Fanwood Council Takes Steps To Maintain Privacy For Public Officials

FANWOOD, NJ —The Fanwood Borough Council, at its monthly agenda/work session on Monday, Feb. 6th, passed a resolution appointing a Redaction Officer to comply with Daniel’s Law.

Daniel's Law is a 2020 measure signed by Gov. Phil Murphy that allows public officials to have their home addresses and other personal information removed from public government records.

This law was enacted in response to the murder of Daniel Anderl, the son of U.S. District Court Judge Esther Salas and Mark Anderl. The crime occurred at the judge’s home in July of 2020.

The law prohibits disclosure of the residential addresses of certain persons covered by the law on websites controlled by state, county and local government agencies. Those covered included former, active, and retired judicial officers, prosecutors, and members of law enforcement and their immediate family members residing in the same household.

The law also requires each municipality to appoint a Redaction Officer who will be the point person in submitting names of covered individuals to a central clearing house which will then carry out the removal of addresses and other personal information from public records.

Under the law, the town clerk assumes the responsibility of Redaction Officer. In Fanwood, that’s Kathleen Holmes.

The law calls for the Redaction Officer to receive training, then sign-on to an online portal to begin the process.