As reported by nj.com, an open-government activist is suing Ewing Township for allegedly violating the Open Public Records Act by refusing to disclose part of a police officer’s salary. John Paff, the chairman of the Open Government Advocacy Project of the State Libertarian Party, said that he heard from confidential sources that Ewing was withholding payroll information that is supposed to be open to the public.

Paff, a Somerset County resident, said he is working to resist efforts by local governments to decrease transparency. “This is a case where they’re trying to close the door a little bit and we’re trying to push it back open,” he said.

In June, after hearing that Ewing was not properly disclosing information related to “extra pay” of police officers, Paff said he picked one officer at random and requested his complete 2012 salary information, broken down into different categories: regular pay, overtime pay, longevity pay, and extra pay.  

Extra pay is different from off-duty pay, Paff said. Off-duty pay is what a police officer makes when he works at a job unrelated to his official work, such as serving as a bouncer at a bar. Extra pay is what an officer makes when a contractor pays the town to have a police officer work in his official capacity such as when officers handle traffic at a construction site, he said.

Ewing sent the officer’s salary information to Paff, but redacted the extra pay information. Paff said he then informed them that if they did not provide what he believed was public information, he would sue. Last week he announced on his website, NJ Open Government Notes, that he filed suit. “This is an ongoing battle between people who want access and people who want secrecy,” he said.

In addition to suing for access, Paff is also suing to cover the cost of the legal fees and filing costs for this suit the Complaint said. Paff won a lawsuit against Lawrence earlier this year after the town refused to disclose terms of a settlement between a former police officer and the police department.

Tags: Articles, Ewing PD, Ewing Township, extra pay, Mercer County, OPRA, police salary info, salaries
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Photo of Donald C. Barbati Donald C. Barbati

Donald C. Barbati is a shareholder of Crivelli, Barbati & DeRose, L.L.C. His primary practice revolves around the representation of numerous public employee labor unions in various capacities to include contract negotiation, unfair labor practice litigation, contract grievance arbitration, and other diverse issues…

Donald C. Barbati is a shareholder of Crivelli, Barbati & DeRose, L.L.C. His primary practice revolves around the representation of numerous public employee labor unions in various capacities to include contract negotiation, unfair labor practice litigation, contract grievance arbitration, and other diverse issues litigated before the courts and administrative tribunals throughout the State of New Jersey. In addition, Mr. Barbati also routinely represents individuals in various types of public pension appeals, real estate transactions, and general litigation matters. He is a frequent contributor to the New Jersey Public Safety Officers Law Blog, a free legal publication designed to keep New Jersey public safety officers up-to-date and informed about legal issues pertinent to their profession. During his years of practice, Mr. Barbati has established a reputation for achieving favorable results for his clients in a cost-efficient manner.

Mr. Barbati has also handled numerous novel legal issues while representing New Jersey Public Safety Officers. Most notably, he served as lead counsel for the Appellants in the published case In re Rodriguez, 423 N.J. Super. 440 (App. Div. 2011). In that case, Mr. Barbati successfully argued on behalf of the Appellants, thereby overturning the Attorney General’s denial of counsel to two prison guards in a civil rights suit arising from an inmate assault. In the process, the Court clarified the standard to be utilized by the Attorney General in assessing whether a public employee is entitled to legal representation and mandated that reliance must be placed on up-to-date information.

Prior to becoming a practicing attorney, Mr. Barbati served as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Linda R. Feinberg, Assignment Judge of the Superior Court of New Jersey, Mercer Vicinage. During his clerkship Mr. Barbati handled numerous complex and novel substantive and procedural issues arising from complaints in lieu of prerogative writs, orders to show cause, and motion practice. These include appeals from decisions by planning and zoning boards and local government bodies, bidding challenges under the Local Public Contract Law, Open Public Records Act requests, the taking of private property under the eminent domain statute, and election law disputes. In addition, Mr. Barbati, as a certified mediator, mediated many small claims disputes in the Special Civil Part.

Mr. Barbati received a Bachelor of Arts degree in history, magna cum laude, from Rider University in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. Upon graduating, Mr. Barbati attended Widener University School of Law in Wilmington, Delaware. In 2007, he received his juris doctorate, magna cum laude, graduating in the top five percent of his class. During law school, Mr. Barbati interned for the Honorable Joseph E. Irenas, Senior United States District Court Judge for the District of New Jersey in Camden, New Jersey, assisting on various constitutional, employment, and Third Circuit Court of Appeals litigation, including numerous civil rights, social security, and immigration cases.

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