Letters

When a resident, or the press, tries to obtain public information and make a Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request, they receive an automatic response from Southampton Village stating that it will take up to 120 days to fulfill the request.

However, FOIL requires an acknowledgment of the request within five days and a maximum of 20 days thereafter to fulfill it. The village is violating the law and cannot claim they need 120 days.

If there were any competence in the Bill Manger administration, they would know they’re violating the law — or perhaps they simply don’t care. This is another instance of lawlessness, like the continuous ignoring of the Open Meetings Law that negatively impacts the residents of the village.

This past week, after the village failed to provide the public information I requested within the state-mandated time frame, I appealed their inaction as a “constructive denial.” The village finally responded, but with a condescending letter blaming the public for their delays and calling my appeal “baseless.”

Any attorney or member of the press knows this is far from the truth. Village residents are entitled to public information.

I was simply seeking copies of invoices to track this administration’s out-of-control spending, which led to a record increase of $2.1 million budget spending increase. When I submitted a FOIL, which requested information on the February 2024 village real estate assessed value grievances, they responded by providing a list of over 250 grievances. This is a lie, which the village assessor has acknowledged. Yet, neither the village administrator, Anthony Carter, who is responsible for the FOIL process, nor anyone else in the administration has contacted me to correct these lies.

Rather than acknowledge their violation of New York State law, the village chose to disrespect me. Disrespect appears to be their modus operandi, as evidenced by the billboard saying “Show Some Respect” placed in front of Village Hall by village employees.

Bill Manger’s lack of respect for the residents, the employees and the law is symptomatic of a larger problem: a mayor and board members propped up by campaign donors, allowing them to act with impunity. If they can’t handle something as basic as responding to Freedom of Information requests, what does that say about their other day-to-day operations?

It is critical for The Southampton Press, which also relies on FOIL, to take a stronger stand on exposing these unlawful practices. Brendan O’Reilly, deputy managing editor of The Press and the immediate past president of the Press Club of Long Island, is in a unique position to lead this charge. The community depends on him to educate the public through multiple articles, investigations and explanations.

David Rung

Southampton Village