FOIL-AO-17200

From: Jobin-Davis, Camille (DOS)
Sent: Monday, June 09, 2008 10:23 AM
To:
Subject: Freedom of Information Law - minutes

Dear

In confirmation of our discussions:

Section 87(3) of the Freedom of Information Law requires, in part, that each agency shall maintain:

“(a) a record of the final vote of each member in every agency proceeding in which the member
votes;….”

Accordingly, a record of the vote must include an indication of the manner in which each member who voted cast his or her vote. Typically, that information appears in the minutes.

Pursuant to Village Law, the mayor of a village has the responsibility for presiding over meetings of the board of trustees, and “may have a vote upon all matters and questions coming before the board and he shall vote in case of a tie…” (Village Law section 4-400).

In our opinion, the record of votes required to be maintained pursuant to section 87(3)(a) must specify the mayor’s vote when he casts a vote. Further, should the mayor abstain from voting, it is our opinion that such abstention must be noted in the record.

I hope this is helpful to you. Please call if you have further questions.

Camille

Camille S. Jobin-Davis, Esq.
Assistant Director
NYS Committee on Open Government
Department of State
518/474-2518
http://www.dos.ny.gov/coog/coogwww.html