Log of Email Communications (OPRA #1)
Dear Livingston Township,
This is a request for public records made under OPRA and the common law right of access. We are not required to fill out an official form. Please acknowledge receipt of this message.
Records requested:
Pursuant to the recent decision in Brooks v. Township of Tabernacle (A-3769-20), please provide in electronic format a log showing the sender, recipient, date, subject line, persons copied, and persons blind-copied for each email to or from the township elected officials and town employees listed below for the period March 4, 2023 to April 5, 2023.
[email address]
[email address]
[email address]
[email address]
[email address]
[email address]
Yours faithfully,
Concerned Livingston Residents
The Township of Livingston Clerk's Department is in receipt of your OPRA request. Pursuant to NJSA 47:1A-5(i), you shall receive a response in no more than seven (7) business days, with day one starting the day after the request has been received. (Holidays and Townhall closings do not count as business days).
Dear Concerned Livingston Residents,
This comes in response to your request for public records made under OPRA
and the common law right of access received on April 6, 2023 for:
"Pursuant to the recent decision in Brooks v. Township of Tabernacle
(A-3769-20), please provide in electronic format a log showing the sender,
recipient, date, subject line, persons copied, and persons blind-copied
for each email to or from the township elected officials and town
employees listed below for the period March 4, 2023 to April 5, 2023.
[1][email address]
[2][email address]
[3][email address]
[4][email address]
[5][email address]
[6][email address]"
Given the voluminous number of lines of records likely responsive to your
request, the Township requires an initial extension until April, 28, 2023
to provide a more formal response.
Sincerely,
Renee Resky
Administrative Assistant
Township Clerk's Office
Livingston Township Hall
357 S. Livingston Avenue
Livingston, NJ 07039
P 973-992-5000 ext #5405 | F 973-535-7967
[7]www.livingstonnj.org
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Good morning,
Please see the attached letter from the Township Attorney, Jarrid Kantor.
in response to your request made under OPRA and the common law right of
access received on 4/6/23 for:
"Pursuant to the recent decision in Brooks v. Township of Tabernacle
(A-3769-20), please provide in electronic format a log showing the sender,
recipient, date, subject line, persons copied, and persons blind-copied
for each email to or from the township elected officials and town
employees listed below for the period March 4, 2023 to April 5, 2023.
[1][email address]
[2][email address]
[3][email address]
[4][email address]
[5][email address]
[6][email address]"
Please respond back to [7][Livingston Township request email] and [8][email address]
if you would like to proceed with this request given the Special Service
Charge.
Sincerely,
Renee Resky
Administrative Assistant
Township Clerk's Office
Livingston Township Hall
357 S. Livingston Avenue
Livingston, NJ 07039
P 973-992-5000 ext #5405 | F 973-535-7967
[9]www.livingstonnj.org
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Dear OPRA,
Thank you for your response, although we wish it hadn’t taken so long.
To clarify, we are ONLY asking for a log as outlined in our request. We are NOT looking for the body or content of any email, so there is virtually nothing to review.
Further, could you please have IT run another review of the records to be sure there are no duplicate records in the 5000+ you’re saying exist.
Lastly, while any type of review of these records should be minimal in terms of time needed, any such review if actually needed could be done much more efficiently by an assistant in the Clerk’s office and not by an attorney or someone in their office.
Yours sincerely,
Concerned Livingston Residents
The Township of Livingston Clerk's Department is in receipt of your OPRA request. Pursuant to NJSA 47:1A-5(i), you shall receive a response in no more than seven (7) business days, with day one starting the day after the request has been received. (Holidays and Townhall closings do not count as business days).
Good morning,
Your OPRA request included a request that the subject line of the E-mail
be provided. The subject line of e-mails may contain material that is
privileged, confidential and/or exempt. Additionally, given the potential
for privileged information, the records custodian would be more
comfortable having counsel review the documents.
If you would like the documents without the subject line included, we can
produce the records within two (2) business days and without any cost.
Please advise.
