In late-January 2009, Lawnside Borough officials and/or their insurance carrier paid a transmission repair shop owner $195,000 to settle a police false arrest and excessive force claim. According to the lawsuit, William Rumbas, who owns Barrington Transmissions on White Horse Pike, Barrington, was test driving a customer’s car on April 7, 2004 when it broke […]
Posted inNJ Open Government Notes
Council and Board to minimally staff budget review committee
On May 12, 2009, I wrote a letter to the Spring Lake Heights (Monmouth County) Borough Council and Board of Education advising them that having a joint Board/Council committee privately hash out adjustments to the defeated school budget a) violated the spirit of the Open Public Meetings Act and b) violated the letter of the […]
Posted inNJ Open Government Notes
Disclosure of Executive Session minutes dealing with “personnel” matters.
One area of the Sen. Byron M. Baer Open Public Meetings Act (OPMA) that is often misunderstood by government officials is the “personnel” exception to public meetings embodied within N.J.S.A. 10:4-12(b)(8). This exception allows government bodies to privately discuss matters involving a particular employee. The exception does not, however, excuse the public body from a) […]
Posted inNJ Open Government Notes
Councilmember audio-recording executive sessions
UPDATE 12/20/11: A school board member was cleared of ethics charges for audiotaping an executive session. For more information, click here. From time to time I receive correspondence from members of municipal councils, school boards or other public bodies explaining that they are in the political minority and that the majority does not obey the […]
Posted inNJ Open Government Notes
OPMA’s “safe harbor” provision
From time to time I receive correspondence from members of municipal councils, school boards or other public bodies explaining that they are in the political minority and that the majority does not obey the Senator Byron M. Baer Open Public Meetings Act N.J.S.A. 10:4-17 (part of the Senator Byron M. Baer Open Public Meetings Act) […]