Dear C. Lang,

The Township of Manchester is in receipt of your request under OPRA for the following:

"Please provide, in linear order, the dates of ex-Chief Lisa Parker's retirement, ex-Captain Todd Malland's retirement , Capt Malland's latest return to duty from OJI, date of Chief Dolan's promotion to Chief, Captain Vincent Manco's promotion to Captain.

Additionally, please provide the complete compensation package paid out to Chief Parker upon her retirement. This to include but not be limited to, sick payout, vacation payout, and compensatory time payout."

Two responsive documents have been located and are attached to this email.

Regarding your request for "the dates of ex-Chief Lisa Parker's retirement, ex-Captain Todd Malland's retirement , Capt. Malland's latest return to duty from OJI, Captain Vincent Manco's promotion to Captain;" please be advised that the Township of Manchester does not maintain a document listing the requested information. Your request is not valid under OPRA. It is not a request for specific public documents, but a request for information. Please be advised that portions of your request are overly broad and require clarification. OPRA is not intended as a research tool to force government officials to identify and siphon useful information. Rather, OPRA operates to make identifiable government records readily accessible for inspection, copying or examination. OPRA does not countenance open-ended searches of an agency's files. MAG Entertainment, LLC v. Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control, 375 N.J. Super. 534, 549 (App. Div. 2005).

A requestor must specifically describe the document sought. Bent v. Stafford Police Department, 381 N.J. Super. 30, 37 (App. Div. 2005). Currently, your request fails to identify with reasonable clarity the specific government records sought. At this time, we request clarification of your OPRA request. Please respond in writing and identify the specific government records sought. Failure to provide written clarification will result in the closure of this OPRA request.

Turning then to the common law right of access, your request did not provide a reason for the Clerk's Office to consider in balancing the right of access against the need for privacy. Therefore, in such a situation, the balancing test weighs strongly in favor of non-disclosure for requests for application materials of the requested documents.

Thank you,

Teri Giercyk RMC, CMC, CMR
Municipal Clerk, Registrar
Manchester Township
Clerk's Office
732-657-8121 ext. 3203

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