Township of Chesterfield, NJ Chapter 154 Records, Public

[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Committee of the Township of Chesterfield 7-12-1990 by Ord. No. 1990-11. Amendments noted where applicable.]

GENERAL REFERENCES

Fees — See Ch. 110.

§ 154-1 Designation of records custodian.

All requests for the obtainment of copies of public records, documents and information shall be made to the Municipal Clerk of the Township of Chesterfield. The Municipal Clerk shall be responsible for arranging for the obtainment of the requested public records, documents and information from the appropriate municipal personnel who are responsible for maintaining said documents and/or who have the most access to the obtainment of said records. The Municipal Clerk shall arrange for the photocopying or reproduction of the requested records, documents and information either by undertaking the process herself or designating another municipal employee to do so; and the Municipal Clerk shall be solely responsible for the dissemination and distribution of said records. No other municipal employee, except as expressly authorized by the governing body through regulation, resolution, rule or ordinance, shall be permitted to release said records to the public.

§ 154-2 Schedule of Administrative Fees.

[Amended 4-27-2000 by Ord. No. 2000-5; 12-9-2004 by Ord. No. 2004-16; 5-10-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-10; 3-25-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-4]

A. The schedule of administrative fees is hereby adopted for the reproduction of public records in and by the Township of Chesterfield as set forth in § 110-154.

B. Application for public records; payment of estimated fee in advance.

(1) Except as otherwise provided by law or regulation, the fee assessed for the duplication of a government record embodied in the form of printed matter shall be $0.05 per letter size or smaller, and $0.07 per legal size or larger, unless the Township can demonstrate that its actual cost for duplication of a government record exceeds the foregoing rates. If the actual cost exceeds the foregoing rates, the Township shall be entitled to charge the actual costs. To the extent that the New Jersey Legislature may modify or amend the legislation establishing the fees set forth herein, this subsection shall be amended simultaneously and without further action to reflect the fees authorized by the New Jersey State Legislature. Nevertheless, in circumstances permitted by N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5c, a special service charge may also be assessed in accordance with § 154-2B(2) below.

[Amended 2-24-2011 by Ord. No. 2011-5]

(2) The custodian shall have the right to require an advance payment prior to undertaking the reproduction and/or research requested by the citizen, which advance fee shall be based upon an estimate of the number of hours anticipated by the custodian to accomplish the requested task. In the event that the amount of time and/or cost of photocopying exceeds the amount paid in advance, then the citizen shall be required to pay the balance before receiving the copies of the documents requested. In the event that the amount paid in advance exceeds the amount actually required to accomplish the task, then the township shall refund the difference.

§ 154-3 Violation and penalties.

A. Any person found guilty of violating the provisions of this chapter shall be subjected to a fine of not less than $100 or not more than $1,000.

B. Nothing herein contained shall preclude the governing body from taking disciplinary or administrative action against any employee found by a preponderance of evidence to have violated this chapter.

C. Remedies. Violations and penalties contained in this chapter are separate and distinct. Any employee who violates the terms may be subject to both types of punishment described above.