NY Watchdog Group Sues Beacon, Chester, Deerpark for Not Answering FOI Request

A watchdog group has sued five local government entities in the Hudson Valley — including the Beacon and Chester school districts and the town of Deerpark — for denying basic Freedom of Information Law requests for expenditure information.

Reclaim New York (Reclaim) announced the filing of Article 78 litigation Wednesday. It charges that Beacon City School District in Dutchess County, Peekskill City School District in Westchester County, the Village of Spring Valley in Rockland County, as well as the Town of Deerpark, and Chester Union Free School District in Orange County, all violated the state’s transparency law by not turning over records which they’re legally required to maintain, and make public.

“Hudson Valley residents need to demand better, and that starts with seeing how their money is being spent,” said Reclaim New York Executive Director Brandon Muir in a statement. “Governments that try to keep spending in the shadows, and duck the light of transparency will be held accountable. That starts with enforcement and grows stronger when citizens demand oversight.”

Reclaim New York is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization. Its Senior Advisor for Policy and Strategy is Tom Basile, the former executive director of the New York State GOP and a Rockland County resident.

Officials of the New York City-based watchdog group said Reclaim sent 246 records requests for FY2014 checkbooks to every county, city, town, village, and school district government in the lower Hudson Valley (including Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, and Westchester counties).

The organization received complete expenditure records from 203 local governments, who complied with the FOIL request. These records are now online, and searchable, in its New York Transparency Project’s Local Government Spending Database – which Reclaim officials said is a first for New York State.

A total of 10 local governments denied the requests unlawfully, Reclaim officials allege. They either responded with an outright denial or refused to reply at all. In addition to the five entities being sued, the others, whom Muir termed "bad actors," were: The City of Poughkeepsie, Washingtonville Central School District, the Village of South Blooming Grove, the Village of Croton-on-Hudson, and the Village of Montebello.

“In the end, 83 percent of lower Hudson Valley governments completed this request on time. That fact shows how inexcusable it is for public officials in any locality to hide how they spend taxpayer money,” Muir stated.

Additional government entities are in the process of appealing, have remained in communication as they attempt to complete the records request, or can only provide documents through paper copies.

“It’s 2016, governments with million-dollar-plus budgets should not be relying on paper to keep records generated during this century,” said Muir. “They can also use their lack of technology as an excuse to dodge transparency, forcing residents to sometimes pay thousands of dollars to get access to information they are owed under the law.”

Here's the rundown from Reclaim about the five being sued:

• Peekskill School District – Westchester County

Peekskill Schools returned incomplete documents in a delayed response to Reclaim’s request. Their file did not include check numbers, which are key to tracking expenses when citizens review a document. The Committee on Open Government has made it clear that check numbers are subject to FOIL. Reclaim has already successfully litigated on this issue.

• Village of Spring Valley – Rockland County

Spring Valley acknowledged receipt of the request, but never returned the requested documents and ignored an appeal.

• Beacon City School District – Dutchess County

Beacon City Schools never formally responded. Despite multiple calls from Reclaim, which went beyond the legal requirements for making a request, Beacon City Schools never sent the documents.

• Town of Deerpark – Orange County

Deerpark simply never responded to Reclaim’s initial request. They waited until after an appeal was filed to reply at all, claiming that they don’t even maintain the spending records, “in its regular course of business”.

Either they are violating state law by not maintaining records of their expenditures, or they are violating state law by wrongfully interpreting FOIL.

• Chester Union Free School District – Orange County

Chester School District failed to acknowledge they kept expenditure records that state law requires them to maintain, and provide under FOIL. They then refused to respond to a formal appeal.

This is the third overall round of litigation filed by Reclaim New York.

This summer, the organization sued six Long Island localities that violated FOIL. Reclaim officials said the organization has won four of those cases, either through a judge’s decision, or because entities settled by providing documents and agreeing to pay legal fees (the remaining two cases are ongoing).

“Hudson Valley residents deserve proactive transparency, and we’re here to make sure they get it,” said Muir. “While it’s encouraging to see many governments in the region comply with our records request, we still have more work to do to ensure every elected official understands that transparency isn’t a hope. It’s the law.”

Muir concluded, “This is the big first step toward rooting out the culture of corruption infecting our state. Once Hudson Valley residents join the team, we’ll be well on our way to creating the citizen oversight that can truly change our state’s future for the better.”

PHOTO: Brandon Muir announces lawsuits on the courthouse steps in White Plains/Reclaim