FOIL

Freedom of Information

Boston is committed to open government, and one essential component of an open government is the New York Freedom of Information Law, or “FOIL.” Under FOIL, government records, including records of the Town of Boston, are available to the public, subject to certain exceptions. Among the exceptions are disclosures of information that would cause an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, disclosures that would interfere with law enforcement or a judicial proceeding or disclose a confidential source, disclosures of trade secrets, certain draft documents or internal records. This is not an exhaustive list of exceptions to FOIL disclosure.

Any person may submit a request for records held by the Town of Boston by submitting a request in person at the office of the Town Clerk at Town Hall.

After the request has been submitted, you will be contacted within five business days, either advising you that the record is available, denying the request, or if the record is available for disclosure but cannot be immediately provided, an estimate of how long it will take to produce the record. If the request for a record is denied, you will be given the reason for the denial and your appeal rights in writing.

The fee for copying the records is $0.25 per page.

Here is a link to the New York Freedom of Information Law.

http://www.dos.ny.gov/coog/foil2.html

FOIL REQUEST FORM