New Jersey transparency headlines
From Sunshine Review
This article is a list of transparency related news from New Jersey.
N.J. GOP's requests for public records criticized by Senate Dems
October 27, 2008: Senate Democrats said today that requests by Republican Assembly staffers for dozens of public records over two years suggested a costly fishing expedition by the GOP on state time.
"It has nothing to do with state legislative business and that's what we're supposed to be working on," said Kathleen Crotty, the top Democratic staffer in the Senate.
Copies of Open Public Records Act requests released today by the Democrats show the Republicans were seeking information about legislators holding jobs or elective office outside the Statehouse. Read the full article here.
County clerk defends $24.5G in trips
October 20, 2008: Republican Ocean County Clerk Carl W. Block spent about $24,560 over the past two years to attend conventions, conferences and trade shows all over the country, often accompanied by his deputy and a confidential aide, who in some instances took trips on their own, according to public records. Read the full article here.
Documents reveal how Dems controlled $128 million fund
October 17, 2008: Democratic legislators divvied up taxpayer money as they pleased, with government insiders, political bosses and even a powerful congressman seeking portions of a multimillion-dollar pork-barrel fund now at the center of a federal corruption trial.
Documents released late Friday by the state Department of Treasury show how Democrats controlled a $128 million fund where officials petitioned for everything from $5,000 to $2 million. In many cases grants worth hundreds of thousands of dollars were sought with no formal applications or explanation other than a lawmaker’s name. Read the full article here.
Brightbill: Town could release résumés and financial disclosure forms
October 16, 2008: During the workshop session on Monday, Oct. 2, Middletown Deputy Mayor Pamela Brightbill raised an issue regarding résumés.
Brightbill said she would like residents to be made aware their résumés, once submitted to the Middletown Talent Bank, could be released if requested by the public, according to the Open Public Records Act (OPRA).
Additionally, the deputy mayor said financial disclosure forms also fall under the category of public records, and are thus releasable documents. Read the full article here.
How to waste taxpayers' money
October 15, 2008: When the Open Public Records Act was overhauled in 2002, it provided that municipalities that lost cases would have to pay legal fees for those forced to take their fight to the courts. The fact that the municipality is now responsible for the other party’s legal bill is good. One would think municipalities would not only better educate employees on the law, but would also think twice before refusing access to records which are clearly open to the public. Not only will they have their own legal bills, but also the other party’s if they lose the case. Read the full editorial here.
High Bridge Ed Board To Obey State's Rules
October 9, 2008: The borough school board argued at its meeting Monday over whether the school superintendent needs board permission before contacting the district's attorney about collecting an alleged $196,000 in teacher salary overpayments and whether school board members are permitted to speak to members of the public during open school board meetings. Read the full article here.
Dispute over documents in county sheriff race
October 2, 2008: The Republican candidate for Mercer County sheriff alleged yesterday that the county was not providing information about Sheriff Kevin Larkin's office, while a county attorney said her office has been working hard to respond to his request for documents.
Candidate James McSorley initially said he had not received several documents he requested under the Open Public Records Act, including organizational charts for the sheriff's office, its regulations and operating procedures, and timesheets for Larkin. Read the full article here.
GOP lawmakers unhappy with turnpike records delay October 1, 2008: Two high-ranking Republican lawmakers claim the New Jersey Turnpike Authority failed to respond promptly to an open public records request that sought documents related to the agency's plan to raise highway tolls.
An authority spokesman acknowledged the delay, but said some documents were sent Wednesday afternoon and that the agency was working to get more information. Read the full article here.
Stealth spending on RU shows the public wasn't in the game plan
September 28, 2008: So, in addition to its regular appropriation, it turns out the Rutgers athletic department has been getting a bonus from the Legislature over the past four years -- $2.25 million in "earmarks," a harmless-sounding term for what used to be called "Christmas tree items," those little extras we aren't supposed to worry our pretty little heads about.
We just pay for them.
Anyhow, the athletic department has gotten $500,000 each year, plus one special grant of $250,000. Read the full article here.
Municipalities wrestle with open records, e-mail use
September 24, 2008: According to the New Jersey State League of Municipalities’ Web site, e-mail that’s sent by employees of any of the state’s 566 municipalities is subject to the same conditions of the Open Public Records Act (OPRA) as ‘snail’ mail or other types of written communications. Read the full article here.
Trenton quietly sent $2.25 million to Rutgers University sports
September 21, 2008: Over the past four years, lawmakers in Trenton have steered $2.25 million in special grants to the Rutgers athletics program, even as academic aid to the state university was being slashed.
The funding -- around $500,000 each year -- was tacked onto the state budget without public scrutiny. The money was channeled directly to the university's football team and athletics department and kept separate from the school's annual aid package. Read the full article here.
