Michael Vieira: Receipts, Invoices and Payment Records
Dear Essex County,
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-5(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: All invoices, purchase orders, contracts, account statements, and payment records related to any Constant Contact subscription, email marketing service, or bulk email platform maintained by, paid for by, or associated with the Essex County Department of Special Transportation, the Office of Michael Vieira, or any account using the name or domain "njtransportation" — for the period January 1, 2022 to present.
Additionally, all policies, directives, or guidelines governing the use of county email marketing accounts, bulk email services, or Constant Contact subscriptions, including any acceptable use policies.
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,
Concerned Livingston Residents
Please be advised, due to a personal emergency, the County’s OPRA portal’s
processing is delayed through March 31, 2026. If you place your request in
the portal before March 31, 2026, you acknowledge the temporary delay and
consent to delayed processing.
I will be out of the office until 1/27/26. I apologize for the
inconvenience and I will respond as soon as I return.
If you are trying to submit an Open Public Records Act (“OPRA”) request,
please be advised that Essex County has transitioned to an online portal
for the processing and receipt of all OPRA requests.
Please submit your public records request on the online portal by visiting
the following link:
https://essex.oprarequest.com
The portal allows you to obtain the records electronically free of charge.
When submitting your request, you can select the department(s) that you
want to obtain the records from.
Please be as specific as possible in describing the record(s) you are
requesting access to.
And be aware that any requests filed on the portal while I am away will
NOT be dealt with until I return.
Thank you,
George Seylaz
OPRA Custodian of Records
Office of County Counsel
Hall of Records, Room 535
465 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd.,
Newark, NJ 07102
(973) 621-5007 CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This email message and all
attachments transmitted with it may contain Essex County privileged and
confidential information intended solely for the use of the sender and
recipient(s) named above. If the reader of this message is not the
intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any reading,
dissemination, distribution, copying, or other use of this message or its
attachment is prohibited. If you have received this message in error,
please notify the sender immediately and delete this message.
Dear Essex County,
Please pass this on to the person who conducts Open Public Records Act reviews.
I am writing to request an internal review of Essex County's handling of my OPRA request 'Michael Vieira: Receipts, Invoices and Payment Records'.
Please respond without delay.
A full history of my OPRA request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://opramachine.com/request/michael_...
Yours faithfully,
Concerned Livingston Residents
Dear Essex County,
Please provide a response to this request. It is now long over due.
Yours faithfully,
Concerned Livingston Residents
Pursuant to your request, please be advised on the following: Please be
advised that due to an unexpected emergency necessitating the temporary
absence of the County of Essex’s OPRA Officer, the County’s OPRA responses
are significantly delayed. The delay is further exacerbated by the sheer
volume of OPRA requests the County receives and the lack of available
staff. Based on temporary unforeseen circumstances (or circumstances that
otherwise reasonably necessitate additional time to respond), kindly
consent to an extension of a reasonable time, by end of April 2026, for
the County to respond to your OPRA request. The County apologizes for any
inconvenience due to the temporary delay
As a result, we are requesting that OPRA requests be submitted via the
OPRA portal:
https://essex.oprarequest.com/index.php/....
Please select "New OPRA Request" and set up an account. We are no longer
using this email.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding portal submission please
contact: Kamila at 973-621-4951 or Rebeccah at 973-621-4045.
CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This email message and all attachments transmitted
with it may contain Essex County privileged and confidential information
intended solely for the use of the sender and recipient(s) named above. If
the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, you are hereby
notified that any reading, dissemination, distribution, copying, or other
use of this message or its attachment is prohibited. If you have received
this message in error, please notify the sender immediately and delete
this message.
Dear Essex County OPRA Custodian,
Please pass this on to the person who conducts Open Public Records Act reviews.
I am writing to request an internal review of Essex County's handling of my OPRA request 'Michael Vieira: Receipts, Invoices and Payment Records'.
I write in response to the County's April 24, 2026 communication directing me to re-submit my request via the County's online portal. I decline to do so, and I request an immediate substantive response to my outstanding request.
I. The County Cannot Compel Portal Submission
N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5(f) states explicitly that a requestor is not required to fill out an official form or use a particular software platform to submit an OPRA request, and that an email containing all required information constitutes a valid request. My request was submitted April 4, 2026 via OPRAmachine, an email-based submission system. It is a valid, properly submitted OPRA request. The County's instruction to re-submit via portal has no statutory basis and I am not obligated to comply.
The entire OPRAmachine correspondence thread — including the County's responses — is publicly archived and constitutes a documented record of submission and the County's handling of this request.
II. This Request Is Significantly Overdue
My request was submitted April 4, 2026. Under N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5(i), a response was due within seven business days — on or about April 13, 2026. It is now April 29, 2026, sixteen days past the statutory deadline. No substantive response has been provided.
The County has offered two explanations: (1) a personal emergency affecting the OPRA Officer; and (2) high request volume and staffing limitations. Neither constitutes a statutory basis for non-response beyond the seven-business-day window. The statute does not provide for indefinite tolling based on staffing constraints. Consent to the requested extension was never granted.
III. Demand for Immediate Response
I demand a substantive response to my April 4, 2026 request — either production of responsive records, a specific and itemized exemption claim for any withheld records, or a certified statement that no responsive records exist — no later than May 5, 2026.
If no substantive response is received by that date, I will file a complaint with the Government Records Council and/or pursue summary proceedings in Superior Court under N.J.S.A. 47:1A-6, and will seek counsel fees and a civil penalty under N.J.S.A. 47:1A-11 for the knowing and willful denial of access.
IV. No Re-Submission Required
To be clear: I will not re-submit this request via the County portal. The statutory clock has been running since April 4, 2026. Re-submission would reset that clock and reward non-compliance. The County must respond to the request as submitted.
Yours faithfully,
Concerned Livingston Residents