Policy Statement:
It is the intention of the governing body of the Township of Long Hill to make available to the public those statutory documents required by law and as many common law records as possible.
Ordinances and Resolutions:
Ordinances prior to adoption are available to the public at no charge. Once the ordinance has been adopted and has been codified, the fee for copies of documents applies. Resolutions prior to adoption are free. Once adopted the fee for copies of documents applies.
Minutes:
Draft minutes of all Township Committees, Boards and Commissions are available to the public upon completion and are stamped "Draft subject to Approval". Draft minutes of executive or closed session minutes are not disclosed to the public.
Executive Session (Closed Session) Minutes:
Minutes of executive session remain closed until such time as they are no longer confidential. The Municipal Clerk shall prepare a list of all executive session minutes held during the past year, listing topics and dates of meetings. The attorney shall mark those which in his judgment may be released to the public. The Municipal Clerk shall prepare a resolution listing the dates and subject matter for the governing body approval. Once the resolution is adopted, the number of the resolution and the adoption date shall be listed on the minutes of the closed session and moved to the minute books for access by the public.
Tape Recordings:
There currently is no law requiring that a meeting be taped. However, since the record is created even though it is used to aid in the completion of minutes, copies should be made available to the public whenever requested.
Consultant Reports:
Most consultant reports may be released to the public once they have been accepted by the Township. Supporting documentation is judged on a case by case basis and should be reviewed by/with the attorney.
Budget Information:
Once the municipal budget has been introduced copies are available to the public at no charge. Once the budget has been adopted and approved by the State, the fee per page is charged. Budget worksheets are not considered to be a public document.
Licensing:
All information listed on various Municipal and State Licenses with the exception of unlisted phone numbers and social security numbers (which must be obliterated).
Landlord Registration Forms:
All information is public with the exception of unlisted phone numbers (which must be obliterated).
Financial Disclosure Forms:
All information is public with the exception of unlisted phone numbers (which must be obliterated).
Bidders List (those which have obtained copies of specifications):
The list of those bidders that have obtained copies of the specifications cannot be released to the public to prevent collusion on the bid.
Boards and Commissions Membership Lists:
The listing of board and committee membership is a public document. Unlisted telephone numbers both at home and work should be obliterated.
Reproduction Of Records Outside The Normal Medium
- N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5 states that "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 pursuant to this section is such that the record cannot be reproduced by ordinary document copying equipment in ordinary business size or involves the extraordinary expenditure of time and effort to accommodate the request, the public agency may charge, in addition to the actual cost of duplicating the record, a special service charge that shall be reasonable and shall be based upon the actual direct cost of providing the copy or copies. The requestor shall have the opportunity to review and object to the charge prior to its being incurred."
- Subparagraph "d" of N.J. S.A. 47:1A-5 states that "A custodian shall permit access to a government record and provide a copy thereof in the medium requested if the public agency maintains the record in that medium. If the public agency does not maintain the record in the medium requested, the custodian shall either convert the record to the medium requested or provide a copy in some other meaningful medium. If a request is for a record: (1) in a medium not routinely used by the agency; (2) not routinely developed or maintained by an agency; or (3) requiring a substantial amount of manipulation or programming of information technology, the agency may charge, in addition to the actual cost of duplication, a special charge that shall be reasonable and shall be based on the cost of any expensive use of information technology, or for the labor cost of personnel providing the service, that is actually incurred by the agency or attributable to the agency for the programming, clerical, and supervisory assistance required, or both."
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- Read the New Jersey
Open Public Records Act. (Effective July 8, 2002)
- For an education about access to Public Records, you may read a
Citizens Guide prepared by the state Government Records Council.
- For another description, you may read a
General Discussion and a
List of Exceptions on the "League of Municipalities" website.
- For the procedure, instructions and form for obtaining
Police Records, see the
Police Records Page. That page also contains a
comprehensive list of exceptions.
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