It is hereby declared to be the public policy
of the Township of Mantua to recognize the public's general right
to know pursuant to the Open Public Records Act, N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1
et seq. All records kept in the course of official duties by any Township
of Mantua officer or employee shall be deemed to be "government records,"
as the term is defined by N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1.1, and such records shall
be subject to inspection by the public unless exempt under statute
or other regulation, common law practice, executive order of the Governor
of the State of New Jersey, Rules of Court, federal law or judicial
decision.
In accordance with N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5(f), the
Township Clerk is designated as the custodian of records. The Clerk
shall adopt a form for the use of any person who requests access to
public records, and such form shall contain all of the information
required by N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5(f).
Unless a shorter time period is otherwise provided
by statute, regulation or executive order, the Clerk shall grant access
to a government record or deny a request for access as soon as possible
but no later than seven business days after receiving the request,
provided that the record is currently available and not in storage
or archived. In the event the Township Clerk fails to respond within
seven business days after receiving the request, the failure to respond
shall be deemed a denial of the request, unless the requestor has
elected not to provide a name, address or telephone number or other
means of contacting the requestor. If the requestor has elected not
to provide a name, address or telephone number or other means of contacting
the requestor, the Township Clerk shall not be required to respond
until the requestor reappears before the Township Clerk seeking a
response to the original request. If the government record is in storage
or archived, the requestor shall be so advised within seven business
days after the Township Clerk receives the request. The requestor
shall be advised by the Township Clerk when the record can be made
available. If the record is not made available by that time, access
shall be deemed denied.
The Township Clerk shall post prominently in
public view, in or adjacent to the Clerk's office, 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 and
the procedure by which an appeal may be filed.
[Amended 3-7-2011 by Ord. No. O-01-2011]
A. The cost
per page of reproduced documents shall be as follows:
(1) Letter-size
paper or smaller size: $0.05 per page.
(2) Legal-size
paper or larger size: $0.07 per page.
B. Electronic
records.
(1) Requests
for a record to be placed on a CD and/or DVD or floppy disk can be
done so. There is no fee if the requestor supplies the disk. A fee
of $0.96 per CD and/or DVD will be assessed to the requestor when
such a request is made and approved and the Township of Mantua must
supply the disk. Any requests for software conversions shall be subject
to the special service charge described herein. For security reasons,
the use of a floppy, CD or DVD disk provided by the requestor is prohibited.
(2) A copy
of a record which is a sound recording, primarily minutes of a meeting,
shall assess a fee of $0.96 per CD and/or DVD for preproduction if
the Township of Mantua must supply the audiotape and no fee if the
requestor supplies the audiotape.
[Added 12-5-2011 by Ord. No. O-16-2011]
A. In accordance
with N.J.S.A. 54:5-54, the Tax Collector shall provide to any party
entitled to redeem a certificate pursuant to this section, N.J.S.A.
54:5-54, two calculations of the amount required for redemptions within
a calendar year at no cost. For each subsequent calculation requested
from the Tax Collector there shall be a fee of $50. A request for
a redemption calculation shall be made in writing to the Tax Collector.
B. In accordance
with N.J.S.A. 54:5-97.1, the Tax Collector may charge a lien-holder
of a tax lien $50 for the calculation of the amount due to redeem
the tax lien as required pursuant to N.J.S.A. 54:5-97.1. Any request
for a redemption calculation shall specify the date to be used for
the calculation, which shall be the date of the notice. Neither the
Tax Collector nor the Township of Mantua shall be liable for an incorrect
calculation. The fee paid to the Township of Mantua shall not become
part of the lien and shall not be passed to any party entitled to
redeem pursuant to N.J.S.A. 54:5-54.