Transparency NJ

I wrote today to High Bridge Borough (Hunterdon County) Mayor Mark Desire and the members of the Borough Council asking two questions about how meetings of the Council’s three-member committees (e.g. the Planning & Engineering Committee) are held in a manner consistent with the Open Public Meetings Act. My letter is on-line here. Originally distributed […]

As I’ve stated in previous postings, I use OPRA to determine how much money is paid by government entities to settle civil suits filed against them. I have put the results of some of the settlements I have found here. I became aware of nearly all of these settlement agreements through using the PACER system […]

Andover Township’s willingness to lower its per-page record cost from 75c to 7c might help convince other local public bodies do the same. Please consider sending the following article to your local mayor and/or school board.New Jersey Herald – Newton, New JerseyJanuary 27, 2009 Andover to cut cost of public records By SETH AUGENSTEIN ANDOVER […]

On February 24, 2009 (in Holmdel) and February 26, 2009 (in Mount Laurel) an organization that is apparently affiliated with the New Jersey League of Municipalities will be holding a seminar entitled “Managing Government E-Mail Risks: OPRA, E-Discovery, and Retention ­ and Developing Solutions.” The half-day seminar costs $75 for League members and $150 for […]

I am often asked how, exactly, one goes about reporting a municipal official to the proper authorities when that official has done something unethical. The object of this article is the explain the process the best that I can. FIRST STEP: DETERMINE THE APPROPRIATE ENFORCEMENT AGENCY For the vast majority municipalities, the enforcement agency is […]