[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council of the Borough
of Newfield 3-10-2009 by Ord. No. 2009-1. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
New Jersey law relating to the public's right to access
government records has been expanded under the Open Public Records
Act (hereinafter OPRA) which was enacted on January 8, 2002 and became
effective on July 8, 2002. Members of the general public are granted
access to all records maintained by the Borough of Newfield unless
specifically exempted by OPRA, other state or federal law, regulations
or order. Such access shall be through the custodian of department
records. This policy will establish procedures for the receipt and
processing of requests for access to department records, this policy
and procedure is not applicable to any general rules of Discovery
under New Jersey Rules of Court; Rule 7:7, Pretrial Procedures.
A.Â
Custodian of records. The Municipal Clerk shall serve as the custodian
of all records maintained by the Borough of Newfield. The Municipal
Clerk shall be assisted by the staff of the Clerk's Office and
all Department Heads in fulfilling the obligations under this law.
(1)Â
Responsibilities. The custodian of records shall have the following
responsibilities:
(a)Â
The custodian shall ensure that procedures are in place so that
requests for department records are received, reviewed and filed,
if appropriate, as required by the law.
(b)Â
The custodian shall review all requests for access to department
records that are held and maintained by the Borough of Newfield and
make certain that requests are appropriately acted upon within the
time prescribed by law.
B.Â
Department record defined. A department record shall be interpreted
to mean any written or printed document, drawing, map, plan photograph,
microfilm, data-processed or image-processed document, and any information
stored electronically or by sound-recording or similar device unless
exempt from definition under the law. A department record shall not
include:
(1)Â
Inter-agency or intra-agency, consultative or deliberative material.
(2)Â
Emergency or security information or procedures for buildings or
facilities.
(3)Â
Administrative or technical information regarding computer hardware,
software and networks, which if disclosed, would jeopardize computer
security.
(4)Â
Information regarding labor-management negotiations including statements
of strategy or negotiating position.
(5)Â
Pension and personnel records in possession of the department.
(6)Â
Information generated by or on behalf of the police department or
any of its employees in connection with any sexual harassment complaint
filed with the Borough of Newfield or with any grievance filed by
or against any individual.
(7)Â
Information which is to be kept confidential pursuant to court order.
(8)Â
That portion of any document which discloses the social security
number, credit card number, unlisted telephone number, driver's
license number or any personal identifying information of any person.
(9)Â
Security measures and surveillance techniques which, if disclosed,
would create a risk to the safety of persons, property, electronic
data or software.
C.Â
Public requests for records.
(1)Â
Times during which records may be requested. Any person making a
request for department records must do so during regular business
hours between 8:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.
(2)Â
Records request form. All requests for access to records shall be
in written format and on the Records Request Form (Appendix A) provided
by the department.[1] The request form must be completed, signed, dated and delivered in person to the
Municipal Clerk or his/her designee.
(a)Â
The Administrative Assistant or Records Clerk may accept the
form from the requestor in the absence of the custodian.
[1]
Editor's Note: Appendix A is on file in the office of the
Borough Clerk.
(3)Â
Fees. Fees for the duplication of a department record shall be listed
on the Request Form. The fees are for standard 8Â 1/2 inch by
11 inch documents.
(a)Â
Extraordinary service fees may be applied dependent upon the
request. The person requesting the records will be advised of any
additional service fees or other additional charges authorized by
state law or regulation before processing the request. As soon as
practicable, the custodian shall furnish an estimate of fees before
fulfilling the request.
(b)Â
Any time necessary in computing additional service fees shall
not delay any response to a request for records beyond the statutory
time limit for producing the records.
(c)Â
All fees must accompany the request. However, requests with
estimated fees exceeding $25 must be accompanied by a fifty-percent
deposit. Any balances must be paid upon delivery of the records or
completion of the record gathering and duplication, even if the requestor
then chooses not to take delivery of the records.
(d)Â
The payment method for all records shall be by cash; certified
check; or money order payable to the Borough of Newfield.
(4)Â
Delivery of records. The custodian of records must respond within
seven business days of the original request. If the record requested
is not currently available or is in storage or archived, the person
making the request will be advised of when the record will be made
available and any estimated fees that will be applicable.
(a)Â
The person requesting the records must personally take delivery
of those records once copies are made available.
D.Â
Denial of a request for records.
(1)Â
A records custodian must deny access to any person who has been convicted
of an indictable offense in New Jersey or any other state who is seeking
department records containing personal information pertaining to the
person's victim or the victim's family.
(2)Â
Access to records may be denied by the custodian if the request would
substantially disrupt the department's operations and the custodian
is unable to reach a reasonable solution with the person requesting
access that would accommodate the interest of both parties.
(3)Â
If the Borough of Newfield is unable to comply with a request for
access to records, the custodian will indicate the reason for the
denial on the request form and provide the person making the request
with a signed and dated copy.
(a)Â
Except as otherwise provided by law or agreement with the requestor
if the custodian of the record fails to respond to the requestor within
seven business days of receiving the written signed request form,
the failure to respond will be considered a denial of the request.
E.Â
Right to appeal a denial of access.
(1)Â
If a request for access to a department record is denied, or has
been unfulfilled within the time permitted by law, that person making
the request has a right to challenge the decision by the Municipal
Clerk to deny access. The person requesting the record may either: