Collective Bargaining Unit Information (Middlesex County)
Dear To Whom This May Concern,
This is a request for public records made under the Open Public Records Act (OPRA) and the common law right of access. Please acknowledge receipt of this message.
Records Requested:
A digital copy of the most recently approved memorandum of ALL collective bargaining units with which the township, city, borough, etc., currently holds active agreements.
Please include the most recent contract booklet (signed or unsigned), the most recent memorandum of agreement, salary guides, and any sidebar agreements, if applicable.
Thank you for your attention to this request.
Yours faithfully,
The Curious Taxpayer
OPRA-Req-24-1207
Date Received: 8/20/2024
Status: Received
Applicant: Curious Taxpayer
A digital copy of the most recently approved memorandum of ALL
collective bargaining units with which the township, city,
borough, etc., currently holds active agreements.
Please include the most recent contract booklet (signed or
unsigned), the most recent memorandum of agreement, salary guides,
and any sidebar agreements, if applicable.
R ESPONSE:
THE ABOVE OPRA REQUEST DOES NOT IDENTIFY SPECIFIC GOVERNMENT
DOCUMENT(S), AND AS SUCH, THIS REQUEST IS INVALID.
PLEASE RESUBMIT YOUR REQUEST, STATING SPECIFIC DOCUMENT/DOCUMENTS
YOU SEEK.
1. OPRA is not intended as a research tool litig ants may use to
force government officials to identify and siphon useful
information. Under OPRA, agencies are required to disclose only
"identifiable" governmental documents not otherwise exempt.
Wholesale requests for general information which have to be
collated, analyzed and compiled by the entity are not required.
This governmental custodian is not required to conduct research,
analyze, collate, compile and/or correlate data from existing
government records.
A blanket request for all documents is not a document request
pursuant to OPRA and existing case law. MAG Entm't, LLC v. Div of
ABC, 375 N.J. Super. 534,546-549 (App. Div. 2005), "under OPRA,
agencies are required to disclose only 'identifiable' government
re cords and not otherwise exempt..
In short, OPRA does not countenance open-ended searches of
agency's files" Id. (emphasis added). Bent v. Stafford Police
Dep't. 381 N.J. Super. 30,37 (App. Div. 2005), N.J. Builders Ass'n
v. N.J. Council on Affordable Hous., 3 90 N.J. Super. 166, 180
(App. Div. 2007); Schuler v. Borough of Bloomsbury, GRC Complaint
No. 2007-151 (February 2009).
2. A request for a "file" "all" "any and all" etc. is invalid
because it represents a blanket request for a class of various,
unidentifiable records and constitutes a broad and unclear
request. See Morgano v Essex Cnty. Prosecutors's Office, GRC
Complaint No. 2007-190 (February 2008); Nunley v N.J. State Parole
Bd., GRC Complaint No. 2013 -335 (July 2014); Redden v. Cape May
Cnty. Prosecutor's Office GRC Complaint No. 2007-206 (September
2009); Bragg v. N.J. Dept of Corrections, GRC Complaint No.
2010-145 (March2011); Bradley-Williams v. Atlantic Cnty. Jail, GRC
Complaint No. 2011-232 (December 201 2); Torian v. N.J. State
Parole Bd., GRC Complaint No. 2013-245 (June 2014)
If your request for access to a government record has been denied
or unfilled within the seven (7) business days required by law,
you have a right to challenge the decision by the T ownship of Old
Bridge to deny access. At your option, you may either institute a
proceeding in the Superior Court of New Jersey or file a complaint
with the Government Records Council (GRC) by completing the Denial
of Access Complaint Form. You may contact the GRC by toll-free
telephone at 866-850-0511, by mail at P.O. Box 819, Trenton, NJ,
08625, by e-mail at [email address], or at their web site at
www.state.nj.us/grc. The GRC can also answer other questions about
the law. All questions regarding complaints filed in Superior
Court should be directed to the Court Clerk in your County.
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