The Borough of Dunellen hereby creates a Borough
public records policy governing public records created and/or governed
by:
A. N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 et seq., the Right to Know Law.
B. Records that are considered public records in accordance
with common law.
C. Records that are subpoenaed pursuant to pending litigation
and/or court order which may be subject to judicial review.
All requests for public records shall, whenever
possible, be as specific as possible in seeking such records, and
the Municipal Clerk reserves the right to reject a public records
request when it is random in nature or when it is determined that
the request does not fall under the Right to Know Law.
All requests for public records shall, except
for requests by Borough employees and officials acting in their official
capacity and nonprofit organizations, be subject to the Borough's
policy as to copying costs.
The following records, or types of records,
which are not public and shall not be made available to the public
are, but not limited to, the following:
A. Records of a personal nature regarding Borough officials,
employees and/or other applicable individuals.
B. Medical records of Borough officials, employees and/or
other applicable individuals.
C. All records exempted by state and/or federal statutes,
rules and/or regulations.
D. All records exempted by presidential and/or gubernatorial
executive order.
E. All records which are not included in the definition
of "public records" pursuant to N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 et seq. where applicable.
F. Confidential police investigation reports.
G. Work product or notes of Borough officials and/or
employees.
Not all requests for public records do, in fact,
lead to the copying, review and/or release of such records. A public
record may be a public record under common law, but may not be a public
record under the Right to Know Law (N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 et seq.) or vice
versa, or it may be or may not be a public record under any other
legal statute, rules, regulation and/or court decision. The Municipal
Clerk shall seek the opinion of the designated Borough Attorney as
to whether or not a record is public if there is any question as to
its potential copying, review and/or release.