[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Council of the Township of Washington 7-28-2005
by Ord. No. 15-2005. Amendments noted where applicable.]
New Jersey law relating to the public's right to access government
records has been expanded under the Open Public Records Act (hereinafter OPRA),
which was enacted on January 8, 2002 and became effective on July 8, 2002.
Members of the general public are granted access to all records maintained
by the Township of Washington unless specifically exempted by OPRA, other
state or federal law, regulations or order. Such access shall be through the
custodian of department records. This policy will establish procedures for
the receipt and processing of requests for access to department records. This
policy and procedure is not applicable to any general rules of discovery under
New Jersey Rules of Court; Rule 7:7, Pretrial Procedures.
A.
Custodian of records.
(1)
The Municipal Clerk shall serve as the custodian of all
records maintained by the Township of Washington. The Municipal Clerk shall
be assisted by the staff of the Clerk's office and all department heads
in fulfilling the obligations under this law.
(2)
Responsibilities: The custodian of records shall have
the following responsibilities.
(a)
The custodian shall ensure that procedures are in place
so that requests for department records are received, reviewed and filled,
if appropriate, as required by the law.
(b)
The custodian shall review all requests for access to
department records that are held and maintained by the Township of Washington
and make certain that requests are appropriately acted upon within the time
prescribed by law.
B.
Department record defined.
(1)
A "department record" shall be interpreted to mean any
written or printed document, drawing, map, plan photograph, microfilm, data
processed or image processed document, and any information stored electronically
or by sound-recording or similar device unless exempt from the definition
under the law.
(2)
A department record shall not include:
(a)
Inter-agency or intra-agency, consultative or deliberative
material.
(b)
Emergency or security information or procedures for buildings
or facilities.
(c)
Administrative or technical information regarding computer
hardware, software and networks which, if disclosed, would jeopardize computer
security.
(d)
Information regarding labor-management negotiations,
including statements of strategy or negotiating position.
(e)
Pension and personnel records in possession of the department.
(f)
Information generated by or on behalf of the Police Department
or any of its employees in connection with any sexual harassment complaint
filed with the Township of Washington or with any grievance filed by or against
any individual.
(g)
Information which is to be kept confidential pursuant
to court order.
(h)
That portion of any document which discloses the social
security number, credit card number, unlisted telephone number, driver's
license number or any personal identifying information of any person.
(i)
Security measures and surveillance techniques which,
if disclosed, would create a risk to the safety of persons, property, electronic
data or software.
C.
Public requests for records.
(1)
Times during which records may be requested: Any person
making a request for department records must do so during regular business
hours between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8:30 a.m.
and 4:30 p.m. on Friday.
(2)
Records request form: All requests for access to records
shall be in written format and on the records request form (Appendix A)[1] provided by the department. The request form must be completed,
signed, dated and delivered in person to the Municipal Clerk or his/her designee.
The administrative assistant or records clerk may accept the form from the
requestor in the absence of the custodian.
[1]
Editor's Note: Said Appendix A, Records Request Form is on file
in Township offices.
(3)
Fees: Fees for the duplication of a department record
shall be listed on the request form. The fees are for standard eight-and-one-half-inch
by eleven-inch documents.
(a)
Extraordinary service fees may be applied, dependent
upon the request. The person requesting the records will be advised of any
additional service fees or other additional charges authorized by state law
or regulation before processing the request. As soon as practicable, the custodian
shall furnish an estimate of fees before fulfilling the request.
(b)
Any time necessary in computing additional service fees
shall not delay any response to a request for records beyond the statutory
time limit for producing the records.
(c)
All fees must accompany the request. However, requests
with estimated fees exceeding $25 must be accompanied by a fifty-percent deposit.
Any balances must be paid upon delivery of the records.
(d)
The payment method for all records shall be by cash,
certified check, or money order payable to the Township of Washington.
(4)
Delivery of records: The custodian of records must respond
within seven business days of the original request. If the record requested
is not currently available or is in storage or archived, the person making
the request will be advised of when the record will be made available and
any estimated fees that will be applicable. The person requesting the records
must personally take delivery of those records once copies are made available.
D.
Denial of a request for records.
(1)
A records custodian must deny access to any person who
has been convicted of an indictable offense in New Jersey or any other state
who is seeking department records containing personal information pertaining
to the person's victim or the victim's family.
(2)
Access to records may be denied by the custodian if the
request would substantially disrupt the department's operations and the
custodian is unable to reach a reasonable solution with the person requesting
access that would accommodate the interest of both parties.
(3)
If the Township of Washington is unable to comply with
a request for access to records, the custodian will indicate the reason for
the denial on the request form and provide the person making the request with
a signed and dated copy.
(a)
Except as otherwise provided by law or agreement with
the requestor, if the custodian of the record fails to respond to the requestor
within seven business days of receiving the written signed request form, the
failure to respond will be considered a denial of the request.
E.
Right to appeal a denial of access. If a request for
access to a department record is denied, or has been unfulfilled within the
time permitted by law, that person making the request has a right to challenge
the decision by the Municipal Clerk to deny access. The person requesting
the record may either:
