Mr. Crossley,

This office is in receipt of your OPRA request of April 26, 2024 seeking:
"All the documents from payroll for everybody that was hired or terminated and entered into the payroll system between
2019 thru current. I am looking for name and address, salary and entry dates."

A request pursuant to the Open Public Records Act, NJSA 47:1a-1 et. seq. (“OPRA”) must identify the records sought with specificity. Bart v. Passaic County Pub. Hous. Agency, 406 N.J. Super. 445, 451 (App. Div. 2009) “Wholesale requests for general information to be analyzed, collated and compiled by the responding government entity are not encompassed” within the Open Public Records Act. OPRA “is not intended as a research tool litigants may use to force government officials to identify and siphon useful information.” In other words, a records custodian is not required “to conduct research among its records…and correlate data from various government records in the custodian’s possession.” To qualify under OPRA then, the request must reasonably identify a record and not general data, information, or statistics. Bent v. Stafford Twp. Police Dept., 381 N.J. Super. 30, 37-39 (App. Div. 2005). A custodian may reject a request that is overly broad or vague so as to prevent identification of the records sought. New Jersey Builders Ass'n v. New Jersey Council on Affordable Housing, 390 N.J. Super. 166, 172 (App. Div. 2007).

Your request does not identify the specific records you are requesting; it is a request for information and therefore, is not a valid request under OPRA. You also have not stated what your common law interest is.

In addition to the above deficiencies, the scope of information you are requesting would not be available under OPRA. Personnel records are exempt from OPRA under N.J.S.A. 47:1A-10 but for 3 exceptions which provides that an employee's date of hire, title, position, salary, and date of separation shall be available.

Without waiving the above defects, I am providing you with a report that provides employee name, date of hire, date of term, position, supervisor and salary information for the period from 1-1-2019 to 4-30-2024.

If your request for access to a government record has been denied or unfilled within the seven (7) business days required by law, you have a right to challenge the decision by the [insert name of agency] to deny access. At your option, you may either institute a proceeding, in the Superior Court of New Jersey or file a complaint with the Government Records Council (GRC) by completing the Denial of Access Complaint Form. You may contact the GRC by toll-free telephone at 866-850-0511, by mail at P.O. Box 819, Trenton, NJ, 08625, by e-mail at [email address], or at their
web site at www.state.nj.us/grc. The GRC can also answer other questions about the law. All questions regarding complaints filed in Superior Court should be directed to the Court Clerk in your County.

Sincerely,
Andrea T. McVeigh, RMC
Township Clerk

-----Original Message-----
From: Gerald A Crossley <[OPRA #61163 email]>
Sent: Friday, April 26, 2024 7:50 PM
To: Teri Mcveigh <[email address]>
Subject: OPRA request - township Payroll additions and deletions from 2019 thru Current

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Dear Maple Shade Township,

This is a request for public records made under OPRA and the common law right of access. I am not required to fill out an official form. Please acknowledge receipt of this message.
Records requested: All the documents from payroll for everybody that was hired or terminated and entered into the payroll system between 2019 thru Current. I am looking for name and address, salary and entry dates.

Yours faithfully,

Gerald A Crossley

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