[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council of the Borough of Maywood 6-24-2025 by Ord. No. 9-25. Amendments noted where applicable.]
The Borough recognizes the importance of the rights guaranteed under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution and Article I Section 6 of the New Jersey Constitution.
The Borough of Maywood acknowledges that as a matter of public policy, the rights afforded by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution and Article I Section 6 of the New Jersey Constitution are not unlimited.
The rights afforded by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution and Article I Section 6 of the New Jersey Constitution are subject to reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions.
The Borough of Maywood officials and employees have a responsibility to maintain and safeguard public records that consist of confidential information.
To adequately comply with the New Jersey Open Public Records Act, N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1, and to comply with the statutorily defined responsibilities, the maintenance and custody of specific records are required.
Municipal officials assigned this responsibility include, but are not limited to; the Borough Clerk, Borough Registrar, Police Chief, Library Director, Chief Financial Officer, Tax Collector, Tax Assessor, Borough Court Administrator, Borough Prosecutor, Public Defender, Borough Court Judge, Construction Official, Superintendent of Public Works, Fire Chief, Fire Official, Board of Health, and the Borough Administrator.
Records, reports, documents and information in municipal offices may not be available for immediate public view since they may contain personal information, phone numbers social security numbers, dates of birth and other confidential information.
Securing these records maintains the integrity of this information and when an Open Public Records Act request is received, and it is determined that a requestor is entitled to the records, the records can be released individually and redacted as required by law.
It is not expected that Borough employees physically intervene to protect a record, and creating secure areas with clear signage will help deter persons from collecting records which they are not entitled to receive without following the process required by the Open Public Records Act.
For the exception of public reception spaces, the Borough Office areas in the Maywood Police Department & Maywood Borough Hall: 15 Park Avenue; Department of Public Works & Garages: 205 East Hunter Avenue; Fire Headquarters: 15 Park Avenue, 30 West Hunter Avenue; Maywood Library: 459 Maywood Avenue; Senior Recreation Center: 145 West Magnolia Avenue; Maywood Ambulance Building: 15 Park Avenue; have been secured and such areas and offices are not open to the public for the purpose of protecting documents, digital data and other written, copied or printed materials that are not subject to the Open Public Records Act, which may include, but are not limited to, personally identifiable information that is protected by the Statutes of the State of New Jersey and the Federal laws of the United States.
The Borough of Maywood shall be required to post signs outside of offices which read the following but not limited to the following wording, "Restricted Area," "Authorized Employees Only," "Recording, Videorecording or Photography is Strictly Prohibited." "Violators are Subject to Criminal Prosecution by Borough Ordinance #9-25." Any variation of the above language shall all include, "Violators are Subject to Criminal Prosecution."