Audio cassette duplication

Interestingly, the Borough's position that it can charge up to $339.79 to duplicate an audio tape from a single council meeting may be legally justified if its audio tapes are kept in some propriety format that requires substantial manipulation to convert into a format that people can listen to.  My May 16, 2012 letter to the Mayor and Council seeking further information to help me determine the legality of the $339.79 charge is on-line here.

Borough seeks up to $339.79 for audio tape of a single meeting

The Borough of Englewood Cliffs (Bergen County) wishes for me to pay up to $339.79 for the audio recording of a December 8, 2010 Borough Council meeting.  The Borough posits that the meeting was recorded on audio tape and that since the Borough now uses CD technology, it needs to use a private vendor, at $135 per hour, to duplicate the 2.5 hour meeting recording.

My OPRA request, the Borough's response and my reply to that response are on-line here.

John Paff

How current are the Borough Council minutes?

I am trying to get a handle on exactly how up-to-date (or not up-to-date) the Borough Council is on keeping, approving and maintaining its public and executive minutes.  I have submitted a very detailed OPRA request, available here, that ought to provide me with that information and inform me if a compliance lawsuit is necessary.

John Paff