When former Brockport Police Chief Gary Zimmer was reinstated on May 17 after a three-month administrative leave, the deal struck between him and the village regarding his subsequent retirement was sealed as a personnel record. Since that time, several entities have filed Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) requests pertaining to the related documents.

Citing the need to balance the interests of those seeking the information and the issue of confidentiality of personnel records, Village Attorney Ed Riley will seek a court decision on whether the documents should be released or not.

Having a court make the decision should relieve the village board of making a decision that may make Brockport liable, either for violating open government laws or for violating Zimmer's privacy.

At the October 1 village board meeting, Riley said he had been prepared to release the documents that day, however, a conversation with Patrick Naylon, Zimmer's attorney, led Riley to believe the village would be sued if the documents were released.

He sought the board's authorization at its regular meeting that evening to seek a court ruling. The formal resolution reads in part: "In order to reduce the potential for village liability to all concerned parties and recognizing the need to have open government yet preserve issues of privacy when or if warranted … (the village will) enter a legal proceeding in the nature of declaratory judgment relative to the release of certain information as requested pursuant to FOIL and the issue of confidentiality of the settlement agreement between the village and A.G. Zimmer."

There was no indication how long the court proceeding would take.