Police Department
Dear Cranford Township,
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:
RE: Combined OPRA and Common Law Right of Access Request
Dear Records Custodian:
Pursuant to the New Jersey Open Public Records Act (“OPRA”), N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 et seq., and the common law right of access recognized by New Jersey courts, I request access to and copies of the following government records for the period January 1, 2026 through the present:
Police Department Overtime Records
a. All overtime reports, overtime summaries, overtime authorizations, overtime spreadsheets, payroll records reflecting overtime compensation, and records showing overtime hours worked by department employees.
b. Any monthly, quarterly, or annual overtime expenditure reports.
c. Records identifying the employee name, rank/title, date, hours worked, assignment description, and overtime compensation amount.
Outside Employment / Extra Duty Records
a. All invoices, billing records, payment records, contracts, agreements, reimbursement records, or accounting records related to outside employment, extra-duty assignments, traffic details, construction details, or private vendor police assignments.
b. Records reflecting payments received from private entities or contractors for police services.
c. Policies, directives, general orders, or procedures governing outside employment or extra-duty assignments.
Vehicle Assignment Records
a. Records showing the assignment of department vehicles to employees, including take-home vehicle assignments.
b. Vehicle assignment logs, fleet assignment spreadsheets, assigned vehicle lists, and records identifying assigned employee, vehicle number, and assignment status.
c. Any records identifying vehicles designated for take-home use.
Take-Home Vehicle Policies
a. All policies, procedures, directives, memoranda, general orders, collective bargaining provisions, or administrative guidelines governing take-home vehicles, off-duty vehicle use, commuting use, fuel usage, maintenance responsibilities, or vehicle assignment eligibility.
Compensatory Time Records
a. Records reflecting compensatory time accruals, balances, usage, payouts, and compensation for all department employees.
b. Any spreadsheets, payroll summaries, or accounting reports showing compensatory time balances.
Sick Leave Payout Records
a. Records reflecting accrued sick leave payouts, terminal leave payouts, separation payouts, retirement payouts, or unused leave compensation paid to current or former department employees.
b. Records identifying employee name, rank/title, payout date, and payout amount.
This request includes records maintained in paper or electronic format, including but not limited to spreadsheets, PDFs, payroll exports, emails transmitting final reports, accounting software exports, and database-generated reports.
If any responsive record is maintained electronically, I request that it be provided in its native electronic format where reasonably available pursuant to OPRA.
To the extent any portion of this request is denied under OPRA, I additionally request disclosure under the common law right of access. The requested records concern public expenditures, use of taxpayer-funded resources, employee compensation, vehicle usage, overtime expenditures, and other matters directly related to governmental operations and accountability, which strongly favor disclosure under both OPRA and common law balancing standards.
If any portion of this request is withheld, redacted, or denied, please provide:
The specific legal basis for each denial or redaction;
The specific statutory exemption, privilege, or case law relied upon;
A description of each withheld record sufficient to evaluate the claim of exemption;
All reasonably segregable non-exempt portions of responsive records.
If this request is deemed unclear or overly broad, please contact me so the request may be reasonably clarified rather than denied outright.
As required by N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5(i), I request a response within seven (7) business days.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Sincerly,
Carol Gibson
Lead Investigator
Office of Accountability, Transparency & Honesty
O.A.T.H.
Dear Ms. Gibson,
In regards to your recent OPRA request pertaining to:
-Police Department Overtime Records,
- Outside Employment
- Extra Duty Records-
- Vehicle Assignment Records
- Take-Home Vehicle Policies
- Compensatory Time Records
- Sick Leave Payout Records
We request an extension until Tuesday, June 9th, due to additional needed time to complete the search of requested information and review for necessary redactions.
With best regards,
Patricia Donahue
Municipal Clerk
Township of Cranford
8 Springfield Avenue
Cranford, NJ 07016
908-709-7210
Dear Ms. Gibson,
In regards to your recent OPRA request pertaining to:
-Police Department Overtime Records,
- Outside Employment
- Extra Duty Records-
- Vehicle Assignment Records
- Take-Home Vehicle Policies
- Compensatory Time Records
- Sick Leave Payout Records
We request an additional extension until Tuesday, June 16th, due to additional needed time to complete the search of requested information and review for necessary redactions.
With best regards,
Patricia Donahue
Municipal Clerk
Township of Cranford
8 Springfield Avenue
Cranford, NJ 07016
908-709-7210
Dear Ms. Gibson,
In regards to your recent OPRA request pertaining to:
- Police Department Overtime Records,
- Outside Employment
- Extra Duty Records-
- Vehicle Assignment Records
- Take-Home Vehicle Policies
- Compensatory Time Records
- Sick Leave Payout Records
We request an additional extension until Wednesday, June 17th for the provision of Police Department vehicle assignment records, outside employment and extra duty policy information and compensatory time records.
In regards to your request for Police Department overtime records, records related to outside employment and sick leave payout records, we request an additional extension until Tuesday, June 30th, due to additional needed time to complete the search of requested information and review for necessary redactions.
