In her October 20, 2016 response to a Government Records Council (GRC) Denial of Access Complaint, Patricia Carpenter, Clerk of the Town of Kearny (Hudson County), admitted that her office has not yet transcribed the minutes of Town Council nonpublic (closed or executive) meetings held as early as September 8, 2011.
In her Statement of Information (SOI) to the GRC, Carpenter wrote:
The Closed/Executive Session meeting minutes requested have not been released because they have not been transcribed. Therefore, they were not available for release when the request was received.
The Town of Kearny's municipal budget over the years in question suffered a reduction in staffing in all departments which ultimately had a negative impact on the Town Clerk's office and the many essential functions within the department.
Without the necessary staffing in the Clerk's Office due to budget constraints, the transcription of the Closed/Executive Session minutes have been delayed.
Currently, the fiscal condition of the Town of Kearny has improved and the necessary staffing should be in place to provide the requested documents by November 15, 2016.
The complaint to which Carpenter responded, Libertarians for Transparent Government (LFTG) v. Town of Kearny, GRC Complaint No. 2016-261, referenced two Open Public Records Act (OPRA) requests that Carpenter's office acknowledged but then abandoned. In its May 10, 2016 request, LFTG requested five sets of closed minutes and resolutions, including those from September 8, 2011. Carpenter disclosed the resolutions on May 17, 2016 but said that "additional time [is] required" to produce the minutes. Carpenter had not responded further on that request when LFTG filed its Denial of Access Complaint on September 19, 2016.
The other request, filed on June 6, 2016, asked for the Kearny Town Council's March 25, 2008; April 9, 2013 and May 8, 2012 closed session resolutions and minutes and, if none existed, "the minutes of the three most recently held Town Council closed sessions for which minutes can be disclosed in whole or in part." Again, Carpenter told LFTG that she needed additional time and then took no further action to fulfill the request. Carpenter's October 20, 2016 response to the GRC did not explain why Carpenter's office failed to disclose any of the records sought in the June 6, 2016 request.
According to the Open Public Meetings Act, N.J.S.A. 10:4-14, government agencies, including municipal governing bodies, are required to make the non-exempt portions of their closed meeting minutes "promptly available" to the public.
LFTG is being represented in this matter by Ted M. Rosenberg of Moorestown.
