[Ord. No. 2005:22]
The purpose of this Article is to provide a procedure for the
production of public records as defined by the laws of this State,
common law or such other records as may be ordered produced by order
of the court.
[Ord. No. 2005:22]
a.
All requests for public records shall be made in writing to the Borough
Clerk, except for tax records. Requests for tax records shall be made
in writing to the Borough Tax Assessor.
b.
The public business of the Borough shall take precedence over a record
request, especially where such request is a broad or far-reaching
information request.
[Ord. No. 2005:22]
a.
Upon request to view records, if said records are public and on site,
the Borough will endeavor to honor such request within three business
days.
b.
Upon request for photocopies of records, if such records are public,
and either off-site and/or more than 100 pages, the Borough will endeavor
to honor such request within seven business days from receipt of the
written request and a deposit in the approximate amount of the cost
for copying said records.
c.
Upon request for photocopies of records, if such records are public,
and either off-site and/or more than 100 pages, the Borough will endeavor
to honor such request within 10 calendar days from receipt of the
written request and a deposit in the approximate amount of the cost
for copying said records.
d.
Upon request for minutes of meetings or other taped proceedings,
if such minutes are public records, the Borough will endeavor to honor
such request within 30 business days from the receipt of the written
request or date of the meeting (whichever is greater) and a deposit
in the approximate amount of the cost of the transcript together with
any copying charges.
[Ord. No. 2005:22]
[Ord. No. 2005:22]
[Ord. No. 2005:22]
The following records, or types of records, which are not public
and shall not be made available to the public are, but are not limited
to, the following:
a.
Records of a personal nature regarding Borough officials, employees
and/or other applicable individuals.
b.
Medical records of Borough officials, employees and/or other applicable
officials.
c.
All records exempted by State and/or Federal statutes, rules and/or
regulations.
d.
All records exempted by Presidential and/or gubernatorial order.
e.
All records which are not included in the definition of "public records"
pursuant to N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 et seq. where applicable.
f.
Confidential police investigation reports.
g.
Work product or notes of Borough officials/employees.
h.
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 Borough Council. Council closed
session minutes, other than those involving personnel matters, shall
not be considered public records until such time as they are approved
by the Borough 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 Council shall not be deemed a public record
until at least seven calendar days after disbursement of the report
by the Borough Clerk to the Mayor and Council or the next Council
meeting, whichever is later.
[Ord. No. 2005:22]
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 the Right to Know Law, 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 statute,
rule, regulations and/or court decision. The Borough Clerk shall seek
the opinion of the Borough 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 Borough Clerk's actions in this regard shall by
guided be such legal opinion.
[Ord. No. 2005:22]
Not all requests for records can be readily accessible for inspection,
copying or examination by its citizens because the record request
may be voluminous or require an extraordinary expenditure of time
or effort by Borough employees. In such instances, the following shall
apply:
a.
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 a law respecting public access to government
records in compliance with N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 et seq. 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, which determination
shall be made at the discretion of the Borough Clerk, a special service
charge shall be imposed, which shall be $40 per hour, plus the actual
direct cost of providing the copy or copies.
b.
In the event said public records are requested and necessitate the
location and mailing of the same to the party requesting said public
records, then the additional fees therefor shall be as follows:
1.
Mailing charge: $20.
2.
Search of Borough Records On-Site: $40 per hour, 1/2 hour minimum.
3.
Search of Borough Records Archival: $40 per hour, 1/2 hour minimum.
In addition, any set fee imposed by the record retaining site for
retrieval and transport of record to the office of the Municipal Clerk
for the purpose of reproduction.
c.
Estimate of Special Handling Costs; Deposits for Fees.
1.
Where the fee for copying or special handling is estimated to be
in excess of $5, the requestor shall deposit the estimated cost prior
to the making of copies or execution of search by Borough personnel.
2.
Cash, certified check or bank check shall be the only acceptable
form of payment for any costs or estimated fees deposit over $25.
d.
The requestor shall have the opportunity to review and object to
the estimated charge prior to it being incurred. The Borough Clerk
shall seek the opinion of the Borough Attorney if the fee is disputed
and shall be guided by such legal opinion.
