PRESIDENTS MESSAGE 

Spring has arrived. Thankfully, we weathered a very difficult winter but thankfully, warmer weather is on its way.

Our 2010 Education Conference has been held and to say simply state that it was successful would be an understatement. The Taj Mahal Hotel Casino did a great job hosting the event and the educational component could not have been better. I trust that everyone picked up many tips to bring back to the office that will enable us to continue to perform out duties in an exemplary manner, even in these very challenging times. There were many aspects of the conference worth mentioning but in an effort to not reiterate what I have in the Quill, I will forego doing so. But, there is one thing I would never forgive myself if I didn’t do – I want to publicly state that I am forever grateful to my Mom and Dad for the many hours they spent baking those wonderful cookies that everyone enjoyed during the conference. It certainly added a special flavor to an already incredible event. I always knew that they were special people but now all of you do too. You two are the best!

As great as the conference was, there is much work that we need to do. As stated many times at the conference, the proposed revisions to the Open Public Records Act will have a crippling effect on our profession, regardless of how big or small our staffing levels are. MCANJ Representatives, including our Attorney, Richard Lustgarten, will be meeting with Senator Weinberg on April 30^th to explain our position and how the proposed amendments to the OPRA legislation will be detrimental to all of us. I encourage all of you to send me any comments or issues you feel are pertinent to our position. I assure you that we will make them known to the Senator.

Also, Senate Bill S838 was unanimously passed by the Senate which mandates that one position on the State Records Committee be rotated between a Municipal Clerk and a County Clerk. It has now been referred to the Assembly State Government Committee, and is expected to move through the process fairly quickly. This is certainly a positive step in the world of public records. Additionally, Assembly Bill A1333, which mandates that the President of MCANJ, or designee, be a permanent member of the Government Records Council, is also in the Assembly State Government Committee. Hopefully, both of these pieces of legislation will be signed into law in the very near future.

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me at (732)531-4968 or via email at vbuttiglieri@oceantwp.org.