The Law Office of Stephanie Adams takes compliance with New York State’s Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) very seriously. Our client base include numerous entities that maintain compliance with FOIL, and we send FOIL requests to various state and local agencies to serve the interests of our clients.
Over the last couple years, we have observed inconsistent and, in some cases, declining compliance with the provisions of FOIL by divisions of our hometown government, the City of Buffalo. We want to encourage improvement by the weakest performers and commend the most compliant, so today we are publishing letter grades for several municipal agencies, accompanied by a percentage determined by a 5-item weighted total:
15 points for listing a FOIL officer’s contact information online
15 points if listed on the city’s FOIL submission web portal and a request can be submitted without getting an error message
20 points for responding within the required 5 days of receipt, in a FOIL-compliant manner (partial points awarded for each request)
20 points if the agency makes its determination within its given timeframe (partial points awarded for each request)
30 points for disclosing records sought or if a denial is affirmed on appeal (partial points awarded for each request)
This scale allows for a maximum score of 100% (A+), which no city agency has yet achieved. Unlike many county agencies, none of the below-listed city agencies listed a FOIL officer online, so the highest assigned score is 85% (B), while the lowest score is 10% (F).
Department of Administration, Finance, Policy, & Urban Affairs — 40% (F)
This agency didn’t respond to a FOIL request submitted through the web portal. It didn’t respond in a compliant way to one request sent by e-mail and didn’t respond at all to another. In one case, this agency e-mailed records in a timely fashion.
Department of Audit & Control — 72% (C−)
This agency didn’t respond to a FOIL request submitted through the web portal, but it has since claimed to have added its staff to the web portal system. When requests were sent by e-mail, the agency didn’t issue a compliant response within 5 days of receipt in two of three cases and didn’t make a timely determination in one case, but it disclosed at least some records in all three cases.
Board of Ethics — 75% (C)
The city clerk’s office acknowledged in a compliant manner all requests submitted to the Board of Ethics through the web portal and usually made timely determinations. In one case, the city’s law department reversed a denial by the clerk’s office on appeal.
Buffalo Police Department — 65% (D)
This agency is usually compliant in acknowledging FOIL requests submitted online and makes timely determinations, but it improperly denied records in most cases. One such denial was reversed by a state judge.
Department of Citizen Services — 70% (C−)
Despite this agency controlling Buffalo’s 311 system, which is integrated with its FOIL portal, submitting a request to this agency on the web portal produced an error message. When a request was sent by e-mail, this agency responded in a compliant way, made a timely determination, and produced the requested records.
City Clerk’s Office — 85% (B)
This agency gets full Marks, except it doesn’t list a FOIL officer on its webpage.
Civil Service Division, Department of Human Resources — 15% (F)
This agency is listed on the FOIL portal, but it never responded to a FOIL request submitted there.
Commission on Citizens Rights and Community Relations — 50% (F)
This agency isn’t listed on the FOIL portal. It didn’t acknowledge in a compliant way two e-mailed requests, but it issued timely determinations for both. This agency pointed to limited information online to satisfy one request, and responded to the other that the agency did not possess the requested records, including any employee’s work calendar.
Department of Law — 30% (F)
This agency responded to a request from the web portal but did not respond to a request by e-mail. It did not give timely notices of receipt or timely determinations. In one case, it eventually provided the requested records.
Mayor’s Office — 10% (F)
This agency isn’t listed on the FOIL portal. Two requests sent by e-mail were never acknowledged, while another wasn’t acknowledged or decided in a timely fashion. A city attorney eventually provided the requested records in that case.
Department of Parking — 75% (C)
This agency responded in a compliant way to requests submitted online, made timely determinations, and in two of three cases, provided the records sought.
Department of Public Works — 40% (F)
This agency is listed on the FOIL portal, but submitting requests yielded error messages. It responded to a request by e-mail in a compliant way and made a timely determination but did not provide public records which the city code provides that it maintains.