[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Committee
of the Township of Harmony 12-23-2002 by Ord. No. 02-14 (Ch. 31 of the 1990
Code). Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Amended 6-9-2005 by Ord. No. 05-8]
The Township Clerk is hereby designated the
Custodian of Records for all public records maintained by the Township
and shall act in this capacity on behalf of the Township.
[Amended 6-9-2005 by Ord. No. 05-8]
The Township shall make all public records accessible
to the citizens of this state in accordance with the procedures and
definitions set forth in N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 et seq., unless said records
are exempt from inspection as set forth in said statute.
[Amended 6-9-2005 by Ord. No. 05-8]
The Custodian of Records shall permit a public
record to be inspected, examined and copied by any person during regular
business hours of the Township Clerk and shall be permitted to redact
same in accordance with the governing statute.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
A. A copy or copies of a government
record may be purchased by any person upon payment of the fee prescribed
by law or regulation. Except as otherwise provided by law or regulation,
the fee assessed for the duplication of a government record embodied
in the form of printed matter shall be $0.05 per letter-size page
or smaller and $0.07 per legal-size page.
B. 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 requestor shall have the opportunity to review and object
to the special service charge prior to it being incurred.
The Municipal Clerk 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 Municipal
Clerk 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 the service, that is actually incurred by the
Township or attributable to the Township for the programming, clerical,
and supervisory assistance required, or both.
Ordinarily, immediate access shall be granted
to budgets, bills, vouchers, contracts, including collective negotiations
agreements and individual employment contracts, and public employee
salary and overtime information.
A. The Municipal Clerk
of the Township shall adopt a form for the use of any person who requests
access to a record held or controlled by the Township. The form shall
provide space for the name, address, and phone number of the requestor
and a brief description of the Township record sought. The form shall
include space for the Municipal Clerk to indicate which record will
be made available, when the record will be available, and the fees
to be charged. The form shall also include the following:
(1) Specific directions
and procedures for requesting a record;
(2) A statement
as to whether prepayment of fees or a deposit is required;
(3) The time period
within which the Township is required by P.L. 1963, c. 73 (N.J.S.A.
47:1A-1 et seq.), as amended and supplemented, to make the record
available;
(4) A statement
of the requestor's right to challenge a decision by the Township to
deny access and the procedure for filing an appeal;
(5) Space for the
Municipal Clerk to list reasons if a request is denied in whole or
in part;
(6) Space for the
requestor to sign and date the form;
(7) Space for the
Municipal Clerk to sign and date the form if the request is fulfilled
or denied.
B. The Municipal Clerk
may require a deposit against costs for reproducing documents sought
through an anonymous request whenever the Municipal Clerk anticipates
that the information thus requested will cost in excess of $5 to reproduce.
A request or access to a Township record shall
be in writing and hand-delivered, mailed, transmitted electronically,
or otherwise conveyed to the Municipal Clerk. The Municipal Clerk
shall promptly comply with a request to inspect, examine, copy, or
provide a copy of a Township record. If the Municipal Clerk is unable
to comply with a request for access, the Municipal Clerk shall indicate
the specific basis therefor on the request form and promptly return
it to the requestor. The Municipal Clerk shall sign and date the form
and provide the requestor with a copy thereof. If the Municipal Clerk
of a government record asserts that part of a particular record is
exempt from public access pursuant to P.L. 1963, c. 73 (N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1
et seq.), as amended and supplemented, the Municipal Clerk shall delete
or excise from a copy of the record that portion which the Municipal
Clerk asserts is exempt from access and shall promptly permit access
to the remainder of the record. If the Township Record requested is
temporarily unavailable because it is in use or in storage, the Municipal
Clerk shall so advise the requestor and shall make arrangements to
promptly make available a copy of the record. If a request for access
to a Township record would substantially disrupt Township operations,
the Municipal 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 Township. Any officer or employee
of the Township who receives a request for access to a Township record
shall forward the request to the Municipal Clerk or direct the requestor
to the Municipal Clerk.
Unless a shorter time period is otherwise provided
by statute, regulation, or executive order, the Municipal Clerk shall
grant access to a Township record or deny a request for access to
a Township 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 the Municipal
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 provide a name, address, or telephone
number, or other means of contacting the requestor, the Municipal
Clerk shall not be required to respond until the requestor reappears
before the Municipal Clerk seeking a response to the original request.
If the Township record is in storage or archived, the requestor shall
be so advised within seven business days after the custodian receives
the request. The requestor shall be advised by the Municipal Clerk
when the record can be made available. If the record is not made available
by that time, access shall be deemed denied.
A party that is aggrieved by the denial of or
failure to provide access to a Township record for inspection, examination,
or copying, or for purchase of copies thereof, may institute a proceeding
to challenge the Municipal Clerk's decision by filing an action in
the Superior Court, Law Division, Warren County. In lieu of filing
an action in Superior Court, the aggrieved person may file a complaint
with the Government Records Council, in the Department of Community
Affairs. In any such proceeding, the Township shall have the burden
of proving that the denial of access is authorized by law.