One way to make a difference in your community is to serve as a member of a municipal board. In order to find out what boards have vacancies, submit the following OPRA request to your municipal clerk:

OPRA request

I would like the following government records in accordance with the Open Public Records Act (OPRA) and the common law right of access.

1. The municipality’s up-to-date directory of local authorities, boards
and commissions, as required by N.J.S.A. 40A:9-9.2

2. The municipality’s “Citizen Leadership Form” as required by the same
statute

.

I submitted such a request to Penns Grove Borough in Salem County and the responsive documents are on-line here.

As you can see, the following vacancies currently exist in Penns Grove: two positions as Planning Board Alternate; one position on the Redevelopment Agency; two vacancies on the Recreation Board and one position on the Shade Tree Commission. Vacancies may also exist in your town.

Chairman of the New Jersey Libertarian Party's Open Government Advocacy Project. Please send all comments to [email protected]