Dear Mr. Right,

The Borough of Stratford received your Open Public Records Act (OPRA) request on 7/22/2019. As such, the seven (7) business day deadline to respond to your request is 7/31/2019. This response to your request is being provided to you on the same business day of the custodian’s receipt of said request.

Your OPRA request sought access to the following:

“Emails and text messages concerning Borough Clerk Position and Ben Angeli”

Requests for correspondence must identify senders and recipients of the messages. It also must include a time frame or dates from which the correspondence was sent.

This request seeks information or asks questions and does not identify specific government records. As such, your request is an invalid OPRA request and is denied. 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.

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 [insert name of agency] 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.

Sincerely,

Michaela Bosler

Acting Borough Clerk/Alt. Deputy Registrar

Borough of Stratford

307 Union Ave.

Stratford, NJ 08084

Phone: (856) 783-0600

Fax: (856) 783-7949

stratfordnj.org

________________________________________
From: Bob right [[OPRA #6406 email]]
Sent: Monday, July 22, 2019 1:22 PM
To: Angeli, Ben
Subject: OPRA request - Emails and text messages

Dear Stratford Borough,

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:

Emails and text messages concerning Borough Clerk Position and Ben Angeli

Yours faithfully,

Bob right

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