With best regards,
Patricia Donahue
Municipal Clerk
Township of Cranford
8 Springfield Avenue
Cranford, NJ 07016
908-709-7210
Dear Ms. Gibson,
Please find attached responsive information pertaining to your recent OPRA request regarding:
- Outside employment and extra duty records policies and procedures;
- Compensatory time records.
In regards to your request for vehicle assignment records:
a. Records showing the assignment of department vehicles to employees, including take-home vehicle assignments - please find attached responsive information (page one);
b. Vehicle assignment logs, fleet assignment spreadsheets, assigned vehicle lists, and records identifying assigned employee, vehicle number, and assignment status (for January 1, 2026 through the present).
The Police Department has provided information that this request is overbroad as there are multiple vehicle inspection sheets (at least approximately 15/day and approximately 2,250 for the specified time period) which will require redaction review). Please clarify your request for a more finite date range.
Overbroad and improper requests under OPRA and cannot be processed without further clarification. Government agencies are required to disclose only identifiable government records that are specifically described in the request. Gannett N.J. Partners v. Middlesex, 379 N.J. Super. 205, 212 (App. Div. 2005). Neither OPRA nor the common law countenances open-ended searches of agency files. MAG Entertainment, LLC v. Div. of Alcoholic Bev Control, 375 N.J. Super. 534, 549 (App. Div. 2005), or permits a blanket request for every document an agency has on file on a topic, Bent v. Twp. of Stafford, 381 N.J. Super. 30, 37 (App. Div. 2005). Requests for information must identify the individuals or accounts to be searched and be confined to a discrete and limited subject matter. Burke v. Brandes, 429 N.J. Super. 169, 176-78 (App. Div. 2012). The request should not require the records custodian to undertake a subjective analysis to understand the nature of the request. Seeking particular information from the custodian is permissible; expecting the custodian to do research is not.” Paff v. Galloway Twp., 229 N.J. 340, 355 (2017).
With best regards,
Patricia Donahue
Municipal Clerk
Township of Cranford
8 Springfield Avenue
Cranford, NJ 07016
908-709-7210
Dear Ms. Gibson,
In regards to your recent OPRA request for:
- Police Department Overtime Records (1/1/26 to 5/18/26)
- Outside Employment/Extra Duty Records (1/1/26 to 5/18/26)
- Take-Home Vehicle Policies (1/1/26 to 5/18/26)
- Sick Leave Payout Records (1/1/26 forward)
we request an extension until Tuesday, July 14th due to the mobilization of Clerk's Office resources dedicated to the Official Meeting preparation and follow-up tasks associated with the June 22nd Township Committee Meetings, the July 7th Official Meeting preparation, the June 26th Construction project bid opening and the June 25th RMC CEU of-site training.
Thank you in advance-
With best regards,
Patricia Donahue
Municipal Clerk
Township of Cranford
8 Springfield Avenue
Cranford, NJ 07016
908-709-7210
Dear Ms. Gibson,
In regards to your recent OPRA request pertaining to Outside Employment/Extra Duty Records (1/1/26 to 5/18/26), please find attached information responsive to your request.
With best regards,
Patricia Donahue
Municipal Clerk
Township of Cranford
8 Springfield Avenue
Cranford, NJ 07016
908-709-7210
Dear Ms. Gibson,
In regards to your recent OPRA request pertaining to Sick Leave Payout Records (1/1/26 forward), please find attached information responsive to your request.
Please note that pursuant to Daniel's Law, certain record information was redacted (as per NJSA 2C:20-31.1 (c) and NJSA 56:8-166.1(a)(2).
With best regards,
Patricia Donahue
Municipal Clerk
Township of Cranford
8 Springfield Avenue
Cranford, NJ 07016
Dear Ms. Gibson,
In regards to your recent OPRA request for:
- Police Department Overtime Records (1/1/26 to 5/18/26)
- Take-Home Vehicle Policies (1/1/26 to 5/18/26)
we request an extension until Thursday, July 16th due to the mobilization of Clerk's Office resources dedicated to the Official Meeting preparation and follow-up tasks associated with the July 7th Township Committee Meetings and the Township's annual records shredding event (held on Friday, July 10th).
Thank you in advance-
With best regards,
Patricia Donahue
Municipal Clerk
Township of Cranford
8 Springfield Avenue
Cranford, NJ 07016
908-709-7210
Dear Ms. Gibson,
In regards to your recent OPRA request for:
- Take-Home Vehicle Policies (1/1/26 to 5/18/26) - the Township does not have information responsive to your request;
- Police Department Overtime Records (1/1/26 to 5/18/26) - please find attached information responsive to your request.
Please note that pursuant to NJSA 47:1A-1, certain information was redacted, as per Exemption No. 5, Criminal Investigatory records and Exemption No. 28, HIPAA data.
At this point, your OPRA request regarding Police Department records has now been fulfilled. We appreciate your patience regarding the fulfillment of this OPRA inquiry.
With best regards,
Patricia Donahue
Municipal Clerk
Township of Cranford
8 Springfield Avenue
Cranford, NJ 07016
908-709-7210