OPRA: Purchase invoice of body worn cameras for the police department
Dear Florence 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. Total number of body cameras currently deployed in the police department.
2. Date on which body cameras were deployed to any of the police officers for the first time (year and month).
3. Invoice of body cameras purchase (if body cameras were purchased).
Yours faithfully,
Kim
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. All purchase order history from 2012 to 2019 for the police
department; and
2. Please include the date, description, vendor, and amount of each
purchase
At this time, your request for ‘purchase order history for the police
department from 2012 to 2019’ 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.
However, your OPRA request for the date, description, vendor, and amount
of each purchase’ is denied to the extent that such information is not
already contained in any records that may be provided in response to your
request for the police department’s purchase order history from 2012 to
2019 because OPRA does not require a records custodian “to conduct
research among records . . . and correlate date from various government
records in the custodian’s possession.” Simmons v. Mercado, No.
A-3460-18T1 (N.J. Sup. Ct. App. Div. Jun. 11, 2020) (quoting MAG
Entertainment, LLC v. Div. of Alcoholic Beverage Control, 375 N.J. Super.
534, 546-47 (App. Div. 2005)); Bent v. Twp. of Stafford Police Dep’t,
Custodian of Records, 381 N.J. Super. 30, 37 (App. Div. 2005). Indeed,
OPRA only permits requests for access to records, not request for
information. MAG Entm’t, 375 N.J. Super. at 546-47.
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. We now consider our response complete. 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