September 15, 2022
TRENTON, NJ (MERCER)–John Paff from Transparency NJ says that in response to an Open Public Records Act (OPRA) request, he received today, an Excel spreadsheet identifying 2,171 Local Government Officers (LGOs), including mayors, municipal council members, zoning board members, etc., who were assessed $100 fines for allegedly failing to file Financial Disclosure Statements (FDS) by the April 30, 2022 deadline.
The decision to issue the NOVs and fines was made by Local Finance Board (LFB), the agency that primarily enforces the New Jersey Local Government Ethics Law (LGEL), at its June 8, 2022 meeting. The LFB enforces the LGEL against LGOs in all municipalities and counties except those that have their own ethics boards. In addition to counties and municipalities, the LFB also enforces the LGEL against LGOs serving regional authorities, county colleges, regional boards of health, joint insurance funds and other agencies.
The Microsoft Excel file, in exactly the form received, is on-line here. There are seven tabs across the bottom–one for each type of agency within the LFB’s jurisdiction. Within each tab, the name of the LGO who received the NOV is listed under the columns headed “Roster_FName” and “Roster_LName.”
Note that any LGO on the Excel spreadsheet has a right to appeal the LFB’s determination and its assessment of the fine. Anyone wishing to check on whether the a particular LGO has filed his or her FDS before or after the NOV’s issuance can perform a search here.
You can also down load at this link:
Midjersey.News converted the Excel file to a 31 page PDF file and that is below for easier reading for some viewers:
Note that Trenton, which has a large number of non-filers (link below), is not on the list because the city has its own ethics board and is thus outside the Local Finance Board’s jurisdiction. Trenton officials, it appears, pretty much are given a pass, according to Paff.
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