By JIMMY LAWTON

CANTON -- County legislators, town supervisors and curious members of the public were given a crash course on the state’s freedom of information and open meetings laws Tuesday.

Robert Freeman, executive director for the New York State Committee on Open Government, presented at SUNY Canton’s Kingston Theater, where he fielded questions and dispelled common myths regarding the laws.

The event, coordinated by St. Lawrence County Attorney Stephen Button, aimed to educate members of public, press and municipal officials.

“When we started pulling this together, the primary goal of this presentation was to assist the many dedicated local government servants in providing more transparent government while simultaneously providing the local citizenry and the students of SUNY Canton with the education on how to actively participate with their local governments,” Button said of the event. “Based on the response from the public and the support from SUNY Canton, it has become apparent that there is a thirst for more presentations like this in the North Country.”

Freeman’s agency oversees implementation of the Freedom of Information Law and the Open Meetings Law. The laws govern public rights to access government records and meetings of public bodies.

The presentation was largely a question and answer forum that addressed specific issues, but Freeman provided basic explanations of both laws within his answers.

While the information covered at the meeting was extensive and often specific, Freeman also cleared up common myths surrounding executive sessions, public documents and public meetings, during his often-comedic presentation.

For instance, Freeman said public boards can vote during executive sessions, despite a common practice by municipalities to do so only during public segments of a meeting. However, a caveat to this practice is that the record of the vote must be included in the minutes, which must be available within two weeks of the meeting date.

Freeman also dispelled a common myth that public boards must allow members of the community to speak. He said such a requirement is not necessary, however should a board offer one citizen to speak, it is advisable to others in attendance the same opportunity. Freeman also dispelled the need for a citizen to state his or her name and address when speaking at a public meeting.

Freeman advised officials of that the Freedom of Information Law is designed to provide access to public records, but many people do not realize what documents are considered public records.

Freeman cited the law to explain.

“Records means any information kept, held, filed, produced or reproduced by, with or for an agency or the state legislature, in any physical form whatsoever including, but not limited to, reports, statements, examinations, memoranda, opinions, folders, files, books, manuals, pamphlets, forms, papers, designs, drawings, maps, photos, letters, microfilms, computer tapes or discs, rules, regulations or codes.”

Of course, there are limits as to what information within those records is accessible to the public, and that’s where things can get tricky.

Freeman advised anyone with questions regarding access to public records or meetings to contact his office or visit http://www.dos.ny.gov/coog. He said the website contains a wealth of categorized opinions, and court cases related to FOIL and OML. He said his office exists to provide advice on the subject and is always willing to offer verbal or written opinions.

The website also includes model Freedom of Information Law request forms that can be used for people unfamiliar with the process

County Attorney Button said event was a success and he is hopeful similar events can be held to improve transparency and public participation in government.

“It is our hope to focus on upcoming events (such as Constitution Day in September of 2016) and bring other governmental leaders to the North Country to provide insight into their fields and empower the citizens of St. Lawrence County to take a more active role in government."