[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Committee of the Township of Ocean as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted by Ord. No. 1980-17; amended by Ord. No. 1994-4 (§§ 2-19.1 to 2-19.3 and 2-19.5 of the 1972 Ocean Codified Ordinances)]
[Added by Ord. No. 2002-14]
A. 
Except as otherwise provided by law, all records of the Township shall be available to the public upon written request therefor, which may, but need not, be made on a form provided by the Township, a copy of which is on file at the Township Clerk's office and has been approved by resolution of the Township Committee, and within such response time or times as may be stated thereon and provided by law.
B. 
Such records may be inspected at the principal office of the Township during regular business hours and may be copied, by hand, under the supervision of a representative of the Township. Copies of such records may be purchased upon payment of the following fees:
(1) 
First to 10th page: $0.75 per page.
(2) 
Eleventh to 20th page: $0.50 per page.
(3) 
All pages over 20: $0.25 per page.
C. 
Whenever the nature, format, manner of collation, or volume of a government record embodied in the form of printed matter to be inspected, examined, or copied pursuant to this section is such that the record cannot be reproduced by ordinary document copying equipment in ordinary business size, or involves an extraordinary expenditure of time and effort to accommodate the request, the Township may charge, in addition to the actual cost of duplicating the record, a special service charge that shall be reasonable and shall be based upon the actual direct cost of providing the copy or copies. The requestor shall have the opportunity to review and object to the charge prior to it being incurred.
D. 
The custodian shall permit access to a Township record and provide a copy thereof in the medium requested if the Township maintains the record in that medium. If the Township does not maintain the record in the medium requested, the custodian shall either convert the record to the medium requested or provide a copy in some other meaningful medium. If a request is for a record: in a medium not routinely used by the Township; not routinely developed or maintained by the Township; or requiring a substantial amount of manipulation or programming of information technology, the Township may charge, in addition to the actual cost of duplication, a special charge that shall be reasonable and shall be based on the cost for any extensive use of information technology, or for the labor cost of personnel providing this service, that is actually incurred by the Township or attributable to the Township for the programming, clerical, and supervisory assistance required, or both.
E. 
The disclosure of records, of any investigation in progress, shall be deemed to be inimical to the public interest and the Township and shall not be available for copying nor shall the public have access thereto until the investigation shall have been completed and release of such records has been authorized by resolution of the Township.
F. 
The public shall not have access to the following records:
(1) 
Minutes of all meetings until approved by the Township;
(2) 
Reports, opinions and correspondence between the Township and its attorney or engineer which are subject to review by the Township and/or which are privileged information;
(3) 
Employment records of staff and administrative personnel and any matters which would violate the privacy of such employees.
A. 
In accordance with the provisions of N.J.S.A. 47:1A-2, all records which are required by law to be made, maintained or kept on file by any board, body, agency, department, commission, authority or official of the Township shall be deemed to be public records. Every citizen of the state shall have the right to inspect such records during regular business hours maintained by the custodian of the records. During such regular business hours and under the supervision of a representative or the custodian, every citizen of the state shall also have the right to copy such records, by hand, and to purchase copies of the records. Copies of records shall be made available upon the payment of the price as established by law.
B. 
Notwithstanding the provisions of Subsection A of this section, where it shall appear that the records which are sought to be examined pertain to an investigation in progress by any body, agency, commission, board, authority or official, the right of examination may be denied if the inspection, copying or publication of the records is inimical to the public interest; provided that this provision shall not be construed to prohibit any body, agency, commission, board, authority or official from opening such record or records for public examination if not otherwise prohibited by law.
C. 
Whenever the nature, format, manner of collation or volume of a government record embodied in the form of printed matter to be inspected, examined or copied is such that the record cannot be reproduced by the Township by ordinary document-copying equipment in ordinary business size or involves an extraordinary expenditure of time and effort by the Township to accommodate the request, the Township may charge, in addition to the actual cost of duplicating the record, a special service charge that shall be reasonable and based upon the actual direct cost of providing the copy or copies. The requestor shall have the opportunity to review and object to the charge prior to it being incurred.
[Added 11-10-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-12]
D. 
