State Bill, Village Ordinance Would Slash Cost of Public Records

Ahead of the curve, Ridgewood could approve an ordinance August 11 to be in line with a state bill to lower the cost for copying public records.

A bill is currently before the governor that would dramatically slice the cost residents face when requesting documents under the Open Public Records Act (OPRA). The legislation, which includes District 40 Republican Assemblyman Scott Rumana as a primary sponsor, follows an appellate court ruling in the winter that opined that public agencies can only charge the "actual cost" of making copies.

Introduced July 14 by Ridgewood Village Council as an ordinance, the new measure will lower copying fees for standard pages to 5 cents and 7 cents for legal-sized—down from the current rate of 75 cents per page.

Village Clerk Heather Mailander suggested July 7 the council adopt the measure to be ahead of compliance and allow the village to transition on its own schedule.

Under a bill pending before Gov. Chris Christie, which received unanimous support in both the Assembly and Senate, copies sought under OPRA would carry a uniform fee of 5 cents for letter-sized documents and 7 cents for legal-sized documents. While the original bill offered rates of 10 cents and 15 cents, respectively, the lower fees were established by an amendment offered by Assemblyman Joe Cryan (D-20; another primary sponsor) days before the vote.

The governor's office did not return calls inquiring about the status of the bill, which was forwarded with legislative approval June 28. However, the office has previously indicated the legislation was being reviewed by Christie.

Some municipalities throughout northern New Jersey have already lowered their copy costs in response to a consolidated suit decided by the appellate division in February that originated from claims brought in Hudson, Sussex and Hunterdon counties.

That ruling held that effective July 1 (the start of the state's fiscal year) the counties in question and all other government agencies can only charge for the "actual costs" of photocopying government records, including paper cost and toner.

However, the ruling also left the door open for a legislative solution. "We have endeavored in this opinion to adhere to the most probable intent of the Legislature, even though its wishes are rather cryptically expressed in the present statute. If the Legislature prefers a different approach, it surely can revise (the statute) in a manner that makes the applicable copying rates clearer and more definitive... Absent such legislative action, government entities shall be guided by the interpretation set forth in this opinion," the opinion states. 

Despite being a sponsor, Rumana still has some misgivings. Although he says the Legislature had to "put some structure and protection in place for the local taxpayers," the fees set by the successful bill are a "point of frustration" for the assemblyman.

"We should have gone with the original proposed rates," in reference to the 10- and 15-cent standards set in the initial Assembly bill. "It was extremely reasonable."

Rumana fears the 5- and 7-cent fees may be too low.

"Towns should be able to cover the cost of production," he said.

Rumana is sympathetic to record keepers, in part due to seeing them at work during his years as a Wayne councilman, mayor and Passaic County freeholder. He said large and frequent requests can put a strain on clerks while carrying a cost to the town, and that it's difficult to adequately factor in labor costs.

"I can state without any equivocation that we're employing more than we need on secretarial costs" to keep up with records requests, he said.

The assemblyman agreed that the Legislature needed to act to definitively establish fees in response to the ruling establishing the "actual costs" standard.

Rumana said he ended up voting for the bill with the 5- and 7-cent fees because "voting yes was better than having nothing."

A public hearing for Ridgewood's ordinance is scheduled for August 11 at 8 p.m.

Editor Sam Fran Scavuzzo contributed to this report.