Sincerely,
--
Elizabeth Peterson, RMC
Deputy Township Clerk
Clerk's Office
Livingston Township Hall
357 S. Livingston Avenue
Livingston, NJ 07039
P 973-992-5000 ext #5403 | F 973-535-7967
[1]www.livingstonnj.org
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Official email of the Township of Livingston NJ
For Official Business Use Only
References
Visible links
1. http://www.livingstonnj.org/
2. https://www.livingstonnj.org/1348/Living...
Dear [email address],
Thank you very much for your prompt reply.
Could you please let us know how many unique subject lines there are in these records?
Yours sincerely,
Concerned Livingston Residents
The Township of Livingston Clerk's Department is in receipt of your OPRA request. Pursuant to NJSA 47:1A-5(i), you shall receive a response in no more than seven (7) business days, with day one starting the day after the request has been received. (Holidays and Townhall closings do not count as business days).
Good afternoon,
Please be advised that there are no duplicative records to our knowledge,
as each column represents an unique value.
Sincerely,
Liz Peterson
--
Elizabeth Peterson, RMC
Deputy Township Clerk
Clerk's Office
Livingston Township Hall
357 S. Livingston Avenue
Livingston, NJ 07039
P 973-992-5000 ext #5403 | F 973-535-7967
[1]www.livingstonnj.org
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Dear [email address],
Sorry we were not clear. Please let us know how many non-duplicative "subject lines" exist in the 5000+ records your office says make up the log originally requested in this OPRA Request [('Log of Email Communications (OPRA #1)].
Yours sincerely,
Concerned Livingston Residents
The Township of Livingston Clerk's Department is in receipt of your OPRA request. Pursuant to NJSA 47:1A-5(i), you shall receive a response in no more than seven (7) business days, with day one starting the day after the request has been received. (Holidays and Townhall closings do not count as business days).
Dear Livingston Township,
As a follow up and disappointing correction to our email to your office yesterday on this matter, we reviewed our correspondence and were actually VERY clear in our May 12th email in which we asked your IT department, "Could you please let us know how many unique subject lines there are in these records?" In actuality there could be 5000+ records, but far far far far far fewer email "subject lines" with unique content that would need to be reviewed for redactions, as you assert.
Further, once you've had IT accurately tabulate how many email "subject lines" with unique content you need to review in order to fulfill our original request for a Log of Email Communications (OPRA #1) please also, and at the same time, let us know what you believe your revised costs chargeable to us are and the assumptions you used to reach this requested fee for these records so that we can decide how to move forward.
Thank you in advance for addressing this OPRA request without any further procrastination or delay.
Yours faithfully,
Concerned Livingston Residents
The Township of Livingston Clerk's Department is in receipt of your OPRA request. Pursuant to NJSA 47:1A-5(i), you shall receive a response in no more than seven (7) business days, with day one starting the day after the request has been received. (Holidays and Townhall closings do not count as business days).
Good afternoon,
This is in response to your two most recent emails regarding your OPRA
request filed with Livingston Township on April 6, 2023, in which you
requested the following:
"Pursuant to the recent decision in Brooks v. Township of Tabernacle
(A-3769-20), please provide in electronic format a log showing the sender,
recipient, date, subject line, persons copied, and persons blind-copied
for each email to or from the township elected officials and town
employees listed below for the period March 4, 2023 to April 5, 2023.
[1][email address]
[2][email address]
[3][email address]
[4][email address]
[5][email address]
[6][email address]"
We provided a first response on April 14, 2023 in which we stated, "Given
the voluminous number of lines of records likely responsive to your
request, the Township requires an initial extension until April 28, 2023
to provide a more formal response". We provided a second response on April
28, 2023 in which we stated, "Please see the attached letter from the
Township Attorney, Jarrid Kantor, in response to your request made under
OPRA and the common law right of access...". The Township Attorney's
letter dated April 27, 2023 stated, "A record search has revealed 5854
records that might be responsive to your request. Such records may contain
attorney-client, deliberative process privileges and/or exempt or
non-responsive records, the documents will need to be reviewed by
counsel". Please be advised that the Township Attorney is referring to
5854 line items contained in six email logs, one for each of the email
addresses requested.
