New Jersey Foundation for Open Government
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In an unpublished opinion issued on 11/14/2017, an Appellate Court ruled that the State Local Finance Board (LFB) must have a quorum of two thirds of its members to act. The ruling concerned the LFB’s vote, when only half of its members were present, to overturn the decision of a local ethics board. NJ Read More …
Allowing the members of a public body to attend its public meetings by phone is a practice increasingly mired in controversy. Should it be legal in other than emergency or special circumstances? Certainly, members of the public can’t do it — i.e., a town resident who monitors a public meeting remotely via open phone line Read More …
The League of Municipalities is hosting a seminar next month on compliance with the Local Government Ethics Law, a topic that has been the subject of numerous NJFOG posts. Sessions are Oct. 19 and Oct. 26, 2016. We hope the League recommends disclosure for matters that fall into “the gray area.” Sunlight is best! Read More …
PRESS RELEASE For immediate release March 29, 2016 The State Local Finance Board (LFB) has rejected a Petition for Rulemaking submitted by the New Jersey Foundation for Open Government (NJFOG) that sought changes to the Board’s procedure for handling ethics complaints filed against local government officials. NJFOG proposed time limits for handling the investigations Read More …
Many people who have sought public meeting minutes have heard the familiar refrain, “the minutes are not approved for release.” That would seem to imply that failure of a governing body to adopt a set of minutes could forever block their release, even for minutes of an open public meeting. The OPMA and OPRA laws Read More …