Minutes of Ethics Board Meetings
Please accept this as my request for government records under both OPRA and the common law right of access. Thank you very much for your commitment to transparent government.
RECORDS REQUESTED:
The minutes of all Bergen County Ethics Board meetings, both public and nonpublic (closed or executive) held during the years 2020, 2021 and 2022.
Attached please fin meeting minutes for 2021. Please be advised that there are no meeting minutes for 2020 and minutes for 2022 have not been finalized or approved at this time.
Christina A. D'Aloia, Records Custodian
Bergen County (via OPRAMachine)
Please accept this as my supplemental request for government records under both OPRA and the common law right of access. It is being submitted in hopes of clarifying the County's December 9, 2022 response to my December 8, 2022 OPRA request. Thank you very much for your commitment to transparent government.
RECORDS REQUESTED:
1. Notices that were posted or sent to newspapers, in accordance with the last sentence of N.J.S.A. 10:4-18, for any Board of Ethics meetings held in 2021 and 2022 that were cancelled or rescheduled. (Note: The minutes of both the January 28, 2021 and January 27, 2022 called for the Board of Ethics to meet at 5:45 p.m. on the fourth Thursday of each month except for November when the Board would meet on the third Thursday. Accordingly, the cancellation or rescheduling of any of those meetings should have triggered a notice responsive to this request.)
2. The agendas for all meetings held in 2021 and 2022.
3. The minutes of all meetings held in 2021 and 2022 except for those held on January 28, 2021 and January 27, 2022. For each set of responsive minutes that you claim are not disclosable because they "have not been finalized or approved at this time," please identify the date(s) of the meeting(s).
NOTE: N.J.S.A. 10:4-18 states:
At least once each year, within 7 days following the annual organization or reorganization meeting of a public body, or if there be no such organization or reorganization meeting in the year, then by not later than January 10 of such year, every public body shall post and maintain posted throughout the year in the place described in [N.J.S.A. 10:4-8(d)(1)], mail to the newspapers described in [N.J.S.A. 10:4-8(d)(2)], submit to the persons described in [N.J.S.A. 10:4-8(d)(3)], for the purpose of public inspection a schedule of the regular meetings of the public body to be held during the succeeding year. Such schedule shall contain the location of each meeting to the extent it is known, and the time and date of each meeting. In the event that such schedule is thereafter revised, the public body, within 7 days following such revision, shall post, mail and submit such revision in the manner described above.
Christina A. D'Aloia, Records Custodian
Bergen County (via OPRAMachine)
Dear Ms. D'Aloia:
I am submitting this third OPRA request to seek clarification. I want to determine whether or not the ethics board met in the year 2022 apart from its January 27, 2022 Reorganization meeting.
Here is the source of my confusion. On December 9th, you informed me that "minutes for 2022 have not been finalized or adopted at this time." Yet, at the same time you provided me within "scan0017.pdf" the minutes of the January 27, 2022 ethics board meeting. This suggests that either: a) there was at least one other meeting held in 2022 at which the January 27, 2022 minutes were approved, or b) you (mistakenly) provided me with the January 27, 2022 ethics board meeting minutes even though those minutes have not yet been finalized or approved and probably will not be until the January 2023 reorganization meeting.
I believe that it's choice b) because in response to my most recent request you provided me with no agendas for meetings held in 2022 except for the January 27, 2022 ethics board meeting. But I need to confirm this.
In your response, please simply tell me the dates of any meetings held in 2022 apart from the January 27, 2022 meeting. If no such other meeting was held, please tell me that no such meeting was held. That will satisfy my inquiry. Thank you.
OPRA REQUEST:
I request the following records:
The minutes of all ethics board meetings held 2022 except for the January 27, 2022 reorganization meeting. For each set of responsive minutes that you claim are not disclosable because they "have not been finalized or approved at this time," please identify the date(s) of the meeting(s). If no meetings were held in 2022 apart from the one on January 27th, simply state so in your response.