By Bill Cleary
Friday, June 27, The Gloucester City News
filed an OPRA request for a copy of the Email correspondence between Gloucester
City Councilman Nick Marchese, Finance Chairman and City
Administrator/Municipal Clerk Paul Kain. The request was hand delivered to the
municipal building and given to the clerk.
Several sources say the Email referred
to a number of issues including but not limited to the naming of a builder for
Freedom Pier. Recently the City announced that 29 condos will be built at the
old Coast Guard Base located on the Delaware River. The city is still seeking a
builder for the project.
What is OPRA?
The Open Public Records Act
(OPRA) provides procedures for the public (the "requester') to review or
copy government records.
- *To access government records, a requester must
determine which records he or she wishes to see or copy, and then determine
which public agency holds them. OPRA applies to requests for records, not
request for isolated facts. The requester should ask the custodian of records
for help in identifying what public record is likely to contain the information
or facts being sought.
- *In order to be considered a valid request under
OPRA, the request must identify the specific record(s) desired, the request
must be submitted to the records custodian of the public agency that has the
record, and that agency's records request form must be used to ask for the
record.
- *As general
guidance regarding the release of records, OPRA provides that "...
government records shall be readily accessible for inspection, copying, or
examination .... With certain exceptions ..." N.J.S.A.
47:1A-1.
- *Additionally, OPRA defines a government record as a record "made, maintained or kept on file ... or that has been received in the course of ... official business ..." N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1.1.
From what I
have been able to gather from a confidential source (CS) on Friday, June 6
Councilman Marchese via an E-mail asked City Administrator Kain if he completed
his new assessment and vision of the former Coast Guard Base property. Kain
supposedly had a week to put together the report.
The following day, early Saturday
morning according to the CS, Kain responded via Email to Marchese. Copies of
the Email were sent to all council members. Along with deputy clerk Kathy Jentsch,
Gina Dunphy UEZ office, Police Chief William Crothers, Frank Robertson and
Bowie Johnson at the public works department.
Plus a CC: was sent to Fire
Chief Brian Hagan, Joe Stecklair, Housing inspector, Joanne Marone, tax
collector, Robert Saunders at a Cooper hospital E-mail address, John Dymond,
tax assessor and to the Community Office. And it was sent to a person with the
E-mail address of Gorman-Kain, and to a person with the E-mail address of James
Ferry
According
to the CS, Kain said he was putting this information together and unfortunately
other matters had delayed his ability to complete it. That he works 60 hours a
week 24/7 for the City.
The CS said
it was his opinion the tone of the Email gave the impression that Kain was mad
that Marchese had the audacity to ask him for this report which was a week
overdue. The Confidential Source went on to say Kain was going to ask that
Marchese be removed from the finance committee and that he be censured by the
rest of council. That he (Kain) infers that Marchese had a professional
relationship with one or more of the builders for Freedom Pier. And that Kain
closes the correspondence with a demand that Marchese direct any further
questions to him through the City solicitor said the CS.
There are
24 specific exemptions from disclosure included in OPRA. To view see link.
http://gloucestercitynews.typepad.com/clearysnotebook/2008/07/opra-exemptions.html
It should
be noted that just because the document you are requesting contains one or more
of these exemptions it doesn’t mean the rest of the material in the document
cannot be released if it meets the proper criteria.
Contacted
for this article for an opinion on the Email was the New
Jersey Foundation for Open Government. President Elizabeth Mason said all
correspondence between government officials is open to the public for viewing.
Likewise attorney Thomas Heim, of Woodbury said it was his belief that an Email
or any other correspondence between community officials conducting city
business would be public.
In
Gloucester City the records custodian who decides whether or not this Email or
other government records are made public is City Administrator/Municipal Clerk
Paul Kain.
- *Information for the above (Government Records Council) GRC (http://www.nj.gov/grc
- The OPRA form for City of Gloucester City can be found at http://www.cityofgloucester.org/cityhall.php
- Link: www.clearysnotebook.com
All Things Paul Kain .........................................All Things Nick Marchese
