OPRA request: police payroll records 2012-2019
Dear Elizabeth City,
This is a request for public records made under OPRA and the common law right of access. I am not required to fill out an official form. Please acknowledge receipt of this message.
Records requested:
For all employees who worked in the police department at any point of time from 2012-2019:
Please provide the name, hire date, current status (whether active or separated), and date of separation.
Yours faithfully,
Necon
Please see attached regarding your OPRA.
Thank you,
JOANNA RAMIREZ
City Clerk's Office
City Hall
50 Winfield Scott Plaza
Elizabeth, NJ 07201
PH: 908-820-4133
FAX: 908-820-4021
Please see attached regarding your OPRA.
JOANNA RAMIREZ
City Clerk's Office
City Hall
50 Winfield Scott Plaza
Elizabeth, NJ 07201
PH: 908-820-4133
FAX: 908-820-4021
Please see attached regarding your OPRA.
JOANNA RAMIREZ
City Clerk's Office
City Hall
50 Winfield Scott Plaza
Elizabeth, NJ 07201
PH: 908-820-4133
FAX: 908-820-4021
Please see attached regarding your OPRA
JOANNA RAMIREZ
City Clerk's Office
City Hall
50 Winfield Scott Plaza
Elizabeth, NJ 07201
PH: 908-820-4133
FAX: 908-820-4021
Please see attached regarding your OPRA.
JOANNA RAMIREZ
City Clerk's Office
City Hall
50 Winfield Scott Plaza
Elizabeth, NJ 07201
PH: 908-820-4133
FAX: 908-820-4021
Please see attached regarding your OPRA.
JOANNA RAMIREZ
City Clerk's Office
City Hall
50 Winfield Scott Plaza
Elizabeth, NJ 07201
PH: 908-820-4133
FAX: 908-820-4021
Good Morning,
Please see attachment.
Grace Sequeira
City Clerk's Office
Deputy Municipal Clerk
50 Winfield Scott Plaza
Elizabeth, N.J. 07201
908-820-4130
Please see attached regarding your OPRA.
JOANNA RAMIREZ
City Clerk's Office
City Hall
50 Winfield Scott Plaza
Elizabeth, NJ 07201
PH: 908-820-4133
FAX: 908-820-4021
Good Afternoon,
Please see attachment.
Grace Sequeira
City Clerk's Office
Deputy Municipal Clerk
50 Winfield Scott Plaza
Elizabeth, N.J. 07201
908-820-4130
Good Afternoon,
Please see attachment.
Grace Sequeira
City Clerk's Office
Deputy Municipal Clerk
50 Winfield Scott Plaza
Elizabeth, N.J. 07201
908-820-4130
══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
From: Grace Sequeira
Sent: Monday, August 17, 2020 3:24 PM
To: [OPRA #13295 email]
<[OPRA #13295 email]>
Subject: OPRA # 450
Good Afternoon,
Please see attachment.
Grace Sequeira
City Clerk's Office
Deputy Municipal Clerk
50 Winfield Scott Plaza
Elizabeth, N.J. 07201
908-820-4130
Dear Mr. Kim:
The City of Elizabeth is in receipt of your request for records to the
City Clerk dated May 28, 2020 pursuant to the New Jersey Open Public
Records Act, N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 et seq., (OPRA). The City of Elizabeth then
requested additional time to respond to said request due to the March 16,
2020 legislation which modifies the deadline by which a public agency is
required to respond to a request for government records during a period of
emergency.
Your OPRA request sought access to “[a]ll use of force reports filed by
the police department from January 1st, 2017 to December 31st, 2019.”
Please see the attached list of Use of Force Reports from the
abovementioned dates. As you will see, the generated list shows several
hundred reports exist. If you would like to view the individual use of
force reports, please respond to this letter indicating so immediately.
Your request as written may involve “an extraordinary expenditure of time
and effort to accommodate;” therefore, we may assess a special, reasonable
service charge, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 47:1A–5(c).
Thank you for your patience during this unprecedented time.
Very truly yours,
Samantha J. Castrelos, Esq.
Special Counsel
City of Elizabeth, Law Department
50 Winfield Scott Plaza, Room 201,
Elizabeth, New Jersey 07201
(908) 820-4009
Good Afternoon,
Please see attachment.
Grace Sequeira
City Clerk's Office
Deputy Municipal Clerk
50 Winfield Scott Plaza
Elizabeth, N.J. 07201
908-820-4130
Dear Taeho Kim,
The City of Elizabeth is in receipt of your request for records to the
City Clerk dated May 29, 2020 pursuant to the New Jersey Open Public
Records Act, N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 et seq. (OPRA). The City of Elizabeth then
requested additional time to respond to said request due to the March 16,
2020 legislation which modifies the deadline by which a public agency is
required to respond to a request for government records during a period of
emergency.
