[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council of the Borough of Folsom
as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 8-8-2002 by Ord. No. 296]
The Borough of Folsom hereby creates a Borough public records policy
governing public records created/governed by:
All requests for records shall be made through the Borough Clerk/Municipal
Administrator's office on a form approved by the Borough Clerk/Municipal Administrator.
The Borough Clerk/Municipal Administrator is designated as the custodian of
records for the Borough. No request for records shall be honored without a
properly completed form, except for document requests by the Mayor and/or
Borough Council, the Borough Attorney and tax record cards requested by taxpayers
of the Tax Assessor, pursuant to pending Atlantic County Board of Taxation
or New Jersey State Court appeal(s).
All requests for public records directed to department heads or other
Borough officials/employees shall be directed to the Borough Clerk/Municipal
Administrator's Office, which will serve as the depository of such requests
and the dissemination of said forms to obtain public records, not within the
Clerk/Municipal Administrator's control/possession.
Upon receipt of a request for records, if said records are public, the
Borough shall honor such request as soon as possible, but not later than seven
business days after receiving the request, provided that the record is currently
available and not in storage or archived. If the record is in storage or archived,
the requestor shall be advised within seven business days after receipt of
the request and shall be advised when the record can be made available.
The Clerk/Municipal Administrator shall post prominently in public view
a statement that sets forth in clear, concise and specific terms the right
to appeal a denial of or failure to provide access to a government record
by any person for inspection, examination, or copying or for purchase of copies
thereof and the procedure by which an appeal may be filed.
If the Clerk/Municipal Administrator is unable to comply with a request
for access, the Clerk/Municipal Administrator shall indicate the specific
basis therefor on the request form and promptly return it to the requestor.
If it is asserted that a part of a particular record is exempt from public
assess, the Clerk/Municipal Administrator shall delete or excise from a copy
of the record that portion which is exempt from access and shall promptly
permit access to the remainder of the record. If the record requested is temporarily
unavailable because it is in storage or archived, the Clerk/Municipal Administrator
shall so advise the requestor and shall make arrangements to promptly make
available a copy of the record. If a request for access would substantially
disturb operations, the Clerk/Municipal Administrator may deny access to the
record after attempting to reach a reasonable solution with the requestor
that accommodates the interest of the requestor and the Borough.
All requests for records shall, except for requests by Borough employees/officials,
be subject to copying costs in accordance with N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5.
The following records or types of records which are not public and shall
not be made available to the public include, but are not limited to, the following:
A.
Records of a personal nature regarding Borough officials,
employees and/or other applicable individuals.
B.
Medical records.
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/employees.
H.
Council closed sessions minutes involving personnel matters.
Council open session minutes shall not be considered public records until
such time as they are approved by the Borough Council and the matter(s) in
questions have been concluded pursuant to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 10:4-6
et seq. A report prepared for review by the Mayor and Borough Council shall
not be deemed a public record until at least seven calendar days after disbursement
of the report by the Borough Clerk/Municipal Administrator to the Mayor and
Council or the next Council meeting, whichever is later.
I.
All records deemed confidential under N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1.1.
Not all requests for records do, in fact, lead to the copying, reviewing
and/or release of such records. A record may be a public record under common
law, but may not be a public record under the Open Public Records Law (N.J.S.A.
47:1A-1 et seq.) or it may be or may not be a public record under any other
legal statute, rules, regulations and/or court decisions. The Borough Clerk/Municipal
Administrator shall seek the opinion of the Borough Attorney as to whether
or not a record is public if there is any question as to its release. The
Borough Clerk/Municipal Administrator's actions on this type of matter shall
be guided by such legal opinion.
[Adopted 5-20-2004 by Ord. No. 11-2004]
Any person shall have the right, in person, to purchase copies of the
following:
Any person shall have the right to purchase copies of public records
upon the payment of the fees, which shall be based upon the total number of
pages thereof to be purchased by state statute:
|
Number of Pages
|
Fee Per Page
|
|---|---|
|
First page to 10th page
|
$0.75
|
|
11th page to 20th
page
|
$0.50
|
|
All pages over 20
|
$0.25
|
Postage fees will be charged in the event a request is made to mail
a copy.
If copies of reports are requested other than in person, an additional
fee of $5 for the first three pages and $1 per page thereafter shall be added
to cover the administrative costs of such report.
The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to the copying of any
records for the official and exclusive use of the state, or any political
subdivision thereof, or by any public board, body, commission or authority
created pursuant to law by the state or any of its political subdivisions.
[Added 3-9-2005 by Ord. No. 06-2005;
amended 12-13-2006 by Ord. No. 16-2006]
The fee for certified, duplicate or correction copies of certificates
for all vital records, birth, death, marriage and domestic partnership is
$10.
