Dear R James,

The Civil Service Commission received your Open Public Records Act (OPRA) request on July 8, 2025. This response to your request is being provided to you today.

You made the following request:

"Pursuant to the New Jersey Open Public Records Act, N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 et seq., I am requesting access to and copies of the following public records relating to the Police Chief Promotional Examination administered under Announcement No PM1978G on June 4, 2025:

All examination questions and scoring rubrics used during the oral examination administered on June 4, 2025.

Records reflecting the date of authorship and most recent revision or update of each examination question and scoring rubric.

The names, titles, and qualifications of all individuals who participated in scoring the examinations of all candidates under Announcement No PM1978G.

I request that these records be provided in electronic format (PDF or other standard electronic format) where available. If any portion of this request is denied, please provide the specific legal basis for the denial and a redacted version of the record to the extent it can be lawfully disclosed."

In response to "scoring rubrics...," please find the June 2025 Senior Police Level Orientation Guide. Pages 5 and 6 explain "A candidate's final score (and rank) on a New Jersey Civil Service Commission promotional lists consists of two weighted parts: the test score and the seniority score (page 5). It further states "seniority is weighted at 30% and test score is weighted at 70% for Senior-Level Police promotional exams. Seniority is combined with the test score to produce the final average score."

However, the remainder of the above request is denied. The request is overly broad and/or unclear as it fail to name specifically identifiable government records and requires research beyond the scope of a custodian's duties pursuant to MAG Entertainment, LLC v. Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control 375 N.J. Super. 534, 546 (App. Div. 2005), Bent v. Stafford Police Department, 381 N.J.Super. 30, 37 (App. Div. 2005), New Jersey Builders Association v. New Jersey Council on Affordable Housing, 390 N.J.Super. 166, 180 (App. Div. 2007), and Schuler v. Borough of Bloomsbury, GRC Complaint No. 2007-151 (February 2009).

Additionally, your requests for "exam questions and scoring rubrics", "records reflecting the authorship and most recent revision...", and "the names, titles, and qualifications of all individuals..." are denied pursuant to N.J.A.C. 4A:4-2.16(b). Your request is denied because it seeks examination records exempt from public disclosure with limited exceptions pursuant to N.J.S.A. 47:1A-10, N.J.A.C. 4A:4-2.16(b)(1), and Executive Order 26 (McGreevey 2002). The CSC’s regulations themselves prohibit the disclosure of examination records, with the following limited exceptions: the public announcement, a description of the exam, and the list of eligibles. N.J.A.C. 4A:4-2.16(b).

The Open Public Records Act permits a person who believes he or she has been improperly denied access to a government record to file a complaint with the Government Records Council or to file an action in Superior Court to challenge the decision and compel disclosure. See N.J.S.A. 47:1A-6. You will find attached to this letter the document that describes the procedures for taking these actions.

Your OPRA request is now hereby deemed closed. Thank you for the opportunity to be of service.

Best regards,

Office of OPRA
NJ Civil Service Commission

show quoted sections