The New York Coalition for Open Government has released its annual holiday season “Naughty and Nice List.”

No one from Chautauqua County made the list, but some Western New Yorkers did. Here’s some highlights of the list.

NAUGHTY

— The city of Ithaca was found to be several years behind in posting meeting minutes online. “A city with a budget of $84 million, five employees in the clerk’s office. There really is no acceptable excuse for not posting meeting minutes online,” said Paul Wolf, president of the Coalition for Open Government.

— All 15 members of the Wayne County Board of Supervisors. “These folks hold secret club meetings, literally,” Wolf said.

All 15 are Republicans and gather in a closed caucus, prior to the public meeting. Wolf said a reporter asked if the secret caucuses should be scrapped, and got no response. “There is no defense for it,” he said.

Wolf added that a number of years ago, the Buffalo Common Council did the same thing when it was entirely composed of Democrats — and a court ordered it to stop.

— The city of Buffalo’s public information office. A reporter asked if Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown’s son was the new public information officer. The person on the phone told him he had to file a Freedom of Information request. However, the hire was publicly announced soon after.

“No one wanted to come clean at that point that the mayor’s son had been hired… to make someone file a FOIL request (over that) is ridiculous,” Wolf said,

— New Haven Supervisor Dan Barney made the list for the second straight year. This time, it was for a tirade — where he smashed his gavel — at a public hearing, angrily interrupting a member of the public who was raising concerns about government transparency.

“This guy has got some real anger issues, (and) does not appreciate being questioned or challenged in any way,” Wolf said. “It’s just an inappropriate way for an elected official to act.”

— Robert Restaino, Niagara Falls mayor, is also on the list again in 2023. He interrupted a TV interview by putting his hand over the camera, refused to release a survey of residents, and will not let the public speak at council meetings he calls (the Niagara Falls mayor has the authority to call special meetings). Wolf called him “thin-skinned and arrogant.”

— Mamaroneck’s board approved a contract extension for the village administrator in a closed-door, executive session. This is illegal under state law, which demands that appropriation of public monies get done in public. A resident filed a lawsuit, and won, to bring the board’s move to light.

— Closing out the list was Gov. Kathy Hochul.

“Despite her promise of bringing a new era of transparency to New York state, government is as secretive as ever,” Wolf said. He noted state budget discussions are still done in secret. Also, he added, there is not a word in her State of the State address, or her policy book, about open government.

NICE

— The New York state authorities budget office, which monitors authorities throughout the state. “They do audits where they check to see whether authorities are complying with their requirements,” Wolf said. “One of the things they check is website transparency.” Wolf said the agency and his coalition are the only entities in the state who do that.

— State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli has done several recent audits focusing on transparency.

— State Sen. John Liu introduced a bill, which passed the Senate, to make it easier to get attorney fees when successfully filing Freedom of Information or Open Meetings lawsuits.

— Assemblyman Phil Steck introduced a bill to put the right to open government in the state constitution. Wolf noted that right is enshrined in several state constitutions, but not New York’s.