Fire Department vehicle matter
Dear Clark 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-5(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:
Any report, memorandum, findings, or other record documenting the investigation into fire department vehicle use in shipbottom as discussed in the public council meeting 08-17-2026, including its opening and closing dates and the title of the person who conducted it.
The Township's written policy or policies governing use of township vehicles (take-home, personal, off-duty, or out-of-town use) in effect June 1 through August 17, 2026.
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,
John Greaves
Your request has been received and will be processed in accordance with the Open
Public Records Act.
Nicole Castellucci
Acting Township Clerk
Township of Clark
430 Westfield Avenue
Clark, New Jersey 08766
(732) 388-3669
[1][email address]
References
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1. mailto:[email address]
To: John Greaves
From: Nicole Castellucci, Acting Township Clerk, Township of Clark
RE: OPRA request
Date: August 20, 2026
The Township of Clark received your Open Public Records Act (OPRA) request on
August 18, 2026. The official Records Custodian, Nicole Castellucci, received
your OPRA request on August 18, 2026. As such, the seven (7) business day
deadline to respond to your request is August 27, 2026. This response to your
request is being provided to you on the 2nd business day after the custodian’s
receipt of said request.
Your OPRA request sought access to:
1. Any report, memorandum, findings, or other record documenting the
investigation into fire department vehicle use in Ship Bottom as discussed
in the public council meeting 08-17-2026, including its opening and closing
dates and the title of the person who conducted it.
2. The Township's written policy or policies governing use of township vehicles
(take-home, personal, off-duty, or out-of-town use) in effect June 1 through
August 17, 2026.
Response:
1. Accordingly, your request for #1 is denied as there are no responsive,
disclosable records that exist.
2. See attached Personnel Policy pertaining to Employer Vehicles valid through
the year of 2026.
The following legal basis applies to responses that include redactions. “A
government record shall not include the following information which is deemed to
be confidential for the purposes of P.L.1963, c. 73 (C.47:1A-1 et seq.) as
amended and supplemented: that portion of any document which discloses the
social security number, credit card number, unlisted telephone number or driver
license number of any person…”
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 Township of Clark 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.
Dear Nicole Castellucci,
Your denial of item 1 does not comply with OPRA, and I ask you to cure it.
You denied the request because "there are no responsive, disclosable records that exist." That sentence asserts two different things at once. Either no records exist, or records exist and you are withholding them. OPRA does not permit the ambiguity: under N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5(g), a custodian who withholds a record must identify it and state the specific lawful basis for withholding it, and a custodian claiming no records exist must certify exactly that.
The only legal authority cited in your response is the exemption for Social Security numbers, credit card numbers, unlisted telephone numbers, and driver license numbers. That provision governs redactions within a record. It cannot justify withholding any record in its entirety. As written, your response denies access without citing any applicable exemption at all, which is itself a denial of access under the statute.
If the Township intends to rely on the personnel-records exemption, N.J.S.A. 47:1A-10, please note its limits before doing so: that section expressly makes public an employee's name, title, position, salary, length of service, and date of separation and the reason therefor; and records of vehicle use and authorization are operational and financial records of the Township, not personnel records, and do not become exempt merely because they identify an employee.
I also note that access to records of an investigation into the conduct of public officials is supported by the common-law right of access, under which the public's interest in the conduct of high-ranking officials outweighs any privacy interest they hold in the use of public property. Finally, a township official (the mayor) publicly announced at the August 17, 2026 council meeting that this matter "has been investigated" and that "everything was done in accordance with the township's policies and procedures." The Township cannot announce an investigation and its conclusion at a public meeting and then treat the same investigation as unmentionable in a records response.
Accordingly, please respond in writing by the August 27 statutory deadline with one of the following:
(1) a plain certification that no responsive records of any kind exist: no report, memorandum, notes, findings, or correspondence; or
(2) an identification of each record withheld and the specific statutory exemption claimed for each, applying the limitations above.
