Dear South Bound Brook Borough,

Please accept this electronic request for public records made under OPRA and the common law right of access. I am not required to fill out an official form or use a particular software platform to submit my request per NJSA 47:1A-6(f), which states that an email from a requestor including all of the information required on the adopted form shall suffice in place of a completed form as a valid government record request.

I HAVE NOT been convicted of any indictable offense under the laws of New Jersey, any other state, or the United States.

I WILL NOT use the requested government records for a commercial purpose.

I AM NOT seeking records in connection with a legal proceeding.

Records requested:

Pursuant to the Open Public Records Act (N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 et seq.), I am requesting access to and copies of all municipal bank account statements maintained by the Borough of South Bound Brook for the period of January 1, 2020 through the present.

This request includes, but is not limited to, all checking, savings, investment, trust, escrow, capital, utility, sewer, recreation, payroll, grant, and any other accounts held in the Borough’s name or under its tax identification number.

It is my intent that this request cover all accounts held by or on behalf of the Borough, regardless of fund type or purpose, including any sub-accounts, dedicated accounts, or accounts managed by third-party institutions or agencies on behalf of the Borough of South Bound Brook.

If any portion of this request is denied, please cite the specific legal exemption under OPRA and provide the remaining responsive records.
Thank you for your time and assistance.

My preferred delivery method for response(s) to this request is by E-mail as attachments. Please confirm you have received this request.

If you are not the custodian of records, please forward my request to that person and provide their email address to me for future reference.

Yours faithfully,
Alex Olovyannikov

Dear Christina Fischer,

Thank you for your response to my OPRA request.

Respectfully, I must clarify that N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1.1 (“privacy information”) does not exempt the entirety of municipal bank statements from disclosure. While account numbers and other security-sensitive identifiers may be properly redacted, the remaining portions — such as the names of the accounts, banks, balances, deposits, withdrawals, dates, and descriptions — are public records reflecting the receipt and expenditure of public funds and must be produced pursuant to OPRA.

This position is supported by the New Jersey Government Records Council and multiple court decisions holding that financial records of a municipality are subject to disclosure with limited redactions.

Accordingly, I am requesting that the Borough of South Bound Brook reconsider this denial and provide the responsive records with appropriate redactions limited only to account numbers or other bona fide confidential identifiers.

Please treat this as a formal request for reconsideration under OPRA. If the denial is maintained, kindly provide the name and contact information of the records custodian or attorney responsible for OPRA appeals so I may pursue further review with the Government Records Council.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.

Yours sincerely,

Alex Olovyannikov