Open records advocate wants more on police
August 25, 2008: An open-records activist is requesting police officers' Use of Force records from every Passaic County municipality now that it looks as if the West Milford Township Council won't fight releasing its own documents.
After a council executive meeting that ended at 12:30 a.m. Thursday, the township governing body took no action to request a stay or file an appeal of state Superior Court Judge Thomas F. Brogan's decision earlier this month that the township turn over the reports to retired journalist Martin O'Shea. Read the full article here.
Bloomingdale open-records dispute reaches impasse
August 24, 2008: What's new: Jonathan Dunleavy, Bloomingdale's recreation chief, has dropped a public records complaint against Councilwoman Linda Huntley, according to the state Department of Community Affairs.
Background: Dunleavy and Huntley had attacked one another publicly, although they had differing reasons: Huntley had questioned Dunleavy's spending on recreation and sought spending records. Dunleavy, saying Huntley's move was personal, countered by seeking all e-mails to and from Huntley about borough business, as allowed under the state Open Public Records Act. Read the full article here.
Beth Mason settles with City over cell phone lawsuit
August 22, 2008: Hoboken city employees will now have 2nd Ward Councilwoman Beth Mason reviewing who they called and why on their city cell phones.
Mason reached a settlement with City Hall last week, giving her partial access to Hoboken municipal cell phone records. Read the full article here.
School chief's salary private
August 20, 2008: A week after Mark B. Miller agreed to become Phillipsburg School District superintendent, local and state officials still could not say Tuesday whether his pending contract is public information.
The Express-Times on Tuesday filed a request under the New Jersey Open Public Records Act with the Warren County Department of Education to obtain the contract. Read the full article here.
Judge reserves decision on Keyport access suit
August 13, 2008: Superior Court Judge Lawrence M. Lawson has reserved decision on a lawsuit filed by a self-described open-records activist who contends the Borough Council violated the state Open Public Records Act by not providing him meeting minutes in a timely manner.
John Paff, 51, of Franklin Township also contends in his suit that the council violated the Open Meetings Act by discussing possible ordinances privately, using the "potential litigation" exemption in the law to hold closed sessions. Read the full article here.
Housing activists get sympathetic hearing
August 9, 2008: A state Superior Court judge said yesterday she is leaning toward ruling the New Jersey State League of Municipalities, the lobbying arm for New Jersey's 566 municipal governments, should be subject to the state's Open Public Records Act.
The Fair Share Housing Center, a nonprofit Cherry Hill-based affordable housing activist organization, is seeking a court determination that the League meets the Open Public Records Act's description of a "public entity" and should be ordered to make its records open to the public. Read the full article here.
County reaches settlement in open public records case
August 8, 2008: The county reached an out-of-court settlement recently in the case of a complaint filed against it for failing to make available public records.
Earl Gage, county administrator and clerk of the Salem County Board of Chosen Freeholders and official county Custodian of Records, announced that he and public advocate Shirlee Manahan - who filed the motion - have reached an agreement in the case. Read the full article here.
Make e-mails accessible through OPRA
August 4, 2008: I have always been under the assumption that e-mail correspondences between public agencies or governing bodies were accessible to the public through OPRA (Open Public Records Act) requests.
Imagine my dismay when I found out that was not the case in Middletown. Read the full column here.
Group posts gov't records online
August 4, 2008: A new Web site has been launched to root out some of the lesser known documentation of Salem County government.
Launched by the Salem County Watchdog Association, the site provides archived and current documents secured through open public records requests.
The brainchild of Shirlee Manahan, http://www.salemcountywatchdog.org is a cyber-library providing information such as who among employees has a county-issued cell phone or vehicle, along with news of the day and budgetary information. Read the full article here.
Dover not handling severance saga well
August 3, 2008: You watch how Dover officials are handling the situation with former town administrator Bibi Stewart Garvin and you have to shake your head.
Recall that Stewart Garvin left her job in June and reportedly got a nice severance package. The town refused to say how much, referring to a confidentiality agreement. The Daily Record has appealed that denial to the state Government Records Council.
Let's review what has happened in the meantime... Read the full article here.
Wildwood commissioner to make recordings of meetings available to the public
July 29, 2008: Video recordings of the city's regular meetings will be available to the public, Commissioner Gary DeMarzo said Monday.
Before the start of each meeting, DeMarzo routinely sets up a fixed video camera, aimed at the dais where he and the other commissioners sit in City Hall, and has been doing so since being sworn into office in May 2007.
Last week, Commissioner Bill Davenport questioned DeMarzo's reasons for taping the meetings and asked why they were not being made available to the public. Read the full article here.
In Dover, a healthy sum for unused days
July 24, 2008: After less than three years on the job, the town of Dover paid its former business administrator more than $25,000 for her unused sick time and vacation days, according to the town's payment records.