Yours sincerely,
John Greaves
Dear Mr. Greaves,
In response of the denial of the portion of your OPRA Request, there are no responsive records regarding this request.
Regards,
Nicole Castellucci
Acting Township Clerk
Township of Clark
430 Westfield Avenue
Clark, New Jersey 08766
(732) 388-3669
[email address]
-----Original Message-----
From: John Greaves <[OPRA #94574 email]>
Sent: Thursday, August 20, 2026 10:22 AM
To: Nicole Castellucci <[email address]>
Subject: EXTERNAL- Re: OPRA Request
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
Dear Nicole Castellucci,
Your denial of item 1 does not comply with OPRA, and I ask you to cure it.
You denied the request because "there are no responsive, disclosable records that exist." That sentence asserts two different things at once. Either no records exist, or records exist and you are withholding them. OPRA does not permit the ambiguity: under N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5(g), a custodian who withholds a record must identify it and state the specific lawful basis for withholding it, and a custodian claiming no records exist must certify exactly that.
The only legal authority cited in your response is the exemption for Social Security numbers, credit card numbers, unlisted telephone numbers, and driver license numbers. That provision governs redactions within a record. It cannot justify withholding any record in its entirety. As written, your response denies access without citing any applicable exemption at all, which is itself a denial of access under the statute.
If the Township intends to rely on the personnel-records exemption, N.J.S.A. 47:1A-10, please note its limits before doing so: that section expressly makes public an employee's name, title, position, salary, length of service, and date of separation and the reason therefor; and records of vehicle use and authorization are operational and financial records of the Township, not personnel records, and do not become exempt merely because they identify an employee.
I also note that access to records of an investigation into the conduct of public officials is supported by the common-law right of access, under which the public's interest in the conduct of high-ranking officials outweighs any privacy interest they hold in the use of public property. Finally, a township official (the mayor) publicly announced at the August 17, 2026 council meeting that this matter "has been investigated" and that "everything was done in accordance with the township's policies and procedures." The Township cannot announce an investigation and its conclusion at a public meeting and then treat the same investigation as unmentionable in a records response.
Accordingly, please respond in writing by the August 27 statutory deadline with one of the following:
(1) a plain certification that no responsive records of any kind exist: no report, memorandum, notes, findings, or correspondence; or
(2) an identification of each record withheld and the specific statutory exemption claimed for each, applying the limitations above.
Yours sincerely,
John Greaves
-----Original Message-----
To: John Greaves
From: Nicole Castellucci, Acting Township Clerk, Township of Clark
RE: OPRA request
Date: August 20, 2026
The Township of Clark received your Open Public Records Act (OPRA) request on August 18, 2026. The official Records Custodian, Nicole Castellucci, received your OPRA request on August 18, 2026. As such, the seven (7) business day deadline to respond to your request is August 27, 2026. This response to your request is being provided to you on the 2nd business day after the custodian’s receipt of said request.
Your OPRA request sought access to:
1. Any report, memorandum, findings, or other record documenting the investigation into fire department vehicle use in Ship Bottom as discussed in the public council meeting 08-17-2026, including its opening and closing dates and the title of the person who conducted it.
2. The Township's written policy or policies governing use of township vehicles (take-home, personal, off-duty, or out-of-town use) in effect June 1 through August 17, 2026.
Response:
1. Accordingly, your request for #1 is denied as there are no responsive, disclosable records that exist.
2. See attached Personnel Policy pertaining to Employer Vehicles valid through the year of 2026.
The following legal basis applies to responses that include redactions. “A government record shall not include the following information which is deemed to be confidential for the purposes of P.L.1963, c. 73 (C.47:1A-1 et seq.) as amended and supplemented: that portion of any document which discloses the social security number, credit card number, unlisted telephone number or driver license number of any person…”
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 Township of Clark 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 https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=ht.... 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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