It is the policy of the Borough of Metuchen
that public records requested by members of the public be made available
at the earliest reasonable time consistent with New Jersey state law.
The office of the Borough Clerk shall be the conduit for all such
requests.
The Borough Clerk shall adopt a form for the
use of any person who requests access to a government record. The
form shall request name, address, phone number and a brief description
of the government record sought. The form shall also include a space
for the Borough Clerk to indicate which record will be made available,
when the record will be available and the fees charged. The form shall
also include the following:
A. Specific directions and procedures for requesting
a record;
B. A statement as to whether prepayment of fees or a
deposit is required;
C. The time period in which the Borough of Metuchen is
required by P.L. 1963, c. 73 (N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 et seq.) as amended
and supplemented to make the record available;
D. A statement of the requestor' s right to challenge
the decision by the public agency to deny access and the procedure
for filing an appeal;
E. Space for the Borough Clerk or custodian of records
to list reasons if a request is denied in whole or in part;
F. Space for the requestor to sign and date the form;
and
G. Space for the Borough Clerk to sign and date the form
if the request is fulfilled or denied.
[Amended 10-4-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-13]
Except as otherwise provided by law or regulation,
the fee assessed for the duplication of a government record embodied
in the form of printed matter shall be $0.05 per letter-size page
or smaller, and $0.07 per legal-size page or larger. If a public agency
can demonstrate that its actual costs for duplication of a government
record exceed the foregoing rates, the public agency shall be permitted
to charge the actual cost of duplicating the record. The actual cost
of duplicating the record, upon which all copy fees are based, shall
be the cost of materials and supplies used to make a copy of the record,
but shall not include the cost of labor or other overhead expenses
associated with making the copy except as provided. Access to electronic
records and nonprinted materials shall be provided free of charge,
but the public agency may charge for the actual costs of any needed
supplies such as computer discs.