Dear Franklin Lakes Borough:

Please accept this electronic request for public records made pursuant to the New Jersey Open Public Records Act (OPRA) and the common law right of access. I am not required to complete an official form or use a particular software platform to submit this request pursuant to N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5(f), which provides that an email from a requestor containing all information required on the adopted form shall suffice as a valid government records 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:

Dear Records Custodian:

This request is submitted as a request for reconsideration and clarification of the denial of Item No. 2 of my prior OPRA request concerning Denny Knubel's time and attendance records, which was received by the Franklin Lakes Police Department on August 14, 2026, and denied/closed on August 17, 2026.

Item No. 2 of that request sought:

“Existing timesheets, timecards, electronic time entries, attendance records, or time-detail reports showing Mr. Knubel's actual dates and hours worked, including start/end times where maintained.”

The August 17 response denied this category pursuant to N.J.S.A. 47:1A-10, citing the personnel and pension records exemption.

I respectfully request reconsideration of that determination. N.J.S.A. 47:1A-10 expressly provides that an employee's payroll record is a government record notwithstanding the general personnel-record exemption.

Additionally, in Weimer v. Township of Middletown, GRC Complaint No. 2004-22, the Government Records Council determined that attendance, overtime, and compensatory-time records fall within the realm of payroll records subject to disclosure under OPRA. The GRC has also addressed the disclosure of employee timesheets and time-and-attendance records in Gordon v. City of Orange, GRC Complaint No. 2013-189 and related decisions.

Accordingly, I respectfully request copies of the existing records identified in Item No. 2 of my August 14, 2026 request reflecting Mr. Knubel's actual dates and hours worked from January 1, 2023 through the present, including start and end times where maintained.

This request seeks existing government records only and does not ask the Borough or Police Department to create a new record, perform calculations, comparisons, research, or analysis. To the extent responsive records are maintained electronically, this request includes any existing reports or exports containing the requested information.

To the extent any responsive record contains information independently exempt from disclosure, I respectfully request that the exempt information be redacted and that the remaining non-exempt portions of the record be provided.

If the Borough maintains that these records are exempt from disclosure, I respectfully request identification of the specific legal authority supporting the position that records reflecting a public employee's actual dates and hours worked are excluded from the “payroll record” provision of N.J.S.A. 47:1A-10.

I am submitting this request for reconsideration in an effort to resolve the issue directly with the Borough and clarify the scope of the requested records before pursuing any available remedies concerning the prior denial. I appreciate the Borough's consideration of this request.

This request is limited to reconsideration of Item No. 2 of the August 14, 2026 OPRA request and is not intended to require a duplicative search concerning the other categories addressed in the prior response.

Electronic production is preferred.

My preferred delivery method for response(s) to this request is by email as attachments. Please confirm receipt of this request. If you are not the custodian of the requested records, please forward this request to the appropriate custodian and provide their email address for future reference.

Thank you for your consideration and assistance.

Respectfully,

Michael O'Neill