Dear Pompton Lakes 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:

1. Copies of mileage records by month for all vehicles assigned to and used by Chief Clark from 1/1/2021 to today.
2. Copies of toll record expenses for all vehicles assigned to and used by Chief Clark from 1/1/2021 to today.
3. Copies of fuel expenses for all vehicles assigned to and used by Chief Clark from 1/1/2021 to today.
4. Copies of registration expenses and insurance expenses for all vehicles assigned to and used by Chief Clark from 1/1/2021 to today.
5. Copies of vehicle maintenance/vehicle repair expenses for all vehicles assigned to and used by Chief Clark from 1/1/2021 to today.
6. Copy of the borough policy on use of municipal vehicles as take home vehicles.

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,

Susan M.

Dear Pompton Lakes Borough,

Is there an update on this request? By law, public authorities must respond within 7 business days to a request.

Yours faithfully,

Susan M.

Dear Elizabeth Brandsness,

I did not receive anything. The only response you made was “In response to your OPRA request”. There is no information provided. Please provide this information as requested. It has now been 39 days since the original request and this is not an elaborate request.

Yours sincerely,

Susan M.

Dear Elizabeth Brandsness,

It took you 39 days to tell me Chief Clark doesn’t have a vehicle assigned to him? Better yet, you requested a 7 day extension and then a 14 day extension in order to compile records you are now telling me don’t exist? This response could have been made on day one if it was true, but you know this isn’t the case.

I requested records for all vehicles assigned to and used by Chief Clark from 1/1/2021 to 6/6/2025. Are you telling me in those five years as Chief of Police, Chief Clark never used a department vehicle? An OPRA request made previously titled “Employment Contracts”, included the employee agreement between the Borough of Pompton Lakes and Chief of Police, Derek Clark. This agreement states “The Borough agrees to supply the Chief of Police with unmarked police equipped automobile to be used for police work and for his incidental personal use in accordance with the Borough policy”. It also states “The automobile shall not be used by anyone other than the Chief of Police”. It is well known among Borough residents that Chief Clark had his own take home vehicle, a black unmarked Chevy Tahoe.

It is a violation of OPRA law if you knowingly and willfully unreasonably deny access to public records. The police department must have reports of mileage for their vehicles, bills/invoices for fuel expenses, bills/invoices for registration and insurance, bills/invoices for toll record expenses, bills/invoices for maintenance and repairs. These are all responsive records. Please provide this information as required. If there is no specific record, which is hard to believe a Borough can operate without these records, then the custodian of records should assist the requestor in identifying the records they seek. Thank you and I look forward to honest transparency to records that the public has a right to access.

Yours sincerely,

Susan M.

Dear Elizabeth Brandsness,

Are these responsive records being provided?

Yours sincerely,

Susan M.

Dear Elizabeth Brandsness,

This response is unacceptable. I strongly encourage you to consult with legal counsel and reconsider your decision for not supplying these records, because it is a direct violation of OPRA law. By law, you have to assist the requestor in identifying the records they seek. To this date, you have not done so. You have only stated “there are no vehicles assigned to Chief Clark” and “no responsive records exist”. By law, you have to provide a detailed explanation for the denial. To this date, you have not done so. You have only brazenly advised me that no vehicle was assigned to Chief Clark, despite documents you provided me showing the borough did in fact assign a vehicle to Chief Clark. This is a willful violation and I’m sure your legal counsel will recognize it as such.

I encourage you and legal counsel to look at identical requests which were made on OPRA machine. In those requests to several other towns, requestors have asked for a list of all township owned register motor vehicles, copy of the policy on use of department vehicles, copies of mileage, fuel and toll records of all take home and department vehicles. These records were supplied to the requestors in those towns in a timely manner and without hesitation, yet you refuse to do so. I remind you that the OPRA law is designed to increase government transparency and accountability, not hide what the government is doing and lessen accountability for government employees. If it is your contention that there are no responsive records, then I have a right to know the specific reason for the denial of each item 1 through 5. I have a right to know if the records don’t exist, if my request was too broad and needs to be narrowed, or any other reason which would help me identify the records I seek. I again will await the release of these records for which the public has a right to access.

Yours sincerely,

Susan M.