The City of Hackensack ("City") hereby creates a City Public
Records Policy governing public records as determined by the Open
Public Records Act (OPRA), N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 et seq. Nothing in this
chapter shall require the certification, reproduction, or issuance
of any copy of any record unless said record is a public record.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
PUBLIC RECORD
A.
Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1.1, "government record," hereinafter
"public record," means any paper, written or printed book, document,
drawing, map, plan, photograph, microfilm, data-processed or image-processed
document, information stored or maintained electronically or by sound
recording or in a similar device, or any copy thereof, that has been
made, maintained, received, or kept on file in the course of official
business by any officer, commission, agency or authority of the City
or of any political subdivision thereof.
B.
"Public record" does not mean:
(1)
Records of a personal nature regarding City officials, employees
and/or other applicable individuals;
(2)
Medical records of City officials, employees and/or other applicable
individuals;
(3)
All records exempted by state and/or federal statutes, rules
and/or regulations;
(4)
All records exempted by presidential and/or gubernatorial executive
order;
(5)
Confidential police investigation reports;
(6)
Work product or notes of City officials/employees;
(7)
Council closed-session minutes involving personnel matters.
Council open-session minutes shall not be considered public records
until such time as they are approved by the City Council. Council
closed-session minutes, other than involving personnel matters, shall
not be considered public records until such time as they are approved
by the City Council and the matter(s) in question have been concluded
pursuant to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 10:4-6 et seq. A report prepared
for review by the Mayor and City Council shall not be deemed a public
record until at least seven calendar days after disbursement of the
report by the City Clerk to the Mayor and Council or the next Council
meeting, whichever is later; and
(8)
All records which are not included in the definition of "government
records" and are deemed to be confidential pursuant to N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1
et seq., where applicable.
Not all requests for public records do, in fact, lead to the
copying, review and/or release of such records. A public record may
be a public record under common law but may not be a public record
under N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 et seq., or vice versa, or it may be or may
not be a public record under any other legal statute, rules, regulation
and/or court decision. The City Clerk shall seek the opinion of the
designated City Attorney as to whether or not a record is public if
there is any question as to its potential copying, review, and/or
release. The City Clerk's actions on this type of matter shall
be guided by such legal opinion.
Requestors denied access to records may either file a complaint
in Superior Court within 45 days of denial of access or file a complaint
with the Government Records Council at any time after access has been
denied. An appeal may be filed with either, but not both.
Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 47:1A-11, any public official, employee,
or custodian who knowingly and willfully violates OPRA and unreasonably
denies access to records will be personally fined $1,000. This fine
cannot be paid by the City or agency.