Except as otherwise provided in the Charter, by law, or in this
chapter, the Council shall be governed in questions of order, organization,
and conduct of business by Robert's Rules of Order in all applicable
cases.
A.
The
Council shall hold agenda and public meetings on the first and third
Mondays of each month. The Council will by resolution set the time
of said meetings. The Council may also by resolution dispense with
or reschedule any meeting based on legal or national holidays or other
scheduling considerations.
[Amended 12-15-2008 by Ord. No. 2008-18]
B.
Special
meetings.
(1)
Call for meeting. The Mayor or the President of the Council may at
any time and, upon written request of a majority of the Councilmen,
shall call a special meeting of the Council. The President can call
special meetings for the purpose of investigating or discussing any
legislative action which cannot be properly concluded, discussed or
investigated in the course of the regular scheduled meetings. The
request and call for a special meeting shall specify the purpose of
the meeting, and no business shall be transacted at the special meeting
other than that specified. The call for a special meeting shall be
filed with the Borough Clerk and served upon each Councilman as hereinafter
provided at least 24 hours prior to the time for which the meeting
is called, provided that the Mayor may determine that an emergency
exists affecting the health or safety of the people which requires
consideration by the Council within a shorter time. Upon such a determination,
which the Mayor shall set forth in the call, the call may be filed
with the Borough Clerk at any time not less than three hours prior
to the time set for the meeting.
(2)
Notice of meeting. Upon the filing of any call for a special meeting,
the Borough Clerk shall forthwith give notice thereof by telephone
or telegraph to each Councilman, at the place he shall have previously
designated for that purpose, and shall also serve or cause to be served
a written copy of the call upon each Councilman by delivery of a copy
to him personally or by the leaving of a copy at his usual place of
abode.
C.
Adjourned
meeting. An adjourned meeting shall be considered a continuation of
the preceding meeting, and the business of the Council shall be resumed
where it was left at the last adjournment.
D.
Council
committee conference. The President of the Council may call meetings
of the whole of the Council, in advance of any regular or special
meetings, to plan the agenda of the meeting and to discuss such other
matters as may require consideration by the Council.
A.
Council
President. The President of the Council shall be chosen by the Council
at an organization meeting on January 1 or the first regular meeting
of January of each year. The President of the Council shall:[1]
(1)
Appoint any special committees of the Council as may be required.
(2)
Preside at all meetings of the Council and of the committee of the
whole.
(3)
State the question and announce the result on all matters upon which
the Council may vote.
(4)
Rule in all questions of order, subject to appeal to the Council.
(5)
Sign all ordinances and resolutions adopted in his presence and,
in his absence, the President pro tempore shall sign ordinances and
resolutions adopted in his presence.
(6)
Have such other functions, powers and duties as the Council may from
time to time prescribe.
[1]
Editor's Note: Pursuant to Ord. No. 2010-02, adopted 3-8-2010,
the date of the organization meeting, formerly July 1 or the first
regular meeting of July of each year, was amended.
B.
Clerk.
The Borough Clerk shall serve as Clerk of the Council in accordance
with this Administrative Code. In the absence of the Clerk, the President
shall appoint a Clerk pro tempore.
An agenda for each regular meeting of the Council shall be prepared
by the Clerk under the supervision of the President of the Council.
The agenda shall be completed not later than 4:00 p.m. on the Friday
preceding each regular meeting of the Council, except for emergency
matters which may be added to the agenda at any time before the meeting
by the President of the Council. The agenda for each regular meeting
shall include only such matters of Council business as have been presented
or delivered to the Clerk, not later than noon on the day the agenda
is to be prepared. As soon as the agenda for each meeting has been
prepared, the Clerk shall mail or deliver a copy to each Councilman,
to the Mayor, and to the office of the Business Administrator.
The President of the Council shall call each meeting to order.
In his absence the Clerk shall call the meeting to order and those
present shall select a temporary Chairman who shall preside during
the absence of the President. The President shall assume the Chair
as soon as he is in attendance at any meeting which may have been
called to order in his absence, and the temporary Chairman shall thereupon
relinquish the Chair.
At the opening of each meeting of the Council, the Clerk shall
call the roll and the names of those present shall be recorded in
the minutes. Three members of the Council shall constitute a quorum.
If a quorum is not present 1/2 hour after the appointed time for any
meeting, the presiding officer shall declare the meeting adjourned.
The order of business at each meeting of the Council shall be
as follows:
A.
Salute to the flag; silent prayer.
B.
Roll call.
C.
Approval of minutes of previous meeting.
D.
Receiving, opening and awarding of bids.
E.
Ordinances.
F.
Resolutions.
G.
Applications and proclamations.
H.
Resolution on payment of bills.
I.
Comments and reports from Council.
J.
Requests and communications of Mayor, administrative officers, boards,
committees and department heads.
K.
Public hearings.
L.
Adjournment.
The Clerk shall, so far as practicable, prepare and distribute
to the Council the minutes of each meeting promptly after the meeting.
The minutes of any meeting may be approved without reading whenever
they have been distributed at least 24 hours prior to the time of
approval.
