The heads of all administrations and departments, except the police and law departments, and the chiefs of each and every division or bureau thereof, and all borough presidents shall, with reasonable promptness, furnish to any taxpayer desiring the same, a true and certified copy of any book, account or paper kept by such administration, department, bureau or office, or such part thereof as may be demanded, upon payment in advance of ten cents for every hundred words thereof by the person demanding the same. The provisions of this section shall not apply to any papers prepared by or for the comptroller for use in any proceeding to adjust or pay a claim against the city or any agency, or by or for counsel for use in actions or proceedings to which the city or any agency is a party, or for use in any investigation authorized by this charter.
All books, accounts and papers in the office of any borough president or any division or bureau thereof, or in any city administration or department or any division or bureau thereof, except the police and law departments, shall at all times be open to the inspection of any taxpayer, subject to such reasonable rules and regulations in regard to the time and manner of such inspection as the borough president, administration, department, office, division or bureau may make; in case such inspection shall be refused, such taxpayer, on his sworn petition, describing the particular book, account or paper that he desires to inspect, may, upon notice of not less than one day, apply to any justice of the supreme court for an order that he be allowed to make such inspection as such justice shall by his order authorize. The provisions of this section shall not apply to any papers prepared by or for the comptroller for use in any proceedings to adjust or pay a claim against the city or any agency, or by or for counsel for use in actions or proceedings to which the city or any agency is a party, or for use in any investigation authorized by this charter.
a. Except as otherwise provided pursuant to subdivision b of this section, the public may attend all sessions or meetings of the following agencies whenever items on the calendar of such agency are to be considered and acted upon in a preliminary or final manner; art commission, conciliation and appeals board, environmental control board, board of health, landmarks preservation commission, city planning commission, board of standards and appeals, tax commission, youth board, and the council and its committees.
b. Any agency specified pursuant to subdivision a of this section may convene an executive session closed to the public by a three-fourths vote of all of its members, but shall not take final action at any such meeting.
a. There shall be a commission on public information and communication which shall consist of the public advocate, as chair, the corporation counsel or the delegate of such officer, the director of operations or the delegate of such officer, the commissioner of the department of records and information services or the delegate of such officer, the commissioner of information technology and telecommunications or the delegate of such officer, the president of the WNYC communications group or the delegate of such officer, and one council member elected by the council, all of whom shall serve on the board without compensation. In addition, there shall be four other members, each appointed for a four-year term, who shall not hold or seek public or political party office or be public employees in any jurisdiction, except the representative of the community board as set forth herein, to be appointed as follows: two by the mayor, one of whom is or has been a representative of the news media and one of whom shall be a member of a community board; one by the public advocate; and one by the borough presidents acting as a group. Such members shall receive a per diem compensation for each calendar day they perform the work of the commission. No such members shall serve for more than two consecutive four-year terms. All initial appointments shall be made by the first day of March, nineteen hundred ninety.
b. Members may be removed by the mayor for cause after notice and opportunity to be heard. Members shall serve until their successors have been appointed.
c. The commission shall appoint an executive director, a general counsel and such other officers, employees, and consultants as are necessary to fulfill its duties, within appropriations available therefor.
d. The commission shall:
(1) undertake, by itself, or in cooperation with other entities, activities to educate the public about the availability and potential usefulness of city produced or maintained information and assist the public in obtaining access to such information;
(2) review (i) all city information policies, including but not limited to, policies regarding public access to city produced or maintained information, particularly, computerized information; (ii) the quality, structure, and costs to the public of such information; (iii) agency compliance with the various notice, comment, and hearing provisions of the charter and other laws applicable to city agencies; and (iv) the usefulness and availability of city documents, reports, and publications;
(3) assist city agencies in facilitating public access to their meetings, transcripts, records, and other information, and monitor agency compliance with the provisions of the charter, and other laws which require such public access;
(4) hold at least one public hearing each year on city information policies and issue at least one report each year with such recommendations as the commission deems advisable;
(5) on the request of any member of the public, elected official, or city agency, render advisory opinions regarding the application of those provisions of the charter or other laws which require public access to meetings, transcripts, records and other information. Such advisory opinions shall be indexed by subject matter and maintained on a cumulative basis;
(6) make recommendations regarding: (i) the application of new communications technology to improve public access to city produced or maintained information; (ii) the distribution of information to the public about the purposes and locations of the city's service delivery facilities; and (iii) programming for the municipal cable channels and broadcasting system.
Editor's note: For related unconsolidated provisions, see Administrative Code Appendix A at L.L. 1994/024.
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