SECAUCUS AND BEYOND – Peter Weiner, a Secaucus attorney who also has a contract with the town to serve a few hours each week as public defender, is suing the municipality.
Town Administrator David Drumeler confirmed today that Weiner brought a suit against the town last fall over an Open Public Records Act (OPRA) request.
Last year, Weiner requested that various public records be provided to him under the law. Among the records Weiner requested were gas receipts for municipal vehicles, PZ-Pass toll receipts for municipal vehicles, and vehicle identification numbers for all municipally-owned cars, in addition to other information. He also wanted a list of all town-owned vehicles that are assigned on a full-time basis to municipal employees or other public officials.
Two weeks ago, for a story that ran in the Reporter, Drumeler stated that there are eight municipal vehicles assigned to the police chief, the three fire chiefs, the three chiefs in the Department of Public Works, and the buildings inspector.
The Secaucus Police Department has a number of unmarked vehicles that are assigned to undercover officers. But Drumeler said that for security reasons the Police Department does not release information regarding these vehicles.
Weiner’s OPRA request is in line with information requested previously by Jersey City Councilman and self-proclaimed government “reformer” Steve Fulop who represents Ward E. In Jersey City, Fulop has waged a one-man crusade against the assigning of city cars to political cronies and well-connected city workers. Currently about 30 city employees and City Council members are assigned municipal vehicles which they are allowed to use for both official and personal use.
Although Drumeler said the Secaucus Town Clerk complied with Weiner’s OPRA request, Weiner was apparently angry that the voluminous information – which filled up six boxes – was not distilled into organized files and collated.
EZ-Pass toll receipts on the municipal bill, for example, are organized by registration numbers assigned to each EZ-Pass tag. Drumeler said the town gave Weiner information regarding which tag had been assigned to which vehicles. But if Weiner wanted to track toll receipts for specific cars and employees he’d have to cull the information himself.
Believing that this was an OPRA violation Weiner sued the town in Hudson County Superior Court.
When reached for comment Tuesday, Weiner said he was in court and was unable to speak with a reporter that day.
Drumeler estimates that Secaucus has thus far paid $10,000 in attorney’s fees fighting the case, which the town has asked to be dismissed. Weiner’s attorney has submitted an opposition brief.
The case is before Hudson County Superior Court Judge Bernadette DeCastro.
In 2009, Weiner ran against Dennis Elwell in the Democratic primary for mayor, but lost. – E. Assata Wright
Our Digital Archive from 2000 – 2016
