Transparency NJ

On Friday, June 26th, at 9 a.m., the attorney for the City of Port Republic and I will argue our cross motions for summary judgment. Our argument will be heard by Judge Perskie in Atlantic County and both the attorney and I will be participating by speaker-phone. I have been assured, however, that the argument […]

The Sen. Byron M. Baer Open Public Meetings Act (N.J.S.A. 10:4-14) requires public bodies to make their meeting minutes “promptly available.” But, what does this mean? Here are the cases that I know about that shed some light on this question. PUBLISHED DECISIONS: Liebeskind v. Mayor and Municipal Council of Bayonne, 265 N.J. Super. 389, […]

Attorney Walter Luers published a June 15, 2009 letter he received from the Government Records Council (GRC) which illustrates the trouble the GRC is having handling cases promptly. The letter, authored by GRC Case Manager John E. Stewart, and from which Luers removed information that identified the complainant, is on-line here. After noting that the […]

In an unpublished decision released June 5, 2009, the Appellate Division balanced the SCPA’s interest in compiling a list of all dog owners in Absecon (Atlantic County) New Jersey against the dog owners’ interests in keeping information they provided to the city confidential. Following the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Burnett v. Bergen County, the […]

The New Jersey Libertarian Party’s Open Government Advocacy Project has commented on and made suggestions regarding the Edison Township (Middlesex County) Council’s proposal to change its Administrative Code, which is up for a Council vote on January 14th. This is the code that governs the conduct at Council meetings and regulates public participation at those […]