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Ridgewood NJ, NJ’s “Sunshine Law” (Open Public Meetings Act) strictly prohibits public officials from censoring the speech of residents making remarks during designated public comment sections of open public meetings.
First Councilwoman Susan Knudsen was told to recuse herself from a closed meeting on this subject at the suggestion of the Village Manager and now information was withheld from her about this same subject.What the hell is going on in Village Hall. Who is the employee that contact Civil Service and who directed this employee to do this, Why can’t Councilwoman Susan Knudsen have that information. Why didn’t the attorney contact the Councilwoman and speak to her about this issue instead of directing another Village employee to withhold the information. WHO IS RUNNIG THE VILLAGE OF RIDGEWOOD.?
The circumstance described by Ms. Knudsen demonstrates that public matters are being discussed, and decisions made, by a majority of the council in advance of the public meeting during which the discussions and decisions are supposed to take place on the record. This reduces the public meeting to the status of a charade, because the result desired by the majority has already been determined in advance! As we all had suspected, it now appears clear that the Sunshine Law has been violated. Violations of the Sunshine Law don’t just happen–they are usually undertaken when the majority wants to avoid scrutiny for something they wish to do that the public might find odious. We all owe Ms. Knudsen a debt of gratitude for sticking to her guns and airing this issue out publicly.
Ridgewood League of Women Voters hosts panel on good government
FEBRUARY 27, 2015 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2015, 12:31 AM
BY MARK KRULISH
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Good government was the topic of conversation for an audience made up of community leaders and residents at a forum hosted by the Ridgewood League of Women Voters on Wednesday, Feb. 18.
Members of the New Jersey Foundation for Open Government (NJFOG) were invited to present and educate the public on the Sunshine Law, also known as the Open Public Meetings Act (OPMA) and the Open Public Records Act (OPRA), and aid in an open dialogue about transparency in government.
“It’s the mandate of the Ridgewood League of Women Voters to educate the public about government,” said Crystal Matsibekker, president of the Ridgewood League of Women Voters. “And it is in this positive spirit of education that the Ridgewood League of Women Voters is hosting this event. Rather than discussing specific incidents or people or groups, we hope that tonight’s meeting would inspire a positive discussion about the future of our village.”
Walter Luers, the president of NJFOG, served as the keynote speaker for the forum. Luers also works as an attorney who often takes cases related to OPRA and OPMA. He presented the public with a basic background on the two laws and the ways he would like to see them amended.
Luers described OPRA as the best way to request copies of public documents from public agencies. In order to utilize it, a written request pursuant to OPRA must be prepared and sent to the public agency’s records custodian. If someone other than the records custodian receives the request, that person has an obligation to identify the records custodian to the requestor or forward the request.
Reader says Knudsen and Sedon would do us all the favor by attending the “Civility Roundtable” in official capacities, thereby triggering the Sunshine Law
At some point these quasi-public meetings move from discussing procedure (i.e., the process by which irreconcilable dissenters are isolated, frozen, and embarrassed, preferably one at a time), to discussing substance (once the meetings have been purged of non-likeminded people, the real agenda can be discussed and moved forward), all without the need to publish an agenda before the meeting or the minutes afterward, UNLESS…both M’s Knudsen and Sedon would do us all the favor of breaking up the party by attending all of these meetings in their official capacities, thereby triggering the Sunshine Law…?
An all Democratic panel? Or has this moved to a campaign event for PA? And we all thought he was just being civil.
At some point these quasi-public meetings move from discussing procedure (i.e., the process by which unreconcilable dissenters are isolated, frozen, and embarrassed, preferably one at a time), to discussing substance (once the meetings have been purged of non-likeminded people, the real agenda can be discussed and moved forward), all without the need to publish an agenda before the meeting or the minutes afterward, UNLESS…both M’s Knudsen and Sedon would do us all the favor of breaking up the party by attending all of these meetings in their official capacities, thereby triggering the Sunshine Law…?
Reader asks can we prevent our town from becoming the new Northern New Jersey hotbed of progressive political posturing.
Will village council members Knudsen and Sedon attend the Sunshine Law – Open Public Meetings presentation by the League of Women Voters? More importantly, if they wished to do so, M’s Knudsen and Sedon should declare their intention to attend in their official capacity the ‘civility roundtable’ discussions that have become the mayor’s fetish, and thereby force him to adhere to all of the Sunshine Act formalities in advance of and in the wake of each such meeting. In this way the ambiguous, morphing nature of this ongoing series of quasi-public meetings seemingly steeped in issues of great public import will be eliminated, the participation and influence and of non-resident speakers (such as the arguably irrelevant ‘Englewood Councilwoman’ Lynne Algrant, ‘North Jersey Media Group Publisher and President’ Stephen Borg, and ‘Public Affairs Executive and Jersey City Official’ Robert Sommer) will be appropriately limited or regulated, and as a salutary side-effect, we will prevent our town from becoming the new Northern New Jersey hotbed of progressive political posturing.
Sunshine Law – Open Public Meetings Act Presentation League of Women Voters Program – All are Welcome
The League of Women Voters of Ridgewood is proud to present a program on the “Sunshine Law” – the Open Public Meetings Act. Walter Luers, Esq., President of the New Jersey Foundation for Open Government (NJFOG) will explain the details of the Open Public Meetings Act, as well as the Open Public Records Act. NJFOG is a well-respected authority on the Sunshine Law, and Mr. Luers was recognized as one of ten “Lawyers of the Year” for his work on the Open Public Records Act.
When: Wednesday, February 18, 2015 at 7:00 PM Where: Ridgewood Village Hall, 131 N. Maple Ave, Ridgewood NJ, Senior Center Lounge, First Floor There will be ample time for questions after the presentation. All are welcome, and refreshments will be served. The guiding principle of the LWV is the informed and active participation of citizens in government. For more information: www.ridgewoodlwv@gmail.com
League of Women Voters hosts Sunshine Law – Open Public Meetings Act Presentation
