To the Editor:
Much has been written about OPRA, the “Open Public Records Act” [N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 et seq.], and its employment as a tool to pry information out of local government. Perhaps the best introduction for curious citizen is to visit and re-visit the websites maintained by Mr. John Paff. He is the Chairman of the New Jersey Libertarian Party’s Open Government Advocacy Project. He spends most of his waking hours filing OPRA requests among cities and towns throughout New Jersey. He tests the law.
His website is njopengovt.blogspot.com.
The main feature of his blog is that he reproduces the filed documents, as well as the Respondent replies. This is invaluable, as it removes the mystery of the process. In almost all cases he files a complaint in Superior Court to enforce compliance. There is an alternate path, the Government Records Commission, which has no cost. But the GRC, as it is called, is slow and toothless. Nothing will get the attention of a City Attorney faster than a docketed OPRA complaint.
For the frustrated Bayonne resident, desirous of prying information from City Hall, an attorney is generally required, unless one is self-taught and files the complaint pro se. However, as Mr. Paff noted in an interview, he wins almost all his cases, and as a result the Respondent city ends up paying the legal fees, and the City Clerk is likewise assessed a fine.
One must keep in mind that the City Clerk, Mr. Sloan, and the Law Director, Attorney Coffey, are decidedly not your friends.
The proper strategy for anyone seeking information is to be prepared to expect a denial, or to be provided with absolute garbage documents, and thence to immediately file a Complaint for Summary Judgment. On the Paff website, he names the attorneys routinely employed for this purpose. A useful project for a group of Bayonne citizens would be to set up a Bayonne “Open Government” website, and post the result of OPRA requests on a frequent and consistent basis.
BRUCE D. KOWAL