Judges: James D. Cole, Assistant Attorney General
Filed Date: 3/14/1994
Status: Precedential
Modified Date: 7/5/2016
Requestor: Arthur Carl Spring, Esq., County Attorney County of Fulton County Building Johnstown, N Y 12095
Written by: James D. Cole, Assistant Attorney General in Charge of Opinions
You have asked whether financial disclosure records filed with the county's board of ethics may be kept in your private law office. You have explained that the county attorney's office is maintained within the office where you conduct your private law practice. In this office, you keep a locked file cabinet which contains all of the financial disclosure forms which have been filed with the county ethics board. The ethics board conducts its meetings in your office and you are a member of that board. Records are made available to the public within your office. You indicate that the records are kept there for the convenience of the ethics board's meetings and for the protection of the filers.
It is the responsibility of every local officer to maintain records to document adequately the transaction of public business and the services and programs for which the officer is responsible. Arts and Cultural Affairs Law §
Thus, so long as the records for which you are responsible are being kept in accordance with the above requirements, retention in your office would appear to be authorized.
The Attorney General renders formal opinions only to officers and departments of State government. This perforce is an informal and unofficial expression of the views of this office.