Your email on May 10, 2023 stated, "to clarify, we are ONLY asking for a
log as outlined in our request. We are NOT looking for the body or content
of any email, so there is virtually nothing to review. Further, could you
please have IT run another review of the records to be sure there are no
duplicate records in the 5000+ you're saying exist. Lastly, while any type
of review of these records should be minimal in terms of time needed, any
such review if actually needed could be done much more efficiently by an
assistant in the Clerk's office and not by an attorney or someone in their
office". Our response provided on May 12, 2023 stated, "Your OPRA request
included a request that the subject line of the E-mail be provided. The
subject line of e-mails may contain material that is privileged,
confidential and/or exempt. Additionally, given the potential for
privileged information, the records custodian would be more comfortable
having counsel review the documents. If you would like the documents
without the subject line included, we can produce the records within two
(2) business days and without any cost. Please advise".
Your email on May 12, 2023 stated, "Could you please let us know how many
unique subject lines there are in these records". Our response provided on
May 15, 2023 stated, "Please be advised that there are no duplicative
records to our knowledge as each column represents a unique value".
Your email on May 15, 2023 stated, "Sorry we were not clear. Please let us
know how many non-duplicative subject lines exist in the 5000+ records
your office says make up the log originally requested in this OPRA Request
[(Log of Email Communications (OPRA #1)]".
Prior to us responding, your email on May 16, 2023 stated, "As a follow up
and disappointing correction to our email to your office yesterday on this
matter, we reviewed our correspondence and were actually VERY clear in our
May 12th email in which we asked your IT department, "Could you please let
us know how many unique subject lines there are in these records?" In
actuality there could be 5000+ records, but far far far far far fewer
email "subject lines" with unique content that would need to be reviewed
for redactions, as you assert. Further, once you've had IT accurately
tabulate how many email "subject lines" with unique content you need to
review in order to fulfill our original request for a Log of Email
Communications (OPRA #1) please also, and at the same time, let us know
what you believe your revised costs chargeable to us are and the
assumptions you used to reach this requested fee for these records so that
we can decide how to move forward. Thank you in advance for addressing
this OPRA request without any further procrastination or delay".
Please be advised that, "while OPRA provides an alternative means of
access to government documents not otherwise exempted from its reach, it
is not intended as a research tool litigants may use to force government
officials to identify and siphon useful information. Rather, OPRA simply
operates to make identifiable government records 'readily accessible for
inspection, copying, or examination." Id. citing N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1. The
Court specifically stated that "the Government Records Council (Council),
the administrative body charged with adjudicating OPRA disputes, N.J.S.A.
47:1A-6, has explained that "OPRA does not require custodians to conduct
research among its records for a requestor and correlate data from various
government records in the custodian's possession." MAG Entertainment, LLC,
375 N.J. Super. at 546-47 citing Reda v. Tp Of West Milford, GRC Complaint
No. 2002-58 (January 17, 2003). The Court noted that "[i]n rejecting the
request, the Council noted that OPRA only allows requests for records, not
requests for information, and therefore, it is 'incumbent on the requestor
to perform any correlations and analysis he may desire" Ibid. "Under OPRA,
agencies are required to disclose only 'identifiable' governmental records
not otherwise exempt.
In other words, it is outside of the scope of the Custodian of Records and
the IT Department to ascertain from a log of subject titles as to whether
the body of the email is identical without reading each specific email, or
to manipulate data to provide correlations about similar subject titles
that may or may not be accurate. As advised, we will provide the six email
logs, one for each of the email addresses requested, without subject
identifiers to you at no cost; or you may opt to pay the special service
charge as noted in the Township Attorney's letter dated April 27, 2023,
which will need to be paid up front.
Please advise us within seven business days, by May 26, about how you
would like to proceed with this or we will deem this OPRA request as
closed.
Sincerely,
--
Elizabeth Peterson, RMC
Deputy Township Clerk
Clerk's Office
Livingston Township Hall
357 S. Livingston Avenue
Livingston, NJ 07039
P 973-992-5000 ext #5403 | F 973-535-7967
[7]www.livingstonnj.org
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