Greetings,

The Office of the City Clerk "Clerk" has been managing Open Public Records
Act "OPRA" requests for many years. Over time, the volume of requests has
increased exponentially to over 8,000 annually. Responding to this volume
of requests has proven to be extremely difficult, as tools to empower easy
collaboration are not present. Attempts to improve efficiency with the
OPRA process were thwarted by current software limitations.

In 2023, the Clerk endeavored to improve the efficiency and constituent
communication in processing OPRA requests through the acquisition of new
software. The Clerk is happy to announce that GovQA is the software
solution that will help with this endeavor. The public facing portion of
GovQA’s system provides extensive features to benefit records requesters,
like an archive of previous requests, deflection that presents potentially
responsive records before a request is even submitted.

NOTICE:

Please be advised that pursuant to N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5(g), N.J.S.A.
47:1A-5(f), and Paff v. City of East Orange, 407 N.J. Super. 221 (App.
Div. 2009) certif. den. 200 N.J. 476 (2009), beginning on January 1, 2024,
the Office of the Clerk of the City of Newark will not accept requests via
fax or email. OPRA requires requestors to set forth in writing and in a
cogent and clear manner, the nature of the request and other information
required by N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5(f). Renna v. Cnty. of Union, 407 N.J. Super.
230 (App. Div. 2009). The statutory authority OPRA confers on a record
custodian authorizes her to specify reasonable modes of request
transmission and exclude others. See Paff.
Starting January 1, 2024, all OPRA requests will be processed using the
digital solution platform GovQA. GovQA is accessible on the Clerk's web
page https://www.newarknj.gov/departments/cit... under OPRA Request.

The email [Newark City request email] will no longer be valid as of the end of
2023.

Sincerely,
Office of the City Clerk

Good Day,

I will be out of the office from Tuesday, December 19th through Monday,
December 25th, 2023.  Please submit all OPRA requests to
[email address].

If you need immediate assistance please call 973-424-4116

Wishing you and yours a blessed Christmas, Holiday Season!!!!!!

Respectfully,

Ana Golinski

OPRA Unit