Good afternoon,

Division 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 Tuesday, February 27, 2024.

Thank you,
Matt

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

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Good afternoon Brad,

Division staff require additional time to fulfill your request and there a seven (7) business day extension is needed. We will respond to you no later than Thursday, March 7, 2024.

Thank you,
Matt

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

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Good afternoon Brad,

Division staff require additional time to fulfill your request and there a seven (7) business day extension is needed. We will respond to you no later than Thursday, March 18, 2024.

Thank you,

Matthew Marthaler
Regulatory Officer
New Jersey Department of Community Affairs
Local Government Services/Local Finance Board

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Hello,

The New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, Division of Local
Government Services (Division), received your Open Public Records Act
(OPRA) request on 2/6/24. On 2/15/24 and 2/27/24, the Division responded
and sought extensions of the due date for its response. This response to
your request is being provided to you today. 

Specifically, your OPRA request sought access to the following:

               Please provide copies of any correspondence to any
municipality during the period 9/28/23 to 2/6/24 regarding the accounting
firm Holman Frenia & Allison for the following municipalities:

               Atlantic Highlands

               Bradley Beach

               Cedar Grove

               Frenchtown

               Hazlet

               Millstone

               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, 178-179 (App. Div. 2007). OPRA 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 Entm’t, 375 N.J. Super. at 546-49.  “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 does not seek access to specific, identifiable
records, fails to identify any senders or recipients, it is improper and
overbroad.

Notwithstanding the above objections, it appears you are looking for
correspondence sent from the Division of Local Government Services to the
municipalities referenced in your request (Atlantic Highlands, Bradley
Beach, Cedar Grove, Frenchtown, Hazlet, and Millstone Township), regarding
the firm Holman Frenia Allison's contractual arrangements with same,
between September 28, 2023 and February 6, 2024.  Based upon these
parameters, the Division provides the attached responsive records.

The Division reserves the right to claim additional grounds for denial not
raised in this response. Your request is now considered closed.

Thank you for your courtesies and cooperation.

Regards,

Matthew Marthaler

Regulatory Officer

New Jersey Department of Community Affairs

Local Government Services/Local Finance Board

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