Property Tax Appeals
Dear Berkeley Township,
This is a request for public records made under OPRA and the common law right of access. I certify under penalty of NJSA 2C:28-3 that I have not been convicted of an indictable offense. Please acknowledge receipt of this message.
Records requested:
2017 property tax appeals filed, and disposition of each case.
Yours faithfully,
Jack Roberts
Dear Mr. Roberts,
The Berkeley Township Clerk's Office received your Open Public Records Act (OPRA) request on December 6, 2017. The official Records Custodian, Beverly M. Carle received your OPRA request on the same date. As such, the seven (7) business day deadline to respond to your request is December 15, 2017.
Your OPRA request sought access to the following: 2017 property tax appeals filed, and disposition of each case.
The Tax Assessor office has asked for Clarification on the request please see below:
The within request is voluminous. I would ask for clarification as to the specific document requested. If it is in fact for the entire file, the requested documents are located in storage. I would estimate approximately 300 file folders containing 5 to 50 separate pieces letter and legal paper. Complying with this request would require an extraordinary expenditure of time and resources and pursuant to NJSA 47:1A-5(c) I estimate it will take approximately 15 hours to retrieve, review, redact and reproduce each file and/or any single specific document located within same. As such below is an estimated cost to produce this request and the time frame to complete same is 30 days from receipt of deposit.
A. cost of copies 1,500 to 10,000= $360 B. $16.70 per hr x 15 hrs = $250
If you would like for the Township to proceed with the request it will require a 50% deposit and the Township will not start the process until you verify you want to proceed and until the deposit for Special Services charges is paid.
Paff v. Twp. of Teaneck (Bergen), GRC Complaint No. 2010-09 (Interim Order dated May 24, 2011): The Council held that “[a]lthough the actual cost of providing records electronically is likely $0.00 pursuant to [Paff v. Gloucester City (Camden), GRC Complaint No. 2009-102 (Interim Order dated April 8, 2010)], because the Custodian had to make copies to redact the requested minutes prior to providing same electronically, the Custodian’s charge of $6.00 represents the actual cost to provide the records to the Complainant pursuant to N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5(b).” Id. at 17.
Dear Karen Stallings,
The tax assessor does not have to provide all those copies. A spreadsheet listing the requested information will be sufficient. Showing the owner, address, previous assessment, new assessment after appeal, block, lot.
Yours sincerely,
Jack Roberts
Dear Mr. Roberts,
Thank you for your clarification.
Berkeley Township does not have a document (spreadsheet) responsive to your request.
Matthews v. City of Atlantic City (Atlantic), GRC Complaint No. 2008-123 (February 2009): The Council decided that a custodian “was under no obligation to create a list compatible to the Complainant’s OPRA request because OPRA does not require a Custodian to produce new documents.
Goeckel v. Chatham Borough Police Dep’t (Morris), GRC Complaint No. 2013-356 (July 2014): The Council noted that “[t]he GRC has determined that a custodian was under no obligation to provide a record that had not been created at the time of an OPRA request. Blau v. Union Cnty., GRC Complaint No. 2003-75 (January 2005); Paff v. v. Neptune Twp. Hous. Auth. (Monmouth), GRC Complaint No. 2010-307 (Interim Order dated April 25, 2012); Delbury v. Greystone Park Psychiatric Hosp. (Morris), GRC Complaint No. 2013-240 (Interim Order dated April 29, 2014).” Id. at 3.