Fire Extinguisher/Alarm Invoices
Dear Paterson Board of Education,
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:
Copies of ALL invoices for all fire extinguisher, kitchen fire suppression and fire alarm services from 2010 to present
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,
Tony Michael
Hi Mr. Michael,
This email acknowledges receipt of your OPRA request.
Please note that the Open Public Records Act (OPRA), N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 et seq., provides access to identifiable, existing government records. OPRA does not require public agencies to conduct research, analyze documents, extract data, or compile new records in order to respond to a request. See Bent v. Stafford Police Dept., 381 N.J. Super. 30, 37 (App. Div. 2005); MAG Entertainment, LLC v. Div. of Alcoholic Beverage Control, 375 N.J. Super. 534, 546 (App. Div. 2005).
Our fiscal management software allows searches for invoices only by purchase order number, invoice number, contract/bid/RFP number, or vendor name. It does not permit searches by product or service description. Accordingly, we cannot identify which invoices relate to “fire extinguisher, kitchen fire suppression, and fire alarm services” without conducting research and analysis, which OPRA does not require.
If you are able to provide additional details such as vendor names, contract/bid/RFP numbers, or purchase order numbers, we could then run the search and provide the responsive records.
Sincerely,
Boris Zaydel
Records Custodian
Paterson Public Schools