[Adopted 12-15-2004 by Ord. No. 2004-19]
This article shall be known as the "Access to
Public Records Ordinance" of the Township of Oxford.
This article is hereby created pursuant to N.J.S.A.
47:1A-1 et seq.
The Township Clerk is hereby designated the
custodian of all public 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.
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
All government records, unless said records fall within the
following list of exempted records which shall be prohibited from
disclosure:
Interagency or intra-agency advisory, consultative
or deliberative material.
Information received by a member of the State
Senate or Assembly regarding a constituent.
Memoranda, letters, notes, reports and any other
communication prepared for the use of a member of the State Senate
or Assembly.
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.
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
the exceptions set forth by statute.
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.
Trade secrets; proprietary commercial or financial
information. This includes data processing software obtained pursuant
to a licensing agreement prohibiting disclosure.
Records within the attorney-client privilege.
Administrative or technical information regarding
computer hardware, software and networks which, if disclosed, would
jeopardize computer security.
Buildings and facilities emergency procedures
and security information.
Security and surveillance measures which, if
disclosed, would create safety risks for persons, property, electronic
data or software.
Information that would give an advantage to
competitors or bidders.
Information pertaining to sexual harassment
complaints filed with public employers.
Information pertaining to any grievance.
Information pertaining to collective negotiations,
including documents containing negotiating strategies.
Communications with the public agency's insurance
carrier, administrative service organizations or risk management office.
Information to be kept confidential pursuant
to court order.
The portion of any document disclosing social
security, credit card, unlisted phone or driver's license numbers,
subject to the exceptions set forth by statute.
Various records of public institutions of higher
education, as set forth by statute.
Biotechnology: trade secrets as restricted by
federal law.
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.
Records of an investigation in progress where
release is inimical to the public interest, subject to the exceptions
set forth by statute.
Files maintained by the Office of the Public
Defender that relate to the handling of a case.
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 the court or federal law, regulation
or order.
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.
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.
B.
In the event that the nature, format, manner of collation
or volume of a public record embodied in the form of print matter
to be inspected, examined, or copied 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, the Township of Oxford may charge, in addition
to the actual cost of duplicating the record, a special service charge
equal to the sum of $45 per hour for each hour expended by the custodian
or his or her designee.
C.
The custodian shall provide a copy of a record 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 custodian shall convert the record to the medium requested
or provide a copy in some other meaningful medium. The Township may
charge a special charge for reproducing a record in a medium which
requires extensive use of information technology, labor cost for personnel
providing the service and any other costs that are attributable to
the Township for the programming, clerical, and supervisory assistance
required in processing a request.
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.
A 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 that 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.