There shall be no standing committees of the Council other than
the committee as a whole. The rules of the Council shall govern the
meetings of the whole so far as applicable. Special committees for
legislative purposes may be appointed by the President pursuant to
resolution or motion. No special committee shall proceed to the consideration
of any matter referred to it unless a majority of the members of the
committee shall be present. No special committee shall report on a
matter referred to it at the same meeting at which the reference is
made, except by unanimous consent of the members of the committee.
The vote upon every motion, resolution, or ordinance shall be
taken by roll call, and the yeas and nays shall be entered on the
minutes. The minutes of each meeting shall be signed by the presiding
officer and by the Clerk.
A.
Nominations by the Mayor. Nominations submitted by the Mayor shall
be considered in committee of the whole and reported to the Council,
not later than its second regular meeting following the submission
of the nomination. Any member of the Council may move a nomination.
B.
Nominations by Council. With respect to appointments to be made by
the Council, any member of the Council may nominate as many candidates
as there are offices to be filled. The Council shall consider such
nominations in committee of the whole and report to a regular meeting
of the Council. Where there is a single office to be filled, the sense
of the Council on the appointment shall be taken as to each nominee
in alphabetical order, and the first nominee to receive a majority
shall be deemed appointed. Where there is more than one office to
be filled, such as on a board, commission or authority, the same procedure
shall be followed with respect to each office separately until the
total number of appointments to be made has been completed. At the
discretion of the Chair, a group of nominations may be considered
at once where there is no apparent division in the Council as to the
nominees included in the group.
A.
President may participate. The President of the Council may move,
second and debate from the Chair, and shall not be deprived of any
right to vote or of any other rights, powers or duties of a Councilman
by virtue of occupying the office of President of the Council.
B.
Recognition by Chair. A member of the Council shall be entitled to
the floor only upon recognition by the Chair, but such recognition
shall only determine the sequence of speaking, and no Councilman shall
be denied the privilege of the floor. Once a member has been recognized
and taken the floor, he shall not be interrupted for any reason other
than a call to order. In such case, the Chair shall rule promptly
on the point of order, and the speaker shall be allowed to proceed
if he is in order.
C.
Order of closing. The Councilman who has made a motion shall be entitled
to the privilege of closing debate.
D.
Reconsideration. A motion to reconsider may be made by a Councilman
on the prevailing side. Such motion may be made only at the same meeting,
or at an adjournment thereof, at which the action was taken.
E.
Inclusion in minutes. A Councilman shall be entitled to have his
remarks included in the minutes with the consent of Council. The President,
with the consent of Council, may direct a synopsis of the debate on
any question to be included in the minutes.
When the roll is called upon any question, the silence of a
Councilman shall constitute an affirmative vote unless he states that
he abstains.
[Amended 7-18-2016 by Ord. No. 2016-09]
A.
Persons other than Councilmen may be permitted to address the Council
only during the time designated for public comment in the meeting
agenda. No member of the public shall address the Council until permission
is obtained from the Council President, nor while any other person
is speaking. All comments are to be directed to the Council and not
directly to any members of the public.
B.
In the case of a resolution, prior to adoption, the Council President
shall recognize all persons interested, and each shall be given the
opportunity to be heard once for a maximum of three minutes, which
time may be extended by the consent of the Council President. At the
public hearing of any ordinance, all persons interested shall be given
an opportunity to be heard once concerning said ordinance, and each
shall be limited to five minutes, except where time is extended by
the consent of Council President. In the event that public comments
exceed a total of one hour, the Council President may reduce the time
for additional speakers to a maximum of three minutes. No person shall
address any remark or question to any specific Councilman, except
by permission of the Council President, nor shall any person be permitted
to address the Council President while a motion is pending. A Councilman
may, through the Council President, choose to question a speaker,
but is not obligated to answer questions or make statements or commitments
in response to questions raised by the public.
C.
In all matters not previously provided for, except upon consent of
the Council President, each person addressing the Council shall limit
his remarks to five minutes. The Council President shall call any
speaker to order who violates this provision of the rule.
D.
No member of the public or of any organization shall be permitted
to make any audio or video presentation before the Council during
any regularly scheduled meeting unless said presentation has been
previously submitted and approved by the Council President.
A.
Conduct of Councilmen. Each member of the Council shall cooperate
with the Chair in preserving order and decorum. No member shall, by
conversation or otherwise, delay or interrupt the proceedings of the
Council, nor disturb any member while speaking, nor fail to abide
by the orders of the Council or its President except as specifically
permitted by these rules.
B.
Conduct of public.
[Amended 7-18-2016 by Ord. No. 2016-09]
(1)
All persons wishing to address comments to the Council shall do so
from the podium or other location as may be specified by the Council
President. No person shall address the Council from any other location.
The Council President may waive this requirement due to special circumstances.
(2)
Each person addressing the Council must identify himself by name
and city of residence. If said person is representing a business or
organization, he shall further state whether his comments are his
personal view or those of the group he represents.
