Good Morning,

The Township of North Bergen (the “Township”) received your request dated 9/16/2024 under the New Jersey Open Public Records Act (“OPRA”), N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 et seq and the common law right of access. Your request was as follows:

“Records requested:
All pay in overtime or comp time for Corporal William Brown since he began driving Mayor Sacco as his assignment.
Does Corporal Brown get paid to do private errands for the Mayor?
Does Corporal Brown get paid while he is having lavish dinners with the Mayor at the tax payers expense?
Does Corporal Brown have a take home vehicle ?
Is Corporal Brown allowed to drink alcohol while on duty with the major at these lavish dinners?
I request all overtime records for the last 5 years regarding”

The Township responds as follows:
Request: All pay in overtime or comp time for Corporal William Brown since he began driving Mayor Sacco as his assignment.

Response: Attached please find payroll data for Corporal William Brown responsive to request.

Requests: “Does Corporal Brown get paid to do private errands for the Mayor?
            Does Corporal Brown get paid while he is having lavish dinners with the Mayor at the taxpayers expense?
            Does Corporal Brown have a take home vehicle?
            Is Corporal Brown allowed to drink alcohol while on duty with the major at these lavish dinners?”

Response: Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 47:1A5(g) requests for information or requests that ask questions are NOT valid OPRA requests. OPRA applies to requests for records, not requests for isolated facts. A valid OPRA request must seek specific, identifiable records. MAG Entm’t, LLC v. Div. of Alcohol Beverage Control, 375 N.J. Super. 534 (App. Div. 2005); Bent v. Stafford Police Dept., 381 N.J. Super. 30 (App. Div. 2005). Accordingly, your requests are denied.

Request: “I request all overtime records for the last 5 years regarding” (sic)

Response: Requests for “all” materials related to a particular subject matter are not proper under OPRA; rather, a request must seek specific, identifiable records. MAG Entertainment, LLC v. Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control, 375 N.J. Super. 534, 868 (App. Div. 2005). The statement posed does not identify which overtime records are being sought. Your request is denied.

You requested the same records under the common law. Unlike with OPRA, the burden to show that access to common law public records should be permitted lies with the requestor. “The common-law right to access public records depends on three requirements: (1) the records must be common-law public documents; (2) the person seeking access must ‘establish an interest in the subject matter of the material,’; and (3) the citizen's right to access ‘must be balanced against the State's interest in preventing disclosure.” Keddie v. Rutgers, 148 N.J. 36, 50, 689 A.2d 702, 709 (1997) (internal citations omitted). Your “requests” fail to meet the standard enunciated under Keddie.

As with any OPRA request, you have the right to challenge the decision by the Township regarding your request. At your option, you may either institute a proceeding in the Superior Court of New Jersey or file a complaint with the Government Records Council (“GRC”) by completing the Denial of Access Complaint Form. You may contact the GRC by toll-free telephone at 866-850-0511, by mail at PO Box 819, Trenton, NJ 08625, by e-mail at [email address] or at their web site at https://www.nj.gov/grc. The GRC can also answer other questions about the law. All questions regarding complaints filed in Superior Court should be directed to the Court Clerk in Hudson County.

Thank you.

Erin Barillas, RMC
Township Clerk
Township of North Bergen
4233 Kennedy Blvd
North Bergen, NJ 07047
e: [North Bergen Township request email]
o: 201-392-2024
f: 201-330-7694
www.northbergen.org

-----Original Message-----
From: Ket Amine <[OPRA #66748 email]>
Sent: Monday, September 16, 2024 8:40 PM
To: Erin Barillas <[email address]>
Subject: OPRA request - Pay and performance for Corporal Billy Brown

Dear North Bergen Township,

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-6(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 pay in overtime or comp time for Corporal William Brown since he began driving Mayor Sacco as his assignment.

Does Corporal Brown get paid to do private errands for the Mayor ?

Does Corporal Brown get paid while he is having lavish dinners with the Mayor at the tax payers expense?

Does Corporal Brown have a take home vehicle ?

Is Corporal Brown allowed to drink alcohol while on duty with the major at these lavish dinners?

I request all overtime records for the last 5 years regarding

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,

Ket Amine

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