Township of Mount Holly, NJ Chapter 40 Public Records

[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Council of the Township of Mount Holly 8-9-2004 by Ord. No. 2004-13. Amendments noted where applicable.]

§ 40-1 Requests for reproduction of public records; time; appeals.

A. Any person seeking the reproduction of public records, documents or other information as contemplated by this chapter shall submit his or her request, in writing, on a form prescribed by the Township Clerk, who is hereby designated as the custodian of records in accordance with N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1.1. All requests will be handled in accordance with N.J. S.A. 47:1A-1 et seq.

B. Prior to commencing with the reproduction of said public records and/or documents, the Township Clerk shall first estimate the number of pages or other formats involved and provide the requesting party with a written estimate of the costs of reproduction. No copying of any document shall be undertaken without the requesting party first having provided, by check or cash, the funds so estimated as necessary for that reproduction. In the event that the photocopying or other reproduction charges exceed the amount estimated, the requesting party shall be required to pay the difference. Applicable postage shall be added for any and all records requested by mail.

C. Time for compliance. Unless a shorter time period is otherwise provided by statute, regulation or executive order, the Clerk shall grant access to a government record or deny a request for access to a 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 that the 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 to provide name, address or telephone number or other means of contacting the requestor, the Clerk shall not be required to respond until the requestor reappears before the Clerk seeking a response to the original request. If the government record is in storage or archived, the requestor shall be so advised within seven business days after the Clerk receives the request. The requestor shall be advised by the Clerk when the record can be made available. If the record is not made available by that time, access shall be deemed denied.

D. Appeals procedure. The Clerk shall post prominently in public view, in or adjacent to the Clerk's office, 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 and the procedures by which an appeal may be filed.

§ 40-2 Fees for reproduction of standard size public records.

[Amended 7-26-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-07]

The Township, except as otherwise provided by law or regulation, shall be entitled to charge and collect a fee for the reproduction of copies of public records embodied in the form of printed matter a fee of $0.05 per page for standard letter size documents and $0.07 per page for standard legal size documents unless the Township can demonstrate that the actual cost for duplicating exceeds these rates in which case that actual cost may be charged. Actual cost shall be the cost of materials and supplies used to make the copies but shall not include the cost of labor and other overhead expenses. Nevertheless, in circumstances permitted by N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5c, a special service charge may be assessed as provided for in § 40-3. Access to electronic records and nonprinted materials shall be provided free of charge, but the Township shall charge the actual cost of any needed supplies such as computer disks. Written police accident reports, which are requested other than in person, shall be charged an additional fee of $5 for administrative costs as permitted by N.J.S.A. 39:4-131.

§ 40-3 Reproduction of nonstandard size public records; special service charge.

For the following items where, due to the nature, format, manner of collation or volume of a government record, the record cannot be reproduced by ordinary document copying equipment in ordinary business sizes, the Township shall charge its actual direct cost. In addition, and in appropriate circumstances, the Township may collect a special service charge as permitted by N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5c. The special service charge shall be imposed, in addition to the actual cost of duplicating the record, where the nature, 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.