Bill Would Slash Cost of Public Records

The township will likely wait for the state to act before deciding whether to lower the cost of copies of 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 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.

Township Attorney Robert Landel said he had reviewed the appellate court ruling but has not yet made a recommendation to the governing body on whether to lower rates and will likely wait for further direction from the state.

Currently, Wyckoff charges residents in accordance with previously established standards that dictate a 75-cent per page fee for the first 10 pages, 50 cents for the next 10 and 25 cents for each additional page.

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. 

Landel expressed some concern over the "actual cost" standard, wondering how a prospective rate schedule would quantify time spent filling requests, routine maintenance to copy machines and the like. He also wondered whether the 5- and 7-cent would be sufficient to cover such costs.

Rumana shares those concerns. 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."