Watchdog: There’s an Open Government Crisis in New York State
By the Yonkers Times, February 25, 2023
The New York Coalition For Open Government says there is an open government crisis in New York State that can be addressed through the state budget, in testimony published by the Yonkers Times.
The coalition randomly selected 20 local government entities across every region of the state. Some 2022 findings:
72% of towns are not posting meeting documents online as required by law.
25% of towns are not posting meeting minutes or recordings online as required by law.
39% of counties failed to acknowledge a FOIL request within five business days as required by law.
28% of counties never acknowledged our FOIL request.
65% of county board of elections did not respond to emails or telephone calls seeking information.
73% of election boards failed to acknowledge the coalition’s FOIL request within five business days as required by law. It took an average of 49 days just to receive meeting minutes from county Boards of Elections.
