Wildwood Looks at ‘Abusive’ OPRA Requests

WILDWOOD — City residents wanting to travel down the information highway may eventually be paying a higher toll. At least when it comes to copies of government documents.
During a special Board of Commissioners meeting held Nov. 19, the three commissioners discussed what is appropriate when it comes to the public’s request for document copies made available to them by the state’s Open Public Records Act (OPRA).
“I have absolutely no problem with anyone requesting information from the city,” said Mayor Ernest Troiano. “I do have a problem when it comes to a point where it becomes abusive.”
Troiano said the city has one administrative assistant who, in combination of salary and benefits, earns approximately $45,000 a year and “Does nothing but OPRA requests.”
The mayor stated the majority of the OPRA requests the city receives are generated by two people.
“It gets to the point where it is abuse,” he said.
Troiano’s lament is not uncommon. Municipalities throughout the state, including several in Cape May County, have raised the issue of when is enough enough when it comes to OPRA requests.
“There are certain municipalities where they have had to hire a full time person just do deal with OPRA requests because of similar situations,” said City Solicitor Dorothy Incarvito. “Unfortunately OPRA is being used in many municipalities as a constant fishing expedition.”
Under the Open Public Records Act, a governmental body may charge for processing a request for public records. Currently the cost is 75 cents for the first 10 pages of the document, 50 cents per page for pages 11 -20 and 25 cents for all pages over 20.
According to the mayor, requests have been made for documents in excess of 250 pages.
The mayor said requests have been made to provide copies of contracts and salaries for city employees for the past four years.
”That’s abuse,” said Troiano.
“I got some information from our friends in Middle Township with regard to special service charges,” said City Administrator Christopher Wood. According to Wood, there is a method to charge for extraordinary requests.
According to the state law, “The actual cost of duplicating the record shall be the cost of materials and supplies used to make a copy of the record, but shall not include the cost of labor or other overhead expenses associated with making the copy…” The law continues, “Whenever the nature, format, manner of collation or volume of a government record…involves an extraordinary expenditure of time and effort to accommodate the request, the public agency may charge, in addition to the actual cost of duplicating the record, a special service charge…”
Wood said municipalities can break down the cost per hour of the lowest paid employee in the office, passing that cost per hour along to the requesting entity.
“I have no problem giving legitimate information,” said the mayor. “I do have a problem when it becomes a fishing expedition and I have to take a salaried employee who makes $45,000 a year and have her spend her whole time doing that [rather] than productive work for the city.”
Troiano said multiple, lengthy requests are abusive. “That has to do with ‘Let’s see what criminal aspects we can find and let’s go fishing and come up with all these concocted ideas of how we think these people are crooked.’”
The mayor stated those people who are abusing the OPRA request law are not out to better government, but out for a witch hunt.
Some requests for city records involve an exorbitant amount of time, said Troiano, noting the collection of some records takes city employees weeks to obtain.
Commissioner Pete Byron said one request made to the city was for a copy of every ordinance and every resolution passed by the city for the past two-and-a-half years.
“You have to comply with it,” said Incarvito, “even though it is tying up other resources of the city.”
Wood said the city will begin looking at implementing a special service fee.
“I don’t want anyone to say I am trying to hide stuff,” said Troiano. “This has nothing to do with being a watchdog. This is abuse. It’s a shame. There’s got to be a limit. Special costs should be incurred. The taxpayers should not be paying for a witch hunt.”