Facebook Policies and Procedures
Dear Mendham Township,
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. A copy of policies and/or procedures regulating the Mendham Township Police Department's public facebook page, any and all Mendham Township Police Department's policies regarding the maintenance and/or content retention of township maintained social media forums.
2. List(s) of names of people who are/were hidden, blocked, banned from the Mendham Township Police Department's public facebook page.
3. List(s) of any deleted, hidden, blocked, banned comments that were on the Mendham Township Police Department's Office's public facebook page for the time period of 1-1-2022 to 10-30-2024.
4. List(s) of the authors' names of any deleted, hidden, blocked, banned comments that were on the Mendham Township Police Department's public facebook page for the time period of 1-1-2022 to 10-30-2024.
5. Copies of all messages and author's names sent via the Mendham Township Police Department's facebook messenger and responses for the time period of 1-1-2024 to 10-30-2024.
6. Name and rank and/or position title of the Mendham Township Police Department employee(s) responsible for maintaining any and all Mendham Township Police Department's social media forums.
7. Any emails sent to/from the employee(s) in question regarding the deleting/removing of content, or the limiting of access to content on any and all social media forums for the time period of 1-1-2022 to 10-30-2024.
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,
Anonymous
Good afternoon-
I am in receipt of your OPRA request. For item #7 you need to meet the email requirements of OPRA in N.J.S.A 47:1A-5G. Account/Job title for accounts to be searched, specific topic and reasonable date range.
A custodian shall not be required to complete a request, including for, but not limited to, mail, email, text messages, correspondence, or social media postings and messages, if the request does not identify a specific job title or accounts to be searched, a specific subject matter, and is not confined to a reasonable time period, or if the custodian determines that the request would require research and the collection of information from the contents of government records and the creation of new government records setting forth that research and information. It shall be sufficient for a requestor to identify specific individuals by the individual's job title and position.
Thank you,
Karen Bellamy
Acting Township Clerk
P.O. Box 520
Brookside, NJ 07926
973-543-4555 ext. 211
Dear Mendham Township Clerk,
i will withdraw item #7, and only #7 from the request:
7. Any emails sent to/from the employee(s) in question regarding the deleting/removing of content, or the limiting of access to content on any and all social media forums for the time period of 1-1-2022 to 10-30-2024.
Yours sincerely,
Anonymous
I am requesting an extension of 30 days for this request thank you.
Lieutenant Steven Bittman
Mendham Township Police Department
4 West Main St., PO Box 236
Brookside, New Jersey 07926
Direct Phone: 973 543 2175
Main Line-24 Hour Dispatch: 973 543 2581
Fax: 973 543 2603
This message is intended only for the individual or entity to which it is
addressed and contains confidential information that is privileged,
confidential and exempt from disclosure under applicable law. If you are
not the intended recipient, or the agent responsible for delivering the
message to the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any use,
review, transmittal, conversion, distribution, repetition or copying of
this communication or any attachments to it is strictly prohibited, and
you are requested to please notify us immediately by telephone at
973-543-2581, and return the original message to us at the above address.
Opinions and conclusions in this message may only be relied upon by the
party to whom such opinion or conclusion is originally expressed.
Opinions, conclusions and other information in this message that do not
relate to the official business of this agency shall be understood as
neither given or endorsed by it. Although this message and any
attachments are believed to be free of any virus or other defect that
might affect any computer system into which it is received and opened, it
is the responsibility of the recipient to ensure that it is virus free,
and no responsibility is accepted by this firm for any loss or damage in
any way from its use.
NOT INTENDED AS A SUBSTITUTE FOR A WRITING
Notwithstanding the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act or the
applicability of any other law of similar substance and effect, absent an
express statement to the contrary hereinabove, this e-mail message, its
contents, and any attachments hereto are not intended to represent an
offer or acceptance to enter into a contract and are not otherwise
intended to bind the sender, any client, or any other person or entity.
Dear anonymous
You requested the following records:
Records requested:
1. A copy of policies and/or procedures regulating the Mendham Township
Police Department's public facebook page, any and all Mendham Township
Police Department's policies regarding the maintenance and/or content
retention of township maintained social media forums.
2. List(s) of names of people who are/were hidden, blocked, banned from
the Mendham Township Police Department's public facebook page.
3. List(s) of any deleted, hidden, blocked, banned comments that were on
the Mendham Township Police Department's Office's public facebook page for
the time period of 1-1-2022 to 10-30-2024.
4. List(s) of the authors' names of any deleted, hidden, blocked, banned
comments that were on the Mendham Township Police Department's public
facebook page for the time period of 1-1-2022 to 10-30-2024.
5. Copies of all messages and author's names sent via the Mendham Township
Police Department's facebook messenger and responses for the time period
of 1-1-2024 to 10-30-2024.
6. Name and rank and/or position title of the Mendham Township Police
Department employee(s) responsible for maintaining any and all Mendham
Township Police Department's social media forums.
7. Any emails sent to/from the employee(s) in question regarding the
deleting/removing of content, or the limiting of access to content on any
and all social media forums for the time period of 1-1-2022 to 10-30-2024.
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.
Response:
#1 - No policy regarding the MTPD facebook page
#2 - attached
#3 - Special service charge: To provide this information would take
approximately 8 hours to aggregate. At a rate of $64.11 hours times 8
hours this would equate to $512.88 to gather the information requested.
Please advise if this is acceptable and we can then move forward with this
portion of your request.
#4 - This agency is not required to create a list, Denied
#5 - attached
#6 - attached
#7 - You have withdrawn this portion of your request
Regards
Lt. Bittman
Lieutenant Steven Bittman
Mendham Township Police Department
4 West Main St., PO Box 236
Brookside, New Jersey 07926
Direct Phone: 973 543 2175
Main Line-24 Hour Dispatch: 973 543 2581
Fax: 973 543 2603
This message is intended only for the individual or entity to which it is
addressed and contains confidential information that is privileged,
confidential and exempt from disclosure under applicable law. If you are
not the intended recipient, or the agent responsible for delivering the
message to the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any use,
review, transmittal, conversion, distribution, repetition or copying of
this communication or any attachments to it is strictly prohibited, and
you are requested to please notify us immediately by telephone at
973-543-2581, and return the original message to us at the above address.
Opinions and conclusions in this message may only be relied upon by the
party to whom such opinion or conclusion is originally expressed.
Opinions, conclusions and other information in this message that do not
relate to the official business of this agency shall be understood as
neither given or endorsed by it. Although this message and any
attachments are believed to be free of any virus or other defect that
might affect any computer system into which it is received and opened, it
is the responsibility of the recipient to ensure that it is virus free,
and no responsibility is accepted by this firm for any loss or damage in
any way from its use.
NOT INTENDED AS A SUBSTITUTE FOR A WRITING
Notwithstanding the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act or the
applicability of any other law of similar substance and effect, absent an
express statement to the contrary hereinabove, this e-mail message, its
contents, and any attachments hereto are not intended to represent an
offer or acceptance to enter into a contract and are not otherwise
intended to bind the sender, any client, or any other person or entity.