The Star-Ledger obtained the payment record after filing an Open Public Records Act request. However, the newspaper's request for a copy of the agreement setting out the complete financial terms of her termination was denied. Read the full article here.
N.J. Supreme Court declines to extend deadline to sue for public documents
July 22, 2008: The New Jersey Supreme Court declined today to extend a 45-day deadline to file a lawsuit if a person is denied public documents through the state's Open Public Records Act.
The unanimous ruling was a loss for Hoboken Councilwoman Elizabeth Mason, who filed 125 separate requests for public records from the Hudson County city. The state's highest court found that anyone who wants to sue over denied records must act quickly - in the same way the Open Public Records Act requires officials to turn over documents quickly. Read the full article here.
AG's office subpoenas records in Downe
July 17, 2008: The state Attorney General's Office has subpoenaed four years' worth of Downe Township municipal records as part of an investigation into the government's operations.
State investigators sought minutes and agendas for Township Committee and Planning Board meetings dating to 2004, as well as other documents, two township officials confirmed Wednesday. Read the full article here.
Mason wins hospital records access suit
July 15, 2008: Chalk up a court win for Councilwoman Beth Mason.
Agreeing with points Mason raised in a lawsuit filed in December 2006, a judge has ruled that the Hoboken Municipal Hospital Authority failed to adequately notify the public about two public meetings, went into closed session during one of them without fully explaining why, and failed to turn over public documents Mason requested. Read the full article here.
Suit leads to cheaper copies in Cape Clerk's Office
July 9, 2008: It's not exactly Kinkos, but Cape May County is charging less for photocopies of public records.
Freeholders on Tuesday lowered copy fees to 15 cents per page, which in some cases is 60 cents cheaper than before.
The lower fees for county public documents follow a class-action lawsuit against the county Clerk's Office. The lawsuit resembles others filed across the state that argued copying fees in county clerks' offices were too expensive. Read the full story here.
Longport says non-N.J. resident not entitled to public records
July 2, 2008: The borough tried to keep up with the hundreds of public records requests Martin O'Boyle has made over the past 10 months. Now, borough officials are trying to put a stop to them.
O'Boyle, a developer of commercial real estate who owns a home in Longport but lives in Florida, filed a one-count lawsuit in April, claiming the borough "repeatedly and intentionally denied open access (to public records) and frustrated the plaintiff's right to know by its silence." The lawsuit follows hundreds of requests O'Boyle made under the Open Public Records Act - at least 190, though by some estimates hundreds more - going back to September 2007. Read the full story here.
Court ruling is a first
June 19, 2008: For the first time in New Jersey, a court ruling allows a municipality to charge more for paper copies of records than the true cost of copying them.
On Tuesday, June 17, Superior Court Judge Thomas Brogan ruled West Milford could charge 75 cents per copy for the first 10 pages of an official document requested under the state’s Open Public Records Act. Read the full story here.
State may hike cost of DEP records
June 15, 2008: New Jersey is on its way to dramatically raising the rates it charges commercial applicants -- such as developers, lawyers and engineers -- when they seek public records on the environment and the use of land.
Bills moving through the state Senate and Assembly note that the Department of Environmental Protection, or DEP, is snowed under by requests from people seeking information by way of the state's Open Public Records Act, or OPRA.
The DEP has gotten 55,000 such requests in five years, said spokeswoman Darlene Yuhas, compared to the second-place department, the Department of Law and Public Safety, with 5,100 in the same span.
Records case is based on the common law
June 13, 2008: The fact that New Jersey’s laws date back to the English Common Law, essentially since the Magna Carta was signed by King John in a meadow at Runnymede in 1215, is more than an interesting historical tidbit.
It is the lynchpin of a court case to be heard on Tuesday, June 17, in Passaic County Superior Court by Judge Thomas F. Brogan. Read the full story here.
Camden school budget is under wraps
June 11, 2008: The Camden Board of Education has refused to release the $341 million budget document approved Monday night.
The document was distributed to board members and collected from them after the vote. Members of the public and the media were not permitted to review it.
The board, which had to take action to meet a state deadline, released only the budget total but with sketchy details. The board plans to meet tomorrow to reexamine the budget, which contains about $14 million in cuts, and consider other alternatives. Read the full story here.
Gov. Jon Corzine loses bid to keep e-mails secret
May 30, 2008: Judge Paul Innes, ruling on a lawsuit file by the New Jersey Republican Party, has determined that Gov. Jon Corzine must release the e-mails he exchanged with state-worker and union leader, Carla Katz, his ex-girlfriend. The GOP is seeking the e-mails exchanged by the two for the first eighteen months of the Corzine administration. The ruling will be appealed by the state's attorney general. For background, see E-mail records from governors. Corzine, Katz lose bid to keep e-mails secret
