Public records of the Borough of Totowa shall
be open for inspection by members of the public as provided by law
(N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1). Such inspection shall be made only at reasonable
times during business hours and without interfering with the conduct
of the affairs of the office or other place where such records are
kept or maintained.
[Amended 3-9-2004 by Ord. No. 02-2004]
A. The statutory fee schedule shall apply to routine
requests under the Open Public Records Law. The fees of N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5
are hereby incorporated herein as such fee schedule presently exists
or as such fees might appear in future modifications or amendments
of the statute. At present time, fees under N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5 for routine
copies of municipal documents are:
(1) Pages 1 through 10: $0.75 per page.
(2) Pages 11 through 20: $0.50 per page.
(3) All pages after 20: $0.25 per page.
B. All requests for production of documents shall be
in writing.
C. The Borough Clerk is authorized and directed to make
copies of the following records and to charge the applicant for said
copy as follows:
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Document
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Fee
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Certification by Borough Clerk of any documents
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$5
|
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Exemplification of any document by Borough Clerk
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$5
|
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Miscellaneous Municipal Court records (per page)
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$2
|
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Municipal Court receipts
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$2
|
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For a certificate as to approval of a subdivision
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$5
|
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Duplicate tax bill
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$3
|
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Duplicate (photocopy) water and sewer bills
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$0.75 each
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D. If a request is to be mailed, the cost of postage
will be added to the cost of reproducing the document.
E. A deposit will be required when the anticipated cost
of document reproduction exceeds $5. The balance due will be payable
upon delivery of the documents.
[Amended 3-9-2004 by Ord. No. 02-2004]
Nothing in this chapter shall require the custodian
of documents or any other municipal official to examine, analyze,
tabulate, or interpret documents which are subject to production under
the New Jersey Open Public Records Act.
[Added 3-9-2004 by Ord. No. 02-2004]
Public records of the Borough shall be open
and available for inspection by members of the public as provided
by N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 et seq. Such inspection shall be made during regular
business hours and without interference with the conduct of the affairs
of the office or other place where such records are kept or maintained.
[Added 3-9-2004 by Ord. No. 02-2004]
A. Charges authorized. The Municipal Clerk or other custodian or keeper of documents qualifying for mandatory inspection or production as "governmental records" under the New Jersey Open Public Records Act shall be entitled to special charges and/or special charges as set forth in §
300-5 of this chapter.
B. Amounts authorized.
(1) Duplication on other work beyond capability of municipal-in-house
work force. Whenever the in-house municipal work force or available
municipal equipment is insufficient to duplicate or produce government
records in a timely fashion, the Municipal Clerk may cause such duplication
or production to be accomplished by outside vendors such as copy centers
or producers of digital images. If the costs of such duplication or
production charged by such vendors exceeds the routine charges set
forth in N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5, the actual direct cost of same without
any additional surcharge for labor costs shall be paid.
(2) Special service charges authorized. Whenever government
records cannot be reproduced by regular copying equipment or fulfillment
of the request would involve extraordinary time and effort, charges
may be imposed as follows:
(a)
The actual cost of materials and supplies for
duplication or reproduction; plus
(b)
A special service charge of $32 per hour or
the actual direct cost of labor (if less) shall be imposed for each
hour of extraordinary time predicted to be utilized to respond to
the request.
C. Conversion of documents:
(1) In the event that an OPRA request involves the reproduction
or conversion from the medium in which the document requested currently
exists into a medium not routinely developed or maintained by the
Borough of Totowa or requires a substantial amount of manipulation
or programming or information technology, the Custodian of Record
shall either convert the document to the medium requested or provide
some other meaningful medium as provided by OPRA. In the event that
the requestor refuses to accept a copy in some other meaningful medium,
the requester shall pay fees and special charges as follows:
(a)
Direct costs to comply with the request; plus
(b)
Special charges; the lessor of the cost of technology
and labor actually incurred or $45 per hour.
(2) This section shall also apply to requests for documents
which the Borough of Totowa is unable to reproduce in-house due to
the document's existing size or medium, including but not limited
to blueprints, plans, films, slides, CD-ROMs and the like.
[Added 3-9-2004 by Ord. No. 02-2004]
A. The Borough of Totowa may be compelled by New Jersey
Law to produce or duplicate governmental records but no compliance
with these legal obligations shall be deemed to constitute a license,
sublicense or waiver of copyright laws.
B. The Municipal Clerk shall give the following notice
to any requestor of governmental records:
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Notice — Copyright Laws
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You must comply with U.S. copyright laws. These
laws may restrict your right to use, duplicate or modify the records
provided to you by the Borough of Totowa. You should consult your
own legal counsel on this since severe civil and criminal penalties
for violation of copyright laws are provided.
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[Added 3-9-2004 by Ord. No. 02-2004]
The Mayor, Municipal Clerk or Municipal Council
by resolution may waive the fees or other charges otherwise chargeable
if the requester of governmental records is a governmental or educational
entity.