Bloomfield resident sues township over handling of public records request

Complaint asks judge to determine whether the township unlawfully denied access to payroll and financial records

A Bloomfield man has sued the township for allegedly mishandling his public records request, then shutting down his inquiry after he pushed back.

Doug Grant, a 44-year-old data analyst, filed a complaint in Essex County Superior Court this month after a lengthy dispute with town officials over access to payroll and financial records that he requested in early March.

Grant claims the township didn’t give him all the records he wanted, and many of those it did provide were either in the wrong format or missing critical information, among other things.

When Grant protested, Assistant Township Attorney Steven Martino — who is not the designated records custodian under New Jersey’s Open Public Records Act — allegedly ordered staff to close Grant’s request and stop dealing with him.

“He made it seem like it was insulting to them that I said this wasn’t the complete information,” Grant told The Jersey Vindicator. “There’s something there because of the way they’re acting about this.”

Grant, who is representing himself, has asked the court to review the township’s conduct and decide if it constitutes an unlawful denial of access under the state’s public records law. If so, Grant wants the court to order the township to produce the documents he seeks.

Bloomfield Mayor Jenny Mundell did not respond to a request for comment, nor did most of the other council members.

Instead, a spokesperson from a public relations firm employed by the township said Bloomfield would not comment on pending litigation.

“The township received and responded to Mr. Grant’s substantial OPRA requests and produced extensive records responsive to those requests,” the spokesperson said in an email. “As this matter now involves threatened litigation, the township cannot comment further on the specific allegations or potential legal strategy at this time.”

Later, Councilwoman Monica Charris Tabares sent her own email to The Vindicator that said such matters are typically handled by Bloomfield administrators and attorneys, not its elected officials.

“These matters are not within the responsibilities or authority of individual council members to comment on independently,” she said.

‘They’re freaking out right now’

Grant has a long history with Bloomfield, dating back to his time with the county Democratic committee and the local rent-leveling board.

He told The Vindicator that his request stemmed from long-held questions about the town’s finances, particularly how Bloomfield handles salaries, retirements, and pensions.

On March 6, he submitted a lengthy, detailed public records request that sought a variety of check registers, disbursement journals, payroll registers, transaction information, and other financial information.

He also wanted a list of salary ordinances and personnel resolutions adopted between 2023 and the spring of 2026 that pertained to the town’s Department of Public Works, recreation department, and fire department.

But the town didn’t give him what he was looking for.

For example, Bloomfield sent some records as PDFs instead of Excel files, which means they’re harder to analyze, the complaint said. When Grant questioned this, the town said it couldn’t export data to an Excel spreadsheet, even though it later did so.

The town also stripped employee titles, positions, and departments from payroll data; substituted summary reports for detailed transaction data; and withheld other requested records.

“The complaint documents a pattern of conduct that raises a question whether the township has constructed an architecture of opacity around its spending, one that keeps residents, the Township Council, and state oversight agencies from seeing where taxpayer dollars actually go,” Grant wrote in a statement accompanying the suit.

Afterward, he spoke by email with both town Secretary Andrea Schneider and Martino, the attorney, in an attempt to settle the dispute.

But it didn’t work out. And on March 31, Martino told Schneider to close Grant’s request and stop talking to him, the complaint said.

Grant replied that he’d pursue legal action.

“Because you have declared the township’s response closed and issued a final denial of access regarding the native transaction audit trails and my right of inspection, I will now govern myself accordingly regarding my legal and administrative remedies,” Grant wrote in a March 31 email to the attorney.

Martino replied that the town had given him the correct documents and Grant had subjected Schneider to “borderline harassment from you, for doing her job.”

“The township hasn’t denied your OPRA request and has acted in good faith in responding … which is what is required under the statute,” Martino wrote. “Ms. Schneider is extremely busy, and since your request has been filled, I have instructed her to close this request and instructed her not to respond to you should you email her again.”

“The insinuation that documents have been manipulated or altered is not only insulting but without basis,” the attorney continued.

Grant inquired once more on May 4, sending a “final, good faith request” to the town’s elected officials and administrators, the complaint said.

Nobody responded. He sued less than two weeks later.

The town is already looking to settle, Grant said. But he has no plans to acquiesce.

“They’re freaking out right now. I’m not settling. They know they got caught with their pants down. There would have to be a very firm corrective action plan that stops the practice of what they’re doing, because no one in the public should have to jump through these hoops to get information,” he said.

“When a municipal government invests this much institutional energy — false technical claims, format manipulation, data decoupling, unlawful closures, denied inspections — to prevent one resident from seeing a spreadsheet, the question is not whether something is being hidden,” he continued. “The question is how much.”