply with the Freedom of Information Law. That decision, S.W. Pitts Hose Company et al. v. Capital Newspapers (Supreme Court, Albany County, January 25, 1988), dealt with the issue in terms of government control over volunteer fire companies. In its analysis, the Court states that:

"Section 1402 of the Not-for-Profit Corporation Law is directly applicable to the plaintiffs and pertains to how volunteer fire companies are organized. Section 1402(e) provides:

'...a fire corporation, hereafter incorporated under this section shall be under the control of the city, village, fire district or town authorities having by law, control over the prevention or extinguishment of fires therein. Such authorities may adopt rules and regulations for the government and control of such corporations.'

"These fire companies are formed by consent of the Colonie Town Board. The Town has control over the membership of the companies, as well as many other aspects of their structure, organization and operation (section 1402). The plaintiffs' contention that their relationship with the Town of Colonie is solely contractual is a mischaracterization. The municipality clearly has, by law, control over these volunteer organizations which reprovide a public function.

"It should be further noted that the Legislature, in enacting FOIL, intended that it apply in the broadest possible terms. '...[I]t is incumbent upon the state and its localities to extend public accountability wherever and whenever feasible' (Public Officers Law, section 84).

"This court recognizes the long, distinguished history of volunteer fire companies in New York State, and the vital services they provide to many municipalities. But not to be ignored is that their existence is inextricably linked to, dependent on, and under the control of the municipalities for which they provide an essential public service."

Based upon the foregoing, it is clear that volunteer fire companies are subject to the Freedom of Information Law.

It is also noted that the Appellate Division, Second Department, which includes Suffolk County within its jurisdiction, has held that a volunteer ambulance corporation is subject to the Freedom of Information Law. In so holding, the decision states that:

"The Court of Appeals has rejected any distinction between a volunteer organization on which a local government relies for the performance of an essential public service and an organic arm of government (see, Matter of Westchester Rockland Newspapers v. Kimball, 50 N.Y.2d 575, 579, 430 N.Y.S.2d 574, 408 N.E.2d 904).

"The appellant performs a governmental function, and it performs that function solely for the Mastic Ambulance District, a municipal entity and a municipal subdivision of the Town of Brookhaven (hereinafter the Town). The appellant submits a budget to and receives all of its funding from the Town, and the allocation of its funds is scrutinized by the Town. Thus, the appellant clearly falls within the definition of an agency and is subject to the requirements of FOIL" [Ryan v. Mastic Ambulance Company, 212 AD 2d 716, 622 NYS 2d 795, 796 (1995)].

Lastly, as a general matter, the Freedom of Information Law is based upon a presumption of access. Stated differently, all records of an agency are available, except to the extent that records or portions thereof fall within one or more grounds for denial appearing in §87(2)(a) through (i) of the Law.

From my perspective, the kinds of records in which you are interested would be available. Relevant is §87(2)(g). While that provision serves as a potential basis for denial, due to its structure, it often requires disclosure. Specifically, that provision states that an agency may withhold records that:

"are inter-agency or intra-agency materials which are not:

i. statistical or factual tabulations or data;

ii. instructions to staff that affect the public;

iii. final agency policy or determinations; or

iv. external audits, including but not limited to audits performed by the comptroller and the federal government..."

It is noted that the language quoted above contains what in effect is a double negative. While inter-agency or intra-agency materials may be withheld, portions of such materials consisting of statistical or factual information, instructions to staff that affect the public, final agency policy or determinations or external audits must be made available, unless a different ground for denial could appropriately be asserted. Concurrently, those portions of inter-agency or intra-agency materials that are reflective of opinion, advice, recommendation and the like could in my view be withheld.

I point out that the State's highest court has recently construed the term "factual data" expansively, stating that:

"...Although the term 'factual data' is not defined by statute, the meaning of the term can be discerned from the purpose underlying the intra-agency exemption, which is 'to protect the deliberative process of the government by ensuring that persons in an advisory role [will] be able to express their opinions freely to agency decision makers' (Matter of Xerox Corp. v. Town of Webster, 65 NY2d 131, 132 [quoting Matter of Sea Crest Constr. Corp. v. Stubing, 82 AD2d 546, 549]). Consistent with this limited aim to safeguard internal government consultations and deliberations, the exemption does not apply when the requested material consists of 'statistical or factual tabulations or data' (Public Officers Law 87[2][g][i]. Factual data, therefore, simply means objective information, in contrast to opinions, ideas, or advice exchanged as part of the consultative or deliberative process of government decision making (see, Matter of Johnson Newspaper Corp. v. Stainkamp, 94 AD2d 825, 827, affd on op below, 61 NY2d 958; Matter of Miracle Mile Assocs. v. Yudelson, 68 AD2d 176, 181-182)" (Gould et al. v. New York City Police Department, ___ NY 2d ___, NYLJ, November 27, 1996).

Based upon the foregoing, financial records, as well as those reflective of response times, would generally consist of factual data that must be disclosed.

I hope that I have been of assistance.

Sincerely,

 

Robert J. Freeman Executive Director

RJF:jm

cc: Roy Fries
Lurene Burns