The Open Public Records Act (OPRA) requires government agencies to pay the attorney fees of requestors who successfully sue them for disclosure of government records. The legislature reasoned that the absence of a mandatory attorney fee-shifting provision would give government agencies–who have taxpayer funds to pay attorneys–too much of an advantage over average citizens who […]
Posted inNJ Open Government Notes
Sealing of OPRA case turns out to have been in error.
On April 30, 2015, I blogged about the Middlesex County Superior Court’s sealing of an Open Public Records Act case. I visited the Civil Division Manager’s Office in New Brunswick on both Thursday, April 30, 2015 and Friday, May 1, 2015 and am happy to report that the matter has been resolved and that Docket […]
Posted inNJ Open Government Notes
OPRA case sealed by court.
On April 15, 2015, I visited the Superior Court’s Civil Division at the Middlesex County Courthouse in New Brunswick. As is my practice, I reviewed a listing of recently filed cases and came across an Open Public Records Act (OPRA) lawsuit bearing Docket No. MID-L-1217-15. My written notes indicate that the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office […]
Posted inRandom Notes on NJ Government
Somerset County, for reasons unknown, gave its HR director a year of paid “administrative leave.”
In response to my recent Open Public Records Act (OPRA) request, Somerset County disclosed its October 2014 agreement with Human Resources Director Beverly Hacker that provided Hacker with nearly a full year of her $127,667 annual salary while she was “on administrative leave.” The “Settlement Agreement and General Release with Conditions” (on-line here), noted that […]
Posted inNJ Open Government Notes
Since 2012, Millburn school board paid up to $800K to settle federal IDEA claims.
The Millburn Board of Education (Essex County) has released, in response to my Open Public Records Act (OPRA) request, redacted versions of several settlements of administrative cases brought by students and their parents under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). I am not sure that the list is complete. Most of these settlement […]