[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council of the Borough
of Montvale as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
[Adopted 2-14-2006 by Ord. No. 2006-1248 (Ch. 38, Art. V, of the 1966 Code)]
It is hereby declared to be the public policy
of this Borough to recognize the public's general right to know pursuant
to the Open Public Records Act (N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 et seq.). All records
kept in the course of official duties by any Borough officer or employee
shall be deemed to be "government records," as that term is defined
by N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1.1, and such records shall be subject to inspection
by the public unless exempt under the statute or other regulation,
common law practice, executive order of the Governor, Rules of Court,
federal law or judicial decision.
A.
In accordance with
N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1.1, the Municipal Clerk is designated as the custodian
of the records of the governing body and all records for which a deputy
custodian is not named. The Clerk shall adopt a form for the use of
any person who requests access to a record, and such form shall contain
all of the information required by N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5f.
B.
The Clerk shall
maintain and post for the convenience of the public a list of deputy
records custodians who shall be and hereby are designated as the "custodians"
of the records set opposite their titles for purposes of OPRA compliance.
Wherever this article refers to the "Clerk" or "Municipal Clerk" it
shall be deemed to refer to the custodian or deputy custodian of the
records in question.
|
Officer
|
Records
|
|---|---|
|
Construction Official
|
All records of the Building Department
|
|
Board of Health Secretary
|
All records of Montvale Board of Health
|
|
Planning Board Secretary
|
All records of Montvale Planning Board
|
|
Zoning Board Secretary
|
All records of Montvale Zoning Board
|
|
Montvale Police Administrative Captain
|
All records of Montvale Police Department
|
A.
Any person seeking
to inspect, examine or copy a public record of this municipality shall
make application, in writing, to the custodian or deputy custodian
of records, during regular business hours, on the form provided. All
requests for public records shall be as specific as possible, including
the type of record and date created, if known. If the applicant is
uncertain who the custodian is for the records requested, request
may be made to the Clerk who may forward it to the deputy custodian
for said records, if applicable.
B.
The Municipal Clerk
shall promptly comply with a request to inspect, examine, copy or
provide a copy of a government record. If the Clerk is unable to comply
with a request for access, he or she shall indicate on the request
form the specific basis for such inability to comply and shall promptly
return it to the requestor. The Clerk shall sign and date the form
and provide the requestor with a copy thereof.
C.
In those instances
where the nature of the request or the record itself leads the Municipal
Clerk to doubt whether or not the record is a government record as
defined by law or is a record exempt from disclosure, the Clerk shall
request an opinion from the Municipal Attorney. A copy of the request
form shall be forwarded to the Attorney, who, after review and investigation,
shall issue an opinion and note such opinion on the request form and
promptly return it to the Municipal Clerk.
D.
If any part of
a particular record is exempt from public access pursuant to N.J.S.A.
47:1A-1 et seq., the Clerk shall delete, redact or excise from a copy
of the record that portion which is exempt from access and shall promptly
permit access to the remainder of the record.
E.
If the record requested
is temporarily unavailable because it is in use or in storage, the
Clerk shall so advise the requestor and shall make arrangements to
make a copy of the record available.
F.
If a request for
access to a government record would substantially disrupt municipal
operations, the Clerk may deny access to the record after attempting
to reach a reasonable solution with the requestor that accommodates
the interests of the requestor and the municipality.
G.
As required by
N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5e, immediate access shall be granted for access to
budgets, bills, vouchers, contracts (including collective negotiations
agreements and individual employment contracts), and public salary
and overtime information.
A.
Unless a shorter
time period is otherwise provided by statute, regulation or executive
order, the Clerk shall grant access to a government record or deny
a request for access to a record as soon as possible, but not later
than seven business days after receiving the request, provided that
the record is currently available and not in storage or archived.
In the event that the Clerk fails to respond within seven business
days after receiving a request, the failure to respond shall be deemed
a denial of the request, unless the requestor has elected not to provide
a name, address or telephone number, or other means of contacting
the requestor. If the requestor has elected not to provide a name,
address, or telephone number, or other means of contacting the requestor,
the Clerk shall not be required to respond until the requestor reappears
before the custodian seeking a response to the original request. If
the government record is in storage or archived, the requestor shall
be so advised within seven business days after the Clerk receives
the request.
B.
The requestor shall
be advised by the Clerk when the record can be made available. If
the record is not made available by that time, access shall be deemed
denied.
The Clerk shall post prominently in public view,
in or adjacent to the Clerk's office, a statement that sets forth
in clear, concise and specific terms the right to appeal a denial
of or failure to provide access to a government record and the procedure
by which an appeal may be filed.
A.
Upon the approval
of a request to view, inspect, examine or copy a record, the record
and the requestor shall remain in the presence of the Municipal Clerk
or his or her authorized representative at all times. Under no circumstances
shall any government record be removed from the office where it is
normally kept unless accompanied by the custodian or his or her authorized
representative.
B.
In the event that
the nature of a request to view records requires that the Clerk or
other municipal employee observe or monitor such viewing for a period
of time exceeding one half of an hour, the requestor shall be responsible
for reimbursing the municipality for time spent by the Clerk or other
employee.
Copies of records may be purchased for the fee
prescribed by law or regulation. If a fee is not prescribed by law
or regulation, the fee shall be the actual cost of duplicating the
record; provided, however, that where the actual cost for duplication
of a record exceeds the rates below, the actual cost shall be imposed:
A.
Standard-sized
paper documents:
[Amended 3-26-2013 by Ord. No. 2013-1372]
|
Size
|
Fee
(per page)
|
|---|---|
|
Letter size or smaller
|
$0.05
|
|
Legal size or larger
|
$0.07
|
D.
The furnishing
of any information on a CD-ROM, including of any Mayor and Council,
board or commission meeting recorded in the Borough of Montvale's
Council Chambers on the recording system, shall be at the cost of
$0.36 per CD and $0.32 per CD case.
[Amended 3-26-2013 by Ord. No. 2013-1372]
E.
Police reports.
(2)
Police accident
reports, when copies are requested other than in person: $5, as established
by N.J.S.A. 39:4-131.[1]
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. II)]
[1]
Editor’s Note: Original § 38-31F of the 1966
Code, regarding a fee for police digital imaging recordings, which
immediately followed this subsection, was repealed 3-26-2013 by Ord.
No. 2013-1372.
F.
A special service
charge shall be imposed, in addition to the actual cost of duplicating
the record, where the nature, format, manner of collation or volume
of printed matter is such that it cannot be reproduced by ordinary
document-copying equipment in ordinary business size or where such
record involves an extraordinary expenditure of time and effort to
accommodate the request. The estimated and actual charges shall be
calculated based upon the hourly pay as set forth or determined by
the salary ordinance for the employee performing the work times the
number of hours. The requestor shall have the opportunity to review
and object to the special service charge prior to it being incurred.
G.
Applicable postage
shall be added for any and all records requested by mail. The cost
of standard-sized envelopes shall be $0.25.
[Amended 3-26-2013 by Ord. No. 2013-1372]
H.
A deposit shall
be paid prior to filling any anonymous or out-of-state request where
it is estimated that the information requested will cost in excess
of $5 to reproduce. The amount of the deposit shall equal the total
estimated cost of filling the request.