In the event an extraordinary expenditure of time and effort is needed by the Township to accommodate a request to inspect, in addition to any fees for actual duplication and copying incurred by the requestor under this article, the Township shall assess a special service charge based upon the cost incurred for such extensive use of information technology resources and/or the labor cost of the personnel providing the service that is actually incurred or attributable to the Township for the clerical and supervisory assistance required, or both. The manner by which such special inspection service fee is calculated shall be kept on file with the Township. The requestor shall have the opportunity to review and object to the charge prior to it being incurred.
[Added 11-10-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-12]
[Amended by Ord. No. 1999-16; Ord. No. 2001-30; Ord. No. 2002-2; Ord. No. 2002-32; Ord. No. 2004-12]
A. 
A certified copy of any vital record or certification thereof is $10. Additional certifications or certified copies ordered at the same time are $10 each.
[Amended 3-15-2022 by Ord. No. 2022-5]
B. 
The fees to be charged for copies for public documents and records and the time table for providing the same as well as the procedure for the request for same shall be that as set forth in the following schedule incorporated herein as Schedule A.
C. 
All police records, including all police accident reports which are subject to public inspection or copying, may be purchased upon payment of the following fees:
Schedule A
[Amended 11-10-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-12; 3-15-2022 by Ord. No. 2022-5]
Fees for copies:
1st to 10th page
$0.75 per page
11th to 20th page
$0.50 per page
All pages over 20
$0.25 per page
Copy of meeting minutes:
Township Committee
Fee based on photocopy charge
Land Use Board
Fee based on photocopy charge
Environmental Commission
Fee based on photocopy charge
Economic Development Commission
Fee based on photocopy charge
Open Space Committee
Fee based on photocopy charge
Other
Fee based on photocopy charge
Duplicate recordings of public meetings listed above
$10 per tape times the number of tapes
Basic fees or vital statistics:
Marriage license fee
$28
Domestic partnership
$28
Birth certificate
$28
Death certificate
$28
Certified copy of vital record or certification thereof (birth certificate, death certificate, marriage/domestic partnership)
$10 each
Freon certification
$10 per item
Propane tank
$5 per tank
D. 
Police photographs will be photocopied at the following rates: First page to 10th page, $0.75 per page; 11th page to 20th page, $0.50 per page; all pages over 20, $0.25 per page. If requests are made for duplicate photographs, the actual cost of making the photographs shall be charged.
[Added 11-10-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-12]
E. 
Municipal Court discovery, first page to 10th page: $0.75 per page; 11th page to 20th page: $0.50 per page; all pages over 20: $0.25 per page. Municipal Court discovery sent to requesting party via regular mail will require an additional fee for the actual cost of postage, plus $0.25 for stationery-related expenses. Where the discovery must be obtained from an entity other than the Township, the actual costs paid to the other entity shall be paid by the requestor.
[Added 11-10-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-12]
F. 
The fee for motor vehicle accident reports, statements and investigation reports where a request is made other than in person shall incur an administrative service charge of $5.
[Added 5-20-2020 by Ord. No. 2020-4]
Where the document in question is more than 100 pages in length, the Clerk may permit the person requesting copies to use his/her own copying machine, provided that there is no risk of damage or mutilation of the documents, and it would not be incompatible with the transaction of public business. Such determination shall be completely within the discretion of the Clerk. The fee in such case shall be $15 per day.
[Adopted by Ord. No. 2006-26]
[Amended 3-13-2008 by Ord. No. 2008-06; amended 11-10-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-12]
A. 
Tax Collector's office. Redemption statements: Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 54:5-54, the Tax Collector's Office shall provide to any requestor entitled to redeem a tax sale certificate, two calculations of the amount required for redemption within a calendar year at no cost.
B. 
Thereafter, a fee of $25 for each subsequent calculation requested of the Tax Collector shall be charged to the requestor. A request for a redemption calculation shall be made in writing to the Tax Collector.
The Township agrees to accept electronic receipts in the form of credit card or debit card charges for any and all delinquent local obligations, which is defined as any debt of charge that has been turned over to a municipality for collection for the tax sale process. The credit card or debit charge payment will be accepted by the Township up to but not later than 30 days prior to a tax sale for the obligation.