[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Committee
of the Township of Lumberton 9-4-1990 by Ord. No. 1990-15. Amendments noted
where applicable.]
It is hereby declared to be the public policy
of the township to recognize the public's general right to know pursuant
to N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 et seq., or any amendments or supplements thereto,
and all of the public's business in the municipality shall be open
to the public unless the public interest, general law or administrative
regulations require nondisclosure, and the governing body, in consultation
with the Municipal Attorney, shall determine if and when nondisclosure
is warranted.
[Amended 11-14-2005 by Ord. No. 2005-31]
As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
The Municipal Clerk of the Township of Lumberton.
All records which are required by law to made, maintained
or kept on file by the Township Committee or any board, agency, department,
commission or official of the Township and as otherwise defined in
the Open Public Records Act of 2001, as subsequently amended, and
codified at N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 et seq.
[Amended 2-7-1994 by Ord. No. 1994-1; 11-14-2005 by Ord. No.
2005-31; 12-5-2019 by Ord. No. 2019-17]
Applicable provisions and fees are detailed in the universal fee chart located in § 18-2, reference number 37, of the Code of the Township of Lumberton.
Under no circumstances shall public records
be removed from the municipal building or any other building where
they are normally kept. Such records shall not be removed from the
office wherein they are normally maintained unless accompanied by
the custodian or his or her representative. If the custodian of such
records shall find that there is no risk of damage or mutilation of
such records and that it would not be incompatible with the economic
and efficient operation of the office and the transaction of public
business therein, he or she may permit a person seeking to copy more
than 100 pages of records to use the person's own photographic process,
approved by the custodian, upon the payment of the fee fixed in § 225-3C(2)
above.
In addition to any restrictions or limitations
established by general law, no records, documents or information of
any kind shall be released to the public if the same are not public
records, as defined in this section; or if they are not in final form;
or if review or action regarding the documents or information is still
pending before a body of the municipality; or if the material sought
is confidential in nature or an individual citizen's right to privacy
outweighs the general public's right to know.
