Good afternoon,

We are in receipt of your Opra request.  Please be advised that due to the
Governor’s declaration of a state of emergency and the State and Township
of Florence’s response to the Covid-19 public health emergency, the
Township has been forced to take certain personnel actions that will
affect its reasonable efforts to respond to government records requests
within the statutory 7 business day response date.  Pursuant to P.L. 2020
c. 10, the Township acknowledges receipt of your request, and anticipates
that it will need at least until 21 business days from the request date to
reasonably respond to your request under current operational constraints
due to the current state of emergency.

Please feel free to contact our office with any questions.

Jenise Silinsky

Jenise Silinsky

Deputy Municipal Clerk

Registrar of Vital Statistics

Records Custodian

Township Clerk’s Office

Township of Florence

711 Broad Street

Florence, NJ 08518

(609) 499-2525

Good afternoon,

At this time, your request requires an additional forty-five (45) days
beyond the seven (7) business days to review, and if appropriate, provide
the documents to fulfill your request.  As you know, OPRA allows
custodians to seek extensions of the time pursuant to N.J.S.A.
47:1A-5(i).  In addition, the statute has recently been amended to provide
that the normal deadlines shall not apply, provided however, that the
custodian of a governmental record shall make a reasonable effort, as the
circumstances permit, to respond to a request for access to a governmental
record within seven (7) business days or as soon as possible thereafter. 
Be advised that we are making a reasonable effort, as the circumstances
permit, to review and respond to your request, which includes an extension
of time as needed.

Please feel free to contact our office with any questions.

Thank you,

Jenise Silinsky

Jenise Silinsky

Deputy Municipal Clerk

Registrar of Vital Statistics

Records Custodian

Township Clerk’s Office

Township of Florence

711 Broad Street

Florence, NJ 08518

(609) 499-2525

Dear Ms. Kim:

The Township of Florence received your Open Public Records request on May
28, 2020; however, please be advised that due to the Governor’s
declaration of a state of emergency, the Township has been forced to take
certain personnel actions that affect its reasonable efforts to respond to
government records requests within the statutory seven-business-day
response date. Pursuant to P.L. 2020 c.10, the seven-business-day deadline
has been relaxed and this response is being provided within a reasonable
period due to the Township’s current operational constraints arising from
the current state of emergency. Your OPRA request sought access to the
following:

 1. A list of all lawsuits and cases in which any officer of the police
department was involved between 2012 and 2019 and the date (month and
year) of the alleged incident at issue, whether the alleged incident
was excessive force, settlement amount (if any), and final
compensation ruled (if any); and

 2. Please provide copies of the complaint in any lawsuits and cases
described above.

At this time, your request requires an additional sixty (60) days beyond
the usual period for review, and if appropriate, provide the documents to
fulfill your request.  As you know, OPRA allows custodians to seek
extensions of the time pursuant to N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5(i).  In addition, the
statute has recently been amended to provide that the normal deadlines
shall not apply, provided however, that the custodian of a governmental
record shall make a reasonable effort, as the circumstances permit, to
respond to a request for access to a governmental record within seven (7)
business days or as soon as possible thereafter.  Be advised that we are
making a reasonable effort, as the circumstances permit, to review and
respond to your request, which includes an extension of time as needed.

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact
our office.  In addition, if you believe that our response does not comply
with existing law, you have the right to bring an action in the Superior
Court of New Jersey, or to appeal to the Government Records Council.  The
Council can be reached at (609) 663-6337 or by mail at PO Box 819,
Trenton, New Jersey 08625.  Thank you for the opportunity to be of
assistance.

Jenise Silinsky

Jenise Silinsky

Deputy Municipal Clerk

Registrar of Vital Statistics

Records Custodian

Township Clerk’s Office

Township of Florence

711 Broad Street

Florence, NJ 08518

(609) 499-2525