List of Properties Fitting the Following Criteria:
Dear West Milford Township,
This is a request for public records made under OPRA and the common law right of access. I am not required to fill out an official form. Please acknowledge receipt of this message.
Records requested:
1. A list of property addresses that, as of today, have delinquent property taxes and open property liens. This list needs to include amounts of balances owed.
2. A list of property addresses that have received any code violations since the beginning of the year. Please provide the type of violation.
3. A list of all residential property addresses that are currently vacant or abandoned.
Please put all lists in separate Excel files. PDF is okay too. If up-to-date data is not available, please provide the most recently available information
Yours faithfully,
Nathan Stallone
The Township of West Milford received your request for government records
on December 22, 2020 pursuant to the Open Public Records Act (“OPRA”) to
which we assigned the above number for record keeping.
In regard to request # 2:
“…A list of property addresses that have received any code violations
since the beginning of the year. Please provide the type of violation…. ”
Your request as written is overly broad and invalid under the Open Public
Records Act. Your request fails to identify specific property addresses
for the requested records; please resubmit your request with the specific
Block and Lot and/or property address so that I may fulfill your request.
In January 2011, the Government Records Council (GRC) promulgated the
fifth edition of the Custodian’s Handbook which provides on page 20 as
follows:
“A custodian is obligated to search her files to find the identifiable
government records listed in the Complainant’s OPRA request. A custodian
is not required to research her files to figure out which records, if any,
might be responsive to a broad and unclear OPRA request.”
This office cannot assume the burden of ensuring that all responsive
records have been provided unless it is clearly understood which records
are being sought. The request as written is overly broad and invalid
under OPRA and in accordance with MAG Entertainment LLC. v. Div. of ABC,
375 N.J. Super. 534 (App. Div. 2005). See also Bent vs. Stafford Police
Department, 381 N.J. Super. 30,37 (App. Div. 2005) where the Appellate
Division held that a proper request under OPRA must identify with
reasonable clarity those documents that are desired.
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In regard to request # 1 and # 3:
Attached please find the responsive records. Please be aware all
information is current to December 22, 2020 only.
Thank you,
Judy
Judy Kehr
Office of the Township Clerk
Township of West Milford
973-728-2701
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