How to Get Public Records From Haddonfield: Filing an OPRA Request With Borough Hall

Anyone can ask the Borough of Haddonfield for public records under New Jersey's Open Public Records Act, known as OPRA. You send a written request to the Deputy Borough Clerk at Borough Hall, 242 Kings Highway East, on the state form or with the same details the form asks for. It matters because minutes, contracts, budgets and permits are how you see what your local government is actually doing.

First, check whether it's already online

Plenty is posted already, so look before you file. The borough keeps commissioner work session agendas and minutes online, for example. The Nov. 9 work session agenda is up there now. Its minutes aren't yet, and minutes usually land after the board approves them.

If you can't find it, that's when OPRA comes in.

Where to send it

The borough's OPRA page says to send requests to:

• Laura Miller, Deputy Borough Clerk, Borough of Haddonfield, 242 Kings Highway East, Room 101, Haddonfield, NJ 08033
• Email: lmiller@haddonfield-nj.gov
• Fax: 856-795-1445
• Or hand it in. The Clerk's office is open 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.

The form itself is on the borough's Forms and Permits page under Clerk.

What changed in 2024

Gov. Phil Murphy signed an OPRA overhaul, P.L.2024, c.16, on June 5, 2024. It took effect Sept. 3, 2024. Per the borough, here's what it means for you:

• Use the form, or match it. Requests go on the OPRA form created by the state Government Records Council. If you email or mail a letter instead, it has to include everything the law requires, which is the same information the form asks for.
• One agency per request. Each request goes to the custodian of one public agency. Sending the same request to several custodians at the same agency while it's pending lets the custodian deny it.
• Say if it's for a lawsuit. You must certify whether the record is sought for a legal proceeding and name that proceeding. OPRA can't be used for records already covered by a court order or pending discovery request.
• Response timelines and exemptions were updated. The borough points to N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5(i) for timing and N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1.1 for exemptions.

Who can ask, and what it costs

Anyone can file, including out of state residents. Anonymous requests are still allowed, though you can't bring a Government Records Council complaint on one. Commercial requests face new rules under the 2024 law.

Printed copies cost $0.05 a page for letter size and $0.07 for legal size, per the borough.

Police records go elsewhere

The Haddonfield Police Department uses its own OPRA request form with its own custodian, so send police requests there, not to the Clerk.

A few tips

Be specific. "The Oct. 5, 2026 work session minutes" beats "anything about stop signs." Name the board, the date and the document type. Keep a copy of what you sent and when.

New to how Borough Hall works? Start with our guide to Haddonfield's commission government, then see how the borough is hiring its 2027 professionals.

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