(3)
Members of the public may not, in the course of their comments to
the Council, make personal attacks upon members of the Council, officers,
employees or other officials of the Borough that are unrelated to
the performance of their duties.
(4)
Any person who shall disturb the peace of the Council, make offensive
or abusive remarks, or conduct himself in a boisterous manner while
addressing the Council shall be barred by the Council President from
further audience before the Council, except that if the speaker shall
submit to proper order under these rules, permission for him to continue
may be granted by the Council President. In the event of continued
offensive or abusive conduct, the Council President shall order that
said person be removed from the Council Chamber for the duration of
the meeting. The order of removal from the Council Chamber shall only
be applicable to the current meeting.
(5)
The use of audio and video recording devices will be permitted by
members of the public during any open meeting of the Council, provided
that no audio or video equipment may be placed at or near the dais
or in any location as to impede ingress and egress of the Council
Chamber. The location and placement of any video equipment that has
been placed upon a tripod shall be along the rear wall of the Council
Chamber only.
C.
If so requested
by a majority of the Council, the Police Department shall be notified
to designate a member or members of the Department to serve as Sergeant
at Arms at said meeting. The member(s) of the Department shall carry
out all orders and instructions given by the Council President for
the purpose of maintaining order and decorum at such meetings.
[Amended 7-18-2016 by Ord. No. 2016-09]
A.
Preparation. Ordinances and resolutions shall be prepared for consideration
by the Council or request by the Mayor. Prior to introduction, each
proposed ordinance requiring or permitting administrative action shall
be submitted to the Business Administrator and the department head
concerned.
B.
Introduction. An ordinance or resolution may be introduced by any
member of the Council. The Clerk shall forthwith provide each member
of the Council with a copy thereof. Each resolution and ordinance
shall be limited to a single subject which shall be expressed in its
title.
C.
Enactment of ordinance. All ordinances shall be introduced, read,
heard and enacted in the manner provided by general law. Each ordinance
passed by the Council shall be forthwith delivered by the Clerk to
the Mayor. Each ordinance shall be returned by the Mayor to the Clerk
after the Mayor has affixed his signature thereto or after the expiration
of 10 days from the date of its delivery to the Mayor.
D.
Effective date of resolution. No resolution shall take effect less
than five days after its final passage by Council and approval by
the Mayor where such approval is required, unless the Council shall
adopt a resolution declaring an emergency and at least 2/3 of all
the members of the Council vote in favor of such resolution.
E.
Passage of ordinance over veto. The Council shall reconsider any
ordinance returned by the Mayor within the time permitted by the Charter,
together with a statement setting forth his objections thereto or
to any item or part thereof. Such reconsideration of the ordinance
or any item or part thereof from which the Mayor is constrained to
withhold his approval shall be at the next meeting of Council which
occurs not less than three days following the return of the ordinance
by the Mayor.
F.
The Council may, by affirmative vote of a majority of its members,
approve a consent agenda. Those items which appear on the consent
agenda are not required to be read at the public meeting in their
entirety but may be read by the Borough Clerk by title only. The aforesaid
consent agenda shall be deemed to have been adopted upon the affirmative
vote of the majority of all members of the Council. Those items so
approved under the consent agenda will appear to the Council minutes
in their complete and proper form.
A.
Passage over veto; certification of action. Whenever an ordinance
has been reconsidered by the Council following a veto by the Mayor,
the Clerk shall append to such ordinance a certification of the action
of the Council upon such reconsideration in substantially the following
form:
|
I HEREBY CERTIFY that the above ordinance adopted by the Borough
Council on the __________ day of _____, 19___, was delivered to me
on the __________ day of _____, 19___, together with the Mayor's statement
of the reasons for which he was constrained to withhold his approval
of such ordinance, item or part thereof. On reconsideration thereof
on the day of __________ (the Council duly resolved by the affirmative
vote of two-thirds of its members to enact such ordinance, item or
part thereof notwithstanding the Mayor's veto) or (the Mayor's veto
was sustained).
| ||
|
Dated:
| ||
|
Borough Clerk
| ||
B.
Ordinance not returned by the Mayor. Whenever an ordinance shall
take effect without the Mayor's signature by reason of his failure
to return it to the Council by filing it with the Clerk within 10
days after it has been presented to him, the Clerk shall append to
such ordinance as engrossed a certificate in substantially the following
form:
|
I HEREBY CERTIFY that the above ordinance was adopted by the
Borough Council on the __________ day of _____, 19___, and was presented
to the Mayor duly certified on the __________ day of _____, 19___,
and upon his failure to sign it or to return and file it with the
Clerk within 10 days thereafter, the said ordinance took effect in
like manner as if the Mayor has signed it.
| ||
|
Dated:
| ||
|
Borough Clerk
| ||
C.
Filing of reports and resolutions. All reports to the Council and
all resolutions shall be filed with the Borough Clerk and entered
in the minutes of the Council.
A motion to adjourn shall always be in order and shall be decided
without debate.
An ordinance shall take effect as a resolution immediately and
as an ordinance upon final passage and publication in accordance with
the laws of the State of New Jersey.