We request an additional seven (7) day extension in order to respond to
your OPRA request. Please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any
questions regarding this notice. Thank you for your continued patience.
Very truly yours,
Samantha J. Castrelos, Esq.
Special Counsel
City of Elizabeth, Law Department
50 Winfield Scott Plaza, Room 201
Elizabeth, New Jersey 07201
(908) 820-4009
From: Grace Sequeira <[email address]>
Sent: Thursday, July 30, 2020 10:22 AM
To: [OPRA #13295 email]
Cc: Samantha Castrelos <[email address]>; Joanna
Ramirez <[email address]>; William Holzapfel
<[email address]>; Raymond Bolanowski
<[email address]>
Subject: OPRA # 450
Good Morning,
Please see attachment.
Grace Sequeira
City Clerk's Office
Deputy Municipal Clerk
50 Winfield Scott Plaza
Elizabeth, N.J. 07201
908-820-4130
Good Morning,
Please see attachment.
Grace Sequeira
City Clerk's Office
Deputy Municipal Clerk
50 Winfield Scott Plaza
Elizabeth, N.J. 07201
908-820-4130
Dear Taeho Kim,
The City of Elizabeth is in receipt of your request for records to the
City Clerk dated May 29, 2020 pursuant to the New Jersey Open Public
Records Act, N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 et seq. (OPRA). The City of Elizabeth then
requested additional time to respond to said request due to the March 16,
2020 legislation which modifies the deadline by which a public agency is
required to respond to a request for government records during a period of
emergency.
Your OPRA request sought the following:
For all employees who worked in the police department at any point in time
from 2012-2019; Please provide the name, hire date, current status
(whether active or separated), and date of separation.
OPRA requests “must identify with reasonable clarity those documents that
are desired, and a party cannot satisfy this requirement by simply
requesting all of any agency’s documents.” Bent v. Twp. of Stafford Police
Dep’t, Custodian of Records, 381 N.J. Super. 30, 37 (App. Div. 2005). A
proper OPRA request must state “a specific subject matter that [is]
clearly and reasonably described with sufficient identifying information.”
Burke v. Brandes, 429 N.J. Super. 169, 176 (App. Div. 2012).
Your request is denied as no responsive record exists. At this time, we
have no record that lists all employees from 2012-2019, only current,
active employees. A record that contains the information you seek cannot
be easily generated. This information is not in one system; therefore, the
custodian would have to access multiple systems, generate multiple
reports, and manually merge said reports to create the requested record.
Custodians are not required to conduct research or create new records in
response to an OPRA request. In this regard, OPRA “is not intended as a
research tool . . . to force government officials to identify and siphon
useful information.” MAG Entm't, LLC v. Div. of Alcoholic Beverage
Control, 375 N.J. Super. 534, 546 (App. Div. 2005). In other words, a
records custodian is not required “to conduct research among its records .
. . and correlate data from various government records in the custodian's
possession.” Ibid.
We apologize for any inconvenience caused by this delay. If you have any
questions regarding the above response please do not hesitate to contact
me. Thank you for your patience during this unprecedented time.
Very truly yours,
Samantha J. Castrelos, Esq.
Special Counsel
City of Elizabeth, Law Department
50 Winfield Scott Plaza, Room 201
Elizabeth, New Jersey 07201
(908) 820-4009
══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
From: Samantha Castrelos
Sent: Wednesday, September 2, 2020 3:50 PM
To: [OPRA #13295 email]
<[OPRA #13295 email]>
Cc: Joanna Ramirez <[email address]>; Grace Sequeira
<[email address]>
Subject: RE: OPRA # 450
Dear Taeho Kim,
The City of Elizabeth is in receipt of your request for records to the
City Clerk dated May 29, 2020 pursuant to the New Jersey Open Public
Records Act, N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 et seq. (OPRA). The City of Elizabeth then
requested additional time to respond to said request due to the March 16,
2020 legislation which modifies the deadline by which a public agency is
required to respond to a request for government records during a period of
emergency.
We request an additional seven (7) day extension in order to respond to
your OPRA request. Please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any
questions regarding this notice. Thank you for your continued patience.
Very truly yours,
Samantha J. Castrelos, Esq.
Special Counsel
City of Elizabeth, Law Department
50 Winfield Scott Plaza, Room 201
Elizabeth, New Jersey 07201
(908) 820-4009
From: Grace Sequeira <[email address]>
Sent: Thursday, July 30, 2020 10:22 AM
To: [OPRA #13295 email]
Cc: Samantha Castrelos <[email address]>; Joanna
Ramirez <[email address]>; William Holzapfel
<[email address]>; Raymond Bolanowski
<[email address]>
Subject: OPRA # 450
Good Morning,
Please see attachment.
Grace Sequeira
City Clerk's Office
Deputy Municipal Clerk
50 Winfield Scott Plaza
Elizabeth, N.J. 07201
908-820-4130