[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Committee
of the Township of Little Egg Harbor; see Ch. 1, General Provisions,
Art. I. Amendments noted where applicable.]
A.
In accordance with the provisions of N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1
et seq. (the Act), government records shall be readily accessible
for inspection, copying, or examination by the citizens of this state,
with certain exceptions, for the protection of the public interest,
and any limitations in the right of access accorded by the Act as
amended and supplemented shall be construed in favor of the public's
right of access. A "government record" or "record" shall be as defined
within N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1.1.
B.
In accordance with N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1.1, the "custodian
of a government record" or "custodian" shall mean the Municipal Clerk.
The Municipal Clerk may delegate responsibility for handling records
requests for particular departments within the Township to deputy
custodians.
C.
The custodian of a government record shall permit
the record to be inspected, examined, and copied by any person during
regular business hours unless a government record is exempt from public
access by the Act, as amended and supplemented, any other statute,
resolution of either or both houses of the Legislature, regulation
promulgated under the authority of any statute or executive order
of the Governor, executive order of the Governor, Rules of Court,
any federal law, federal regulation, or federal order. A request for
a record must be made on a form adopted by the custodian of the government
record.
D.
Unless a shorter time period is otherwise provided
by statute, regulation, or executive order, a custodian of a government
record 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.
E.
During such regular business hours and under the supervision
of a representative of the custodian, every citizen of the state shall
also have the right to copy such records by hand and to purchase copies
of the records. Copies of records shall be made available upon the
payment of the price established by N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5. The custodian
may require a deposit against costs for reproducing documents sought
whenever the custodian anticipates that the information that is requested
will cost in excess of $5 to reproduce. The actual cost of duplicating
the record upon which all copy fees are based shall be the cost of
materials and supplies used to make a copy of the record, but shall
not include the cost of labor or other overhead expenses associated
with making the copy, except as provided for in N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5(c).
Access to electronic records and non-printed materials shall be provided
free of charge, but Little Egg Harbor Township may charge for the
actual costs of any needed supplies, such as computer disks.
[Amended 6-24-2011 by Ord. No. 2010-15; 11-8-2010 by Ord. No.
2010-19]
[Amended 6-24-2011 by Ord. No. 2010-15; 11-8-2010 by Ord. No.
2010-19]
A.
The fees for copies of government records shall be $0.05 per letter-size
page or smaller, and $0.07 per legal-size page or larger.
B.
Other costs. The following fees shall be charged for copies of government records which do not meet the specifications within § 276-2A:
(1)
Duplicate tax bills: $5 for an initial duplicate copy of a tax bill;
$25 for each subsequent copy of a tax bill for the same tax year requested
by the same person or organization.
(4)
Copies of the Land Development Ordinance and Zoning Ordinance: $50
each or the cost to the Township for purchasing copies of the ordinance
from the Code publisher, whichever is greater.
(5)
Certified copy of disposition of Municipal Court case: $5.
(8)
Police reports: For accident reports not requested in person and
not part of Municipal Court discovery, an additional fee of $5 for
the first three pages and $1 per page thereafter shall be charged
to cover the administrative costs of the report pursuant to N.J.S.A.
39:4-131.
(9)
Little Egg Harbor Township Master Plan: $75.
(10)
Duplicate tax sale certificate: $100.
(11)
Copies of audio cassette, computer diskette or computer compact
disk: actual cost of media.
(12)
Issuance of bid documents/specifications: $50.
(13)
Certificates for redemption: $25.
(14)
Bid specifications prepared by the Township of Little Egg Harbor:
$10.
C.
Whenever the nature, format, manner of collation, or volume of a government record embodied in the form of printed matter to be inspected, examined, or copied is such that the record cannot be reproduced by the Township by ordinary document copying equipment in ordinary business size or involves an extraordinary expenditure of time and effort by the Township to accommodate the request, and a fee is not specified for the particular document or record in § 276-2A above, a special service charge of $25 shall be assessed in addition to the actual cost of duplicating the record.
D.
In the
event an extraordinary expenditure of time and effort is needed by
the Township to accommodate a request to inspect, in addition to any
fees for actual duplication and copying incurred by the requestor
under this chapter, the Township shall assess a special service charge
based upon the cost incurred for such extensive use of information
technology resources and/or the labor cost of the personnel providing
the service that is actually incurred or attributable to the Township
for the clerical and supervisory assistance required, or both. The
manner by which such special inspection service fee is calculated
shall be kept on file with the Township. The requestor shall have
the opportunity to review and object to the charge prior to its being
incurred.
