In an unpublished opinion issued today, the Appellate Division held that a town’s volunteer rescue squad is not covered by OPRA. Brooks v. Tabernacle Rescue Squad.

The Tabernacle Rescue Squad is a non-profit 501-C3 organization created and operated by private citizen volunteers who provide emergency rescue services for the Township. In seeking records from the squad, the requestor argued that it is a public agency because it receives substantial financial support from the Township (at least 40%-50% of the squad’s funding), has limited immunity under the Tort Claims Act and performs a government function as the Township’s exclusive rescue organization.

The Appellate Division determined that these factors do not render the squad a public agency under OPRA. Most significantly, it agreed with the trial judge’s statement that under the law, an organization does not become subject to OPRA solely because it receives a substantial amount of government funding. Instead, the appropriate inquiry is whether the entity was created and controlled by a public agency.

The court emphasized that the squad was founded  by private citizens, not the Township, and conducts its operations “wholly free” of control by the Township. The court also noted that whether the entity performs a government function is not the legal test for determining if OPRA applies, but in any event it rejected the notion that providing ambulance services is a government function.