*McGettigan, Kelly and Cooper Urge Adoption of On-Line Public Records Initiative: **Say** **Atlantic** **County** Should Set Example by Implementing It Now***
(Northfield, NJ) - Three prominent Atlantic County Democrats declared their unequivocal support for the initiative proposed yesterday by State Assembly candidate Joe Kuehner that would make all public records easily accessible to the taxpayers. The proposal calls for the state government, as well as local governments and agencies across New Jersey, to post all public records online so that citizens can access them with the click of a mouse.
Sheriff Jim McGettigan, the Democratic candidate for county executive, Freeholder Joe Kelly, who is running for an at-large seat on the board this year, and Freeholder Alisa Cooper applauded Kuehner's proposal and said the Atlantic County government should take the lead in putting it into effect as soon as possible. Cooper said she would discuss the initiative with both the Democratic and Republican freeholders in an effort to post the county's records online.
"This will give our citizens a convenient tool to access the information they need to stay well informed about what their government is doing," McGettigan said. "Putting public records online goes a long way toward ensuring complete transparency in government. It is long overdue, and we owe it to the taxpayers to get it done quickly."
Kelly said the plan would allow citizens to determine with ease how their tax money is being spent. He said they would be able to go online to view such basic but important information as the county payroll and budget, pending projects before the planning and zoning boards, the dollars paid to county vendors and the details of professional services contracts. He noted that confidential personal in formation concerning county employees would be protected.
"The taxpayers pay for this government, and they have a right to know quickly and easily how their money is being spent," Kelly said. "There is simply no downside to implementing this system now."
Freeholder Cooper noted how difficult and cumbersome it can be for citizens to obtain public records through the current system, known as OPRA. She said the online initiative would eliminate the delays, objections and expense citizens often face when filing an OPRA request.
"Taxpayers should not have to go through hoops to get basic information about their government," Cooper said. "As it stands now, a citizen seeking a public record has to put the request in writing, pay for it and then wait for it, often indefinitely. Frequently, public officials trying to keep certain records under wraps will give people a hard time in an attempt to discourage them from pursuing the records request. That is unacceptable. People have a fundamental right to examine public records whenever they wish to - and at no cost. After all, they are already paying for their government."
"The government, and the elected and appointed officials who staff it, should be open, accessible and accountable to the citizens, and posting records online would help make that happen," Cooper said. "I will work with my fellow freeholders to help make it happen here in Atlantic County. Working together, in a bi-partisan spirit, we can make the initiative a model for the rest of the state."