Good afternoon,

Division of Local Government Services staff require additional time to fulfill your request and therefore a seven (7) business day extension is needed. We will respond to you no later than Monday, February 5, 2024.

Thank you,

Matt Gallello
Administrative Analyst
New Jersey Department of Community Affairs
Division of Local Government Services

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Re: OPRA Request: [OPRA #57244 email]

Dear Brad:

The New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, Division of Local Government Services (Division) received your Open Public Records Act (OPRA) request on January 16, 2024. The Division sought an extension until February 5, 2024. This response to your request is being provided to you today.

Your OPRA request sought the following:

Please provide copies of any correspondence to any municipality during the period 9/29/23 to 1/16/24 regarding the accounting firm Holman Frenia & Allison. Letters or emails should include a key word search of the following: Anthony Mannino, Joseph Sarno, Robert Allison, Jacquelyn A. Suarez.

Please be advised that your request is overbroad and therefore invalid under OPRA. OPRA does not allow a blanket request for every document a public agency has on file or a wholesale request for general information. Gannett N.J. Partners, LP v. Cty. of Middlesex, 379 N.J. Super. 205, 212 (App. Div. 2005); MAG Entm’t, LLC v. Div. of Alcoholic Beverage Control, 375 N.J. Super. 534, 549 (App. Div. 2005); Bent v. Twp. of Stafford Police Dep’t, 381 N.J. Super. 30, 36-37 (App. Div. 2005); Spectraserv, Inc. v. Middlesex Cty. Utils. Auth., 416 N.J. Super. 565, 578 (App. Div. 2010); N.J. Builders Ass’n v. N.J. Council on Affordable Hous., 390 N.J. Super. 166, 178-79 (App. Div. 2007). It also does not contemplate "open-ended searches of an agency's files" nor is it "intended as a research tool litigants may use to force government officials to identify and siphon useful information." MAG Entertainment, LLC v. Div. of Alcohol Beverage Control, 375 N.J. Super. 534, 546-49 (App. Div. 2005). "The requestor must identify the records sought with specificity. The request may not be a broad, generic description of documents that requires the custodian to search the agency's files and 'analyze, compile, and collate' the requested information." Bart v. Passaic Cty. Public Housing Agency, 406 N.J. Super. 445, 451 (App. Div. 2009) (citations omitted); Bent v. Twp. of Stafford Police Dep't, 381 N.J. Super. 30 (App. Div. 2005) (holding that OPRA allows requests for specific records, not requests for general information, data, or statistics).

Furthermore, to the extent your request seeks communications, correspondence, or letters, please be advised that requests for correspondence must identify the individuals or accounts to be searched and be confined to a discrete and limited subject matter. Burke v. Brandes, 429 N.J. Super. 169, 176-78, (App. Div. 2012); see also Elcavage v. West Milford Twp (Passaic), GRC Complaint No. 2009-08 (April 8, 2010) (stating that a proper request for email correspondence must contain “(1) the content and/or subject of the e-mail, (2) the specific date or range of dates during which the e-mail was transmitted or the emails were transmitted, and (3) a valid e-mail request must identify the sender and/or the recipient thereof”). Because your request fails to identify any senders or recipients it must be denied.
This response does not waive or limit any other rights afforded the Division under OPRA, which are all expressly reserved.

Your OPRA request is now hereby deemed closed. Thank you for the opportunity to be of service.

Matthew Gallello
Administrative Analyst
New Jersey Department of Community Affairs
Division of Local Government Services

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