They were warned about Million Air months ago

[tanouryjr]

This was May 28, 2008...3 months ago!

[Swimmy]

That's some interesting video. It's amazing how blatantly arrogant they are. Who are you to question seniority, Larry. LOL! hahaha, keep up the good work.

[tanouryjr]

Thanks Swimmy. I hate to say it, but it's pretty funny to watch what they get upset about sometimes. Everyone seems to think I intentionally set out to make them mad every meeting, when in fact I simply ask questions and try to conduct a civil debate before voting on important legislation. Trust me, I'll be the first to admit that I'm not always right, but I don't understand why they hate debating so much. Look at some of the legislators' faces in the background when I'm talking. They roll their eyes, shake their heads, etc. It's crazy. They wouldn't have last ten minutes in Philidelphia for the Constitutional Convention.

[Swimmy]

I wonder if there is an Open Meetings violation. They seem to know how to vote as if it's already been discussed ad nauseum.

[tanouryjr]

The problem is that all legislators talk in and out of the building, including me. But the problem with them is that they do all of their talking outside of the public's eyes. Then they claim that "all of the meetings are open to the public." However, if the public goes, they won't see much debate from anyone other than a few of us. There are 29 legislators and probably 20 of them haven't said a single word since I've been there (8 months). Are you telling me that they don't have a single question? If I say that to them, they will say..."Well, I don't do it in public, I go right to the source." First of all, we should be doing it in public, it's not "grandstanding" it's "democracy." Second, are they telling me that all of their questions are perfectly answer EVERY time? That's impossible!

[Swimmy]

I totally agree. The whole point of government is that it's open to the public. We are not discussing matters of national security here. Therefore, just about every meeting, except for issues of personnel (and any other exemption from the Open Meetings Act), must be open to the public and ANNOUNCED BEFORE the meeting is held.

What is going on there in those meetings you have posted video clips of is awfully fishy. I wish I knew which way my career is heading. You might see another open-government-minded person sitting there. ;-)

[Ralph]

That's what happens when you threaten to open their little private club for all the rest to see.

They all talk about "accountability", but are scared to death they may have to be accountable.

[frankcor]

I wonder if email among legislators is accessible through FOIL?

[Ralph]

Now that is a damn interesting question Frank!

I would imagine if it is done using the County's email addy it would be, but don't know how that would work if they were using their own private email addresses.

Doesn't seen like it would be then.

[Swimmy]

That's an excellent question for Bob Freeman at the Dept. of State. I would imagine that if the e-mail touched upon an issue related to a government function then the e-mail is FOIL-able. It should not matter if the e-mail was sent via personal e-mail or from the official e-mail assigned to them. The key is whether the information contained in those e-mails is FOIL-able. However, trying to prove that they lied about discussing such matters via personal e-mail accounts is a whole other can of worms.

[dgriffin]

As usual, I don't know what I'm talking about, but it's never stopped me in the past. Freeman's web pages at
www.dos.state.ny.us/coog/freedomfaq.htm
say that virtually any record is available via FOIL.
"All records are available, unless an exception permits an agency to deny access. Most of the exceptions are based upon common sense and the potential for harm that would arise by means of disclosure. If disclosure of records would be damaging to an individual or preclude a government agency from carrying out its duties, it is likely that some aspects of the records may be withheld."

It's an interesting FAQ. I didn't know you can email a FOIL request.

[Swimmy]

Yes, and you can request that the FOIL information be delivered electronically without having to pay $.25 per page, provided the information is available electronically.

[Swimmy]

If the information is exempt from FOIL, the agency must explain with specificity why the information is not FOIL-able. Also the agency has five business days to respond to a FOIL request.

[frankcor]

I know the Rome BOE has been advised by their attorney not to discuss matters of public interest via email. I think that means that the email is a public record but I could be wrong. Unless an organization has a policy about how long they retain email records, they can be subpoenaed for as long as the record exists.

[Swimmy]

Any one care to write to Bob Freeman and ask him?