[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council of the Borough of High Bridge 2-9-2006 as Ch. 11 of the 2006 Code of the Borough of High Bridge. Amendments noted where applicable.]
A. 
In accordance with the provisions of N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1, all records shall be subject to public access, unless exempt from such access as provided in N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 et seq. Every citizen of the state shall have the right to inspect such records during the regular business hours maintained by the custodian of records. During such regular business hours and under the supervision of the custodian or a representative of the custodian, every citizen of the state shall also have the right to copy such records by hand and to purchase copies of the records. Copies of records shall be made available upon the payment of the price as established by law.
B. 
The term "government record" includes those records determined to be available to the public in accordance with N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 et seq. as supplemented and interpreted. "Government record" or "record" means any paper, written or printed book, document, drawing, map, plan, photograph, microfilm, data processed or image processed document, information stored or maintained electronically or by sound-recording or in a similar device, or any copy thereof, that has been made, maintained or kept on file in the course of his or its official business by any officer, commission, agency or authority of the state or of any political subdivision thereof, including subordinate boards thereof, or that has been received in the course of his or its official business by any such officer, commission, agency, or authority of the state or of any political subdivision thereof, including subordinate boards thereof. The terms shall not include interagency or intraagency advisory, consultative, or deliberative material.
C. 
Records, which are not readily available, are in storage, or which will require a search of records, will be made available as soon as possible and the requestor will be provided with a response within seven business days of making the request indicating the time which will be required to provide the records. Where a legal determination must be made as to whether records are public records as provided by law, the request will be reviewed by the Borough Attorney. A response will be provided within seven days of the request. The seven-business-day time frame starts the day after the request has been received by the Records Custodian at the address listed on the request form.
[Amended 6-13-2013 by Ord. No. 2013-13]
A. 
Any person seeking to inspect, examine or copy a public record of this municipality shall make application, in writing, to the Municipal Clerk during regular business hours. All requests for public records shall be as specific as possible, including the type of record and date created, if known.
B. 
A fully completed request form must be mailed, faxed or presented in person to the Borough's Custodian of Records. Any questions regarding the request should be made to the Custodian of Records. Requests cannot be made through individual elected officials or Borough personnel. Any persons making requests to elected officials or Borough personnel must be directed to the Custodian of Records.
[Amended 3-11-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-7; 7-15-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-13; 3-24-2011 by Ord. No. 2011-8; 6-13-2013 by Ord. No. 2013-13; 1-28-2016 by Ord. No. 2016-02]
A. 
A fifty-percent deposit is required for requests exceeding $25. If the nature, format, manner of collations, or volume of government record embodied in the form of printed matter to be inspected, examined, or copied pursuant to this section is such that the records cannot be reproduced by ordinary document copying equipment, or involves an extraordinary expenditure of time and effort to accommodate the request, the public agency may charge, in addition to the actual cost of duplicating the record, a special service charge that shall be reasonable and shall be based upon the actual direct cost of providing the copy. The requestor will be notified in advance of the special service charge and may object to the charge prior to it being incurred (N.J.S.A. 47: 1A-5c). The fee established by the High Bridge Mayor and Council for requested information, which meets these criteria, is $25 per hour.
A. 
To request reconsideration of a denial at the Borough level the citizen may request a meeting with Mayor and Council. The request should be made in writing to:
Mayor and Common Council
High Bridge Borough
71 Main Street
High Bridge, NJ 08829
B. 
The request shall indicate why reconsideration is being requested and why it is felt a mistake has been made. A meeting shall be scheduled within 30 days and, within seven days thereafter, the Borough shall inform the requestor the results of reconsideration.
C. 
An appeal of a denial of access to a government document may, at the option of the requestor, be filed with the Government Records Council (GRC) or by instituting a proceeding by filing an action in Superior Court as provided in N.J.S.A. 47:1A-6. Seeking reconsideration of the denial as set forth above is not a requirement for filing such an appeal.
A. 
This chapter shall not apply to employees requesting copies of documents pertaining to their own medical records or claims; federal, state or locally imposed taxes; personnel files; and insurance records, all of which shall be provided to them as required by applicable law.
B. 
A government record shall not include information which is deemed to be confidential for the purposes of N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 et seq. as amended and supplemented.