[Adopted 5-20-2003 by Ord. No. 03-9; amended in its entirety 12-21-2004 by Ord. No. 04-41]
This article shall be known as the "Access to Public Records Ordinance" of the Township of Pohatcong.
The Access to Public Records Ordinance is hereby created pursuant to N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 et seq.
The Township Clerk is hereby designated the custodian of all pubic records maintained by the Township and shall act in this capacity on behalf of the Township.
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.
"Public records" shall mean all government records unless said records fall within the following list of exempted records which shall be prohibited from disclosure:
A. 
Interagency or intra-agency advisory, consultative or deliberative material.
B. 
Information received by a member of the State Senate or Assembly regarding a constituent.
C. 
Memoranda, letters, notes, reports and any other communication prepared for the use of a member of the State Senate or Assembly.
D. 
Photographs, negatives and copies thereof or videotapes, of a decedent relating to a post mortem examination or autopsy subject to the exceptions set forth by statute.
E. 
Records maintained by a law enforcement agency that are not required by law to be made and which pertain to a criminal investigation or related civil enforcement proceedings subject to three exceptions set forth by statute.
F. 
Records held by a victims' rights organization, such as a domestic violence shelter, pertaining to the victim of a crime, except that the victim may have access to his/her own records.
G. 
Trade secrets; proprietary commercial or financial information. This includes data processing software obtained pursuant to a licensing agreement prohibiting disclosure.
H. 
Records within the attorney-client privilege.
I. 
Administrative or technical information regarding computer hardware, software and networks which, if disclosed, would jeopardize computer security.
J. 
Buildings and facilities emergency procedures and security information.
K. 
Security and surveillance measures which, if disclosed, would create safety risks for persons, property, electronic data or software.
L. 
Information that would give an advantage to competitors or bidders.
M. 
Information pertaining to sexual harassment complaints filed with public employers.
N. 
Information pertaining to any grievance.
O. 
Information pertaining to collective negotiations, including documents containing negotiating strategies.
P. 
Communications with the public agency's insurance carrier, administrative service organization or risk management office.
Q. 
Information to be kept confidential pursuant to court order.
R. 
The portion of any document disclosing social security, credit card, unlisted phone or driver license numbers subject to the exceptions set forth by statute.
S. 
Various records of public institutions of higher education as set forth by statute.
T. 
Biotechnology; trade secrets as restricted by federal law.
U. 
Personal information regarding the victim of a crime when the information is being sought by the convict who wronged the victim or by anonymous request.
V. 
Records of an investigation in progress where release is inimical to the public interest subject to the exceptions set forth by statute.
W. 
Files maintained by the Office of the Public Defender that relate to the handling of a case.
X. 
Records heretofore exempt from disclosure under any other statute, resolution of either or both houses of the Legislature; regulation promulgated under authority of any statute or Executive Order; Executive Order; Rules of Court or federal law, regulation or order.
Y. 
Records heretofore exempt from disclosure pursuant to any executive or legislative privilege or grant of confidentiality established by State Constitution, statute, court rule or case law.
Z. 
Personnel and pension records, including records relating to grievances filed by or against an individual subject to the exceptions set forth by statute.
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 7-20-2010 by Ord. No. 10-8]
A. 
Reproduced paper copies for letter sized pages and smaller shall be provided at $0.05 per page.
B. 
Reproduced paper copies for legal sized pages and larger shall be provided at $0.07 per page (oversized documents requested to be reproduced in original size will be billed at the actual out-of-pocket cost to the Township to have the document reproduced by an outside service and/or the Township’s professional, as appropriate).
C. 
Audio tapes, CDs, and other nonpaper digital media shall be billed at actual cost.
D. 
There shall be no charge for e-mailed or faxed records provided the requested records can be delivered in that format without modification or damage.
A. 
All requests for public records shall be submitted on a form maintained in the office of the Township Clerk. The Township Clerk may require a deposit against costs for reproducing the documents sought through an anonymous request whenever the Township Clerk anticipates that the information thus requested will cost in excess of $5 to reproduce.
B. 
The form shall be hand-delivered, mailed, transmitted electronically or otherwise conveyed to the Township Clerk. If the Township Clerk is unable to promptly comply with the request, the Township Clerk shall sign and date the form, indicate the specific basis for denying immediate access on the request form and promptly return it to the requestor.
C. 
If a portion of a record is not subject to access, the Township Clerk shall delete or excise from a copy of any record that portion which is exempt from access.
D. 
If a record is in storage or temporarily unavailable at the time of the request, the Township Clerk shall make arrangements to obtain a copy of the record and promptly supply it to the requestor.
E. 
If production of a record would substantially disrupt the municipality's operations, the Township Clerk may deny access after attempting to reach a reasonable solution with the requestor to accommodate the needs of the requestor and the municipality.
F. 
Any officer or employee of the Township who receives a request for access to a government record shall forward the request to the Township Clerk or direct the requestor to the Township Clerk.
G. 
The Township Clerk shall grant access to a government record or deny a request for access to a government record as soon as possible, but not later than seven business days after receiving the request, provided the record is currently available and not in storage or archived, in which case notice of same will be provided to the requestor within the same time period. Failure to respond within seven days will be deemed a denial of the request unless there is no way to communicate with the requestor.