Borough of Folsom, NJ Records

All requests for records shall be made through the Borough Clerk/Municipal Administrator's office on a form approved by the Borough Clerk/Municipal Administrator. The Borough Clerk/Municipal Administrator is designated as the custodian of records for the Borough. No request for records shall be honored without a properly completed form, except for document requests by the Mayor and/or Borough Council, the Borough Attorney and tax record cards requested by taxpayers of the Tax Assessor, pursuant to pending Atlantic County Board of Taxation or New Jersey State Court appeal(s).

§ 53-3 Depository of requests.

All requests for public records directed to department heads or other Borough officials/employees shall be directed to the Borough Clerk/Municipal Administrator's Office, which will serve as the depository of such requests and the dissemination of said forms to obtain public records, not within the Clerk/Municipal Administrator's control/possession.

§ 53-4 Time limit to respond to request.

Upon receipt of a request for records, if said records are public, the Borough shall honor such request 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. If the record is in storage or archived, the requestor shall be advised within seven business days after receipt of the request and shall be advised when the record can be made available.

§ 53-5 Appeals procedure to be posted.

The Clerk/Municipal Administrator shall post prominently in public view 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 by any person for inspection, examination, or copying or for purchase of copies thereof and the procedure by which an appeal may be filed.

§ 53-6 Inability to comply with request.

If the Clerk/Municipal Administrator is unable to comply with a request for access, the Clerk/Municipal Administrator shall indicate the specific basis therefor on the request form and promptly return it to the requestor. If it is asserted that a part of a particular record is exempt from public assess, the Clerk/Municipal Administrator shall delete 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. If the record requested is temporarily unavailable because it is in storage or archived, the Clerk/Municipal Administrator shall so advise the requestor and shall make arrangements to promptly make available a copy of the record. If a request for access would substantially disturb operations, the Clerk/Municipal Administrator may deny access to the record after attempting to reach a reasonable solution with the requestor that accommodates the interest of the requestor and the Borough.

§ 53-7 Costs for records.

All requests for records shall, except for requests by Borough employees/officials, be subject to copying costs in accordance with N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5.

§ 53-8 Records not available to public.

The following records or types of records which are not public and shall not be made available to the public include, but are not limited to, the following:

Records of a personal nature regarding Borough officials, employees and/or other applicable individuals.

Medical records.

All records exempted by state and/or federal statutes, rules and/or regulations.

All records exempted by presidential and/or gubernatorial executive order.

All records which are not included in the definition of "public records" pursuant to N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 et seq., where applicable.

Confidential police investigation reports.

Work product or notes of Borough officials/employees.

Council closed sessions minutes involving personnel matters. Council open session minutes shall not be considered public records until such time as they are approved by the Borough Council and the matter(s) in questions have been concluded pursuant to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 10:4-6 et seq. A report prepared for review by the Mayor and Borough Council shall not be deemed a public record until at least seven calendar days after disbursement of the report by the Borough Clerk/Municipal Administrator to the Mayor and Council or the next Council meeting, whichever is later.

All records deemed confidential under N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1.1.

§ 53-9 Determination of whether records are public records.

Not all requests for records do, in fact, lead to the copying, reviewing and/or release of such records. A record may be a public record under common law, but may not be a public record under the Open Public Records Law (N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 et seq.) or it may be or may not be a public record under any other legal statute, rules, regulations and/or court decisions. The Borough Clerk/Municipal Administrator shall seek the opinion of the Borough Attorney as to whether or not a record is public if there is any question as to its release. The Borough Clerk/Municipal Administrator's actions on this type of matter shall be guided by such legal opinion.

Article II Fees

[Adopted 5-20-2004 by Ord. No. 11-2004]

§ 53-10 Fees for Code or Zoning Books.

Any person shall have the right, in person, to purchase copies of the following:

Code Book (in its entirety): $150.

Zoning Book: $40.

§ 53-11 Copies of public records.

Any person shall have the right to purchase copies of public records upon the payment of the fees, which shall be based upon the total number of pages thereof to be purchased by state statute:

Number of Pages	Fee Per Page
First page to 10^th page	$0.75
11^th page to 20^th page	$0.50
All pages over 20	$0.25

§ 53-12 Postage.

Postage fees will be charged in the event a request is made to mail a copy.

§ 53-13 Administrative costs.

If copies of reports are requested other than in person, an additional fee of $5 for the first three pages and $1 per page thereafter shall be added to cover the administrative costs of such report.

§ 53-14 Exemptions.

The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to the copying of any records for the official and exclusive use of the state, or any political subdivision thereof, or by any public board, body, commission or authority created pursuant to law by the state or any of its political subdivisions.

§ 53-15 Fees for vital records.

[Added 3-9-2005 by Ord. No. 06-2005; amended 12-13-2006 by Ord. No. 16-2006]

The fee for certified, duplicate or correction copies of certificates for all vital records, birth, death, marriage and domestic partnership is $10.