Complaints and/or Incident Reports: Michael Reina
Dear Ocean County Clerk's Office,
This is a request for public records made under OPRA and the common law right of access. I am not required to fill out an official form. Please acknowledge receipt of this message.
Records requested:
Any and all complaints, records of incident or reports considered synonymous / involving Ocean County employee Michael Reina / involving Phil Stilton or any other individual or entity / between the dates of 2/16/2020 through and including 8/24/2020.
Yours faithfully,
Neil Palmer
Your email OPRA request has been forwarded to Mary Ann Cilento, Clerk of the Ocean County Board of Chosen Freeholders.
To Whom It May Concern,
This office received your OPRA request on August 26, 2020 from County Clerk Scott Colabella regarding "Records requested: Any and all complaints, records of incident or reports considered synonymous / involving Ocean County employee Michael Reina / involving Phil Stilton or any other individual or entity / between the dates of 2/16/2020 through and including 8/24/2020.
This request seeks information or asks questions and does not identify specific government records. When a request is “complex” because it fails to specifically identify the documents sought, then that request is not “encompassed” by OPRA. See New Jersey Builders Association v. New Jersey Council on Affordable Housing, 390 N.J.Super. 166, 180 (App. Div. 2007). A proper request under OPRA must identify with reasonable clarity those documents that are desired, and a party cannot satisfy this requirement by simply requesting ALL of an agency's documents. See Bent v. Stafford Police Department, 381 N.J.Super. 30, 37 (App. Div. 2005). Custodians are not required to conduct research or create new records in response to an OPRA request.
In the spirit of cooperation, I requested from our Department of Employee Relations and Road Supervisor if there are records regarding complaints or incidents involving Michael Reina between 2/16/2020 through 8/24/2020. Both the Department of Employee Relations and the Road Department have advised that their review of the files found no incident reports or complaints regarding Mr. Reina between 2/16/2020 through 8/24/2020.
Mr. Stilton is not a County employee.
Respectfully submitted,
Mary Ann Cilento, Clerk of the Board
Custodian of Records
Ocean County Board of Chosen Freeholders
101 Hooper Avenue, PO Box 2191
Toms River, New Jersey 08754-2191
(732) 929-2005
[email address]
OPRA: RIGHT OF APPEAL:
If you wish to challenge a decision of the Custodian of Records denying access to government records, you may:
• Institute a proceeding to challenge the decision by filing an action in the Superior Court of New Jersey; or
• File a complaint with the Government Records Council in the Department of Community Affairs. (N.J.S.A 47:1A-6)