[Adopted 9-7-1979 as Ord. No. 23-79
(Ch. 84, Art. I, of the 1974 Code)]
A.
In accordance with the provisions of N.J.S.A. 47:1A-2,[1] all records which are required by law to be made, maintained
or kept on file by any board, department 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 the regular business
hours maintained by the custodian of records. During such regular
business hours and under the supervision of a representative of 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.
[1]
Editor's Note: N.J.S.A. 47:1A-2 was repealed
by L. 2001, c. 404, § 17, eff. 7-7-2002. See now N.J.S.A.
§ 47:1A-5.
B.
Notwithstanding the provisions of Subsection A, where it shall appear that the records which are sought to be examined pertain to an investigation in progress by any board, department 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 board, department or official from opening such record or records for public examination, if not otherwise prohibited by law.
[Amended 7-22-1982 by Ord. No. 20-82; 9-13-1984 by Ord. No. 47-84; 3-10-1988 by Ord. No. 14-88; 4-13-1989 by Ord. No. 18-89; 1-28-1993 by Ord. No. 93-7; 4-22-1993 by Ord. No. 93-32; 7-11-1996 by Ord. No. 96-36; 7-24-1997 by Ord. No. 97-33; 12-22-1998 by Ord. No. 98-46; 8-24-2000 by Ord. No. 2000-45; 2-8-2001 by Ord. No. 01-02; 5-27-2004 by Ord. No. 2004-32; 10-14-2004 by Ord. No. 2004-45A; 2-10-2005 by Ord. No. 2005-03; 10-13-2005 by Ord. No. 05-74; 3-27-2008 by Ord. No. 2008-09; 4-8-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-13; 10-14-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-25; 7-23-2011 by Ord. No.
2011-15]
A.
The following fees shall be charged for copies of public documents
and records:
(1)
Duplicate tax bills: $5 for an initial duplicate copy of a tax bill;
$25 for each subsequent copy of a tax bill for the same tax year requested
by the same person or organization, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 54:4-64.
(2)
Police reports: The fee shall be in accordance with the rates established by N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5, set forth in Subsection A(14) below. For police accident reports not requested in person and not part of municipal court discovery, an additional fee of $5 shall be charged to cover the administrative costs of the report, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 39:4-131.
(3)
Copies of Zoning Ordinance: $35.
(4)
Copies of Site Plan Ordinance: $15.
(5)
Copies of Subdivision Ordinance: $20.
(6)
Duplicate certificate of redemption: $25.
(7)
Copies of Tax Maps and development plans:
(a)
Full size (24 by 36 inches) Tax Maps: first sheet to 10th sheet:
$5 per sheet; all sheets after 10th sheet: $4 per sheet.
(b)
Complete set of full-size Tax Maps: $460 per set.
(c)
Half-size (12 by 18 inches) Tax Map sheets: first sheet through
10th sheet: $2.50 per sheet; all sheets after 10th sheet: $2 per sheet.
(d)
Complete set of half-size sheet Tax Maps: $230.
(e)
For any items listed in Subsection A(7)(a) through (d) above: the cost of postage plus actual cost of stationery-related expenses, if applicable. The requestor shall be advised of such cost in advance of the preparation of the item and shall have the opportunity to review and object to the charge prior to it being incurred.
(8)
Duplicate of certificate of tax sale: $100.
(9)
Copies of Land Development Fees, Escrow Deposits, Inspection Fees
and Land Use Procedure Ordinances: $10.
(10)
Copy of Official Zoning Map: $5.
(11)
Copies of Official Zoning Map of Properties West of the Garden
State Parkway: $15.
(12)
Filing of landlord disclosure statements: $5 per form per property
and tenant change.
(14)
All other documents: Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5, except as
otherwise provided by law or regulation, the fee assessed for the
duplication of a government record embodied in the form of printed
manner shall be $0.05 per letter-size page or smaller and $0.07 per
legal-size page or larger. Access to electronic records and nonprinted
materials shall be provided free of charge, but the Township will
charge for the actual costs of any needed supplies, such as computer
discs.
(15)
Copies of videotapes or audiotapes; review of videotapes or
audiotapes. The Township does not possess equipment with the capability
of reproducing videotapes or audiotapes. Any requestor of a copy of
a videotape or audiotape shall have access to the source videotape
or audiotape at no charge but will be responsible for the reproduction
itself either by use of his or her own equipment to do the same or
by contracting with an outside service to make the copy or copies.
Any requestor may review a videotape or audiotape at no charge.
(16)
In accordance with N.J.S.A. 54:4-54:
(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 redemption 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 lienholder 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 municipality shall be liable for
an incorrect calculation. The fee paid to the municipality shall not
become part of the lien and shall not be passed on to any party entitled
to redeem pursuant to N.J.S.A. 54:5-54.
B.
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 Township may require that the amount
be paid prior to accommodating the request. The requestor shall have
the opportunity to review and object to the charge prior to it being
incurred.
C.
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 Township may require
that the amount be paid prior to accommodating the request. The requestor
shall have the opportunity to review and object to the charge prior
to it being incurred.
All requests to inspect, copy or purchase copies
of public records shall be made in writing to be approved by a department
head or other official charged with the responsibility of maintaining
the records which are the subject of the request. The department head
or other official shall review the request to determine the fee, if
any, to be charged for the request and whether or not the information
may be made available for public inspection.
