All legislative power of the Township shall
be exercised by the Township Council pursuant to the Charter, except
as may be otherwise provided by general law. The Township Council,
in addition to such other powers and duties as may be conferred upon
it by the Charter or otherwise by general law, may require any municipal
officer to prepare and submit sworn statements regarding his official
duties and the performance thereof and may investigate the conduct
of any department, office or agency of the municipal government.
The Council shall consist of the Mayor and four
Council members. Members of the Council shall be elected at large
by the voters of the municipality and shall serve for terms of three
years beginning on the first day of January next following their election,
with the exception of the first members of Council elected under the
new Small Municipality Plan (N.J.S.A. 40:69A-115 et seq.) which shall
be elected as provided for by the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:69A-117.2.
A.
Presiding officer. The Mayor shall preside over all
meetings of the Council and shall participate and vote as other Council
members.
B.
Deputy Mayor. The Council shall select from among
its members a Deputy Mayor, who shall serve in the place of the Mayor
in the event of his absence, disability or refusal to act.
C.
Quorum. A majority of the whole number of the Council
shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.
D.
Committees. The Mayor shall appoint a committee of
the Council, which may consist of one or more Council members.
E.
Clerk of the Council. The Municipal Clerk shall serve
as the Clerk of Council; keep a journal of the proceedings of the
Council; prepare, sign and maintain the minutes of the Council; maintain
the records of Council; and perform such other duties as shall be
assigned. At public meetings of Township Council, the Municipal Clerk
shall, in the proper order of business, announce the subject and author
of all correspondence received. In addition, at the request of any
Council member, any item of correspondence shall be read in full.
Vacancies in the office of Mayor and Council
shall be filled in the manner provided by the Municipal Vacancy Law
(N.J.S.A. 40A:16-1 et seq.).
The Council will organize annually, at which
time it will select a Deputy Mayor of the Council from among its members.
The Mayor shall preside over all meetings of the Council. In the absence
of the Mayor, the Deputy Mayor shall preside. In the absence of the
Mayor and Deputy Mayor, the Township Council shall select a temporary
presiding officer from among its members.
A.
Reorganization meeting. The Council shall hold a reorganization
meeting each year on any day during the first week in January as the
Council may by resolution fix; provided, however, that should January
1 fall on Sunday and no other time for the meeting has been fixed
by resolution, said meeting shall be held on the following day.
B.
Regular meetings. At the annual reorganization, the
Council shall, by resolution, designate the time and place of holding
regular meetings, which shall be at least monthly.
C.
Special meetings.
(1)
Special meetings may be called by the Mayor at any
time or shall be called by the Mayor upon the written request of a
majority of the Council members. Such request shall be in writing
and signed by a majority of the members of Council and shall specify
the purpose for which such meeting is to be called. No business shall
be transacted at any special meeting other than that specified in
the request.
(2)
Upon receipt of any such request, the Mayor shall
promptly direct the Clerk to serve notice, in writing, of such special
meeting upon each member of the Council at least 48 hours prior to
the time for which the meeting is called and to serve all notices
required by the Open Public Meetings Act (N.J.S.A. 10:4-6 et seq.).
The notice shall designate the purpose of the special meeting, and
no other business shall be conducted.
D.
Emergency meetings.
(1)
Should the Mayor or a majority of the Council determine
that a state of emergency exists which is of such urgency and importance
that the delay necessary to call a special meeting would be likely
to result in substantial harm to the public interest, the Mayor or
a majority of the Council may call an emergency meeting.
(2)
The call shall be filed with the Clerk at any time
not less than three hours prior to the time set for the emergency
meeting and shall be signed by the Mayor or a majority of the Council
and shall designate the purpose of the emergency meeting.
(3)
Whenever an emergency meeting is called, the Clerk
shall forthwith cause written notice to be served upon each member
of Council at his place of residence or at his regular place of business
by leaving a copy thereof with the Council member personally or with
a responsible adult, said notice stating the date, time and place
of the meeting and the purpose for which the meeting is called. Such
written notice shall not be required if a written waiver of notice
is executed by all members of Council. The Police Department shall
cooperate fully with the Clerk in serving such notice.
(4)
At the time and place of the emergency meeting, the
meeting may proceed upon the affirmative vote of 2/3 of the members
present if:
(a)
Such meeting is required in order to deal with matters
of such urgency and importance that a delay for the purpose of providing
adequate notice would be likely to result in substantial harm to public
interest;
(b)
The meeting is limited to discussion of and acting
with respect to such matters of urgency and importance;
(c)
Notice of such meeting in accordance with N.J.S.A.
10:4-6 is provided as soon as possible following the calling of such
meeting; and
(d)
Either the Council could not reasonably have foreseen
the need for such meeting at a time when adequate notice could have
been provided or, although the Council could reasonably have foreseen
the need for such meeting at a time when adequate notice could have
been provided, it nevertheless failed to do so.
E.
F.
Special public hearings.
(1)
Any member of the Council may, when he deems it in
the public interest, move for the holding of a special public hearing
for the purpose set forth in his motion. No ordinance, resolution
or motion shall be voted upon at such special hearing, and such special
hearings shall not include public hearings on ordinances which are
a part of the order of business of regular meetings.
(2)
Should a special public hearing be called, the Clerk
shall cause the time, place and purpose of said hearing to be advertised
once in the official newspaper of the Township. Such advertisement
shall appear at least seven days in advance of the date of the hearing.
(3)
The Council member moving for the holding of a special
public hearing shall chair the hearing. Any interested parties may
appear to be heard at such hearing for the purpose set forth in the
advertisement of the hearing.
A.
Agenda. The agenda for each regular meeting of the
Council shall be prepared by the Clerk and made available to the Council
members at least 24 hours prior to the opening of the meeting. Written
notice of changes in the agenda shall be made available to each Council
member prior to the convening of a meeting. Additional copies of the
agenda shall be available to the public. Except for an emergency matter
which may be added at any time with the approval of the Mayor, the
agenda may include only such matters of Council business as have been
presented or delivered to the Clerk not later than 24 hours prior
to the start of the meeting.
B.
Order of business. Promptly at the hour designated,
all regular and special meetings of the Council shall commence. Unless
otherwise authorized by resolution of Council, all business coming
before the Council shall be heard and voted on in the following order:
(1)
Quorum call.
(2)
Approval of minutes of the previous meeting.
(3)
Receipt of bids.
(4)
Scheduled public hearings and/or public discussions.
(5)
Ordinances, final reading.
(6)
Ordinances, first reading.
(7)
Payment of bills.
(8)
Resolutions.
(9)
Reports of elected officials, department heads, Township
officers and official correspondence.
(10)
Written communications.
(11)
Old business.
(12)
New business.
(13)
Petitions of citizens and public discussions.
(14)
Adjournment.
C.
Call to order. The Mayor shall call each meeting to
order. In his absence, the Deputy Mayor shall call the meeting to
order and shall preside during the absence of the Mayor. The Mayor
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 Deputy
Mayor shall thereupon relinquish the chair.
E.
Quorum call. 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 for the conduct of business. If a quorum is not
present by 1/2 hour after the appointed time for any meeting,
the meeting shall be deemed adjourned.
F.
Distribution and reading of minutes. The Clerk shall,
insofar as is practicable, prepare and distribute to the Council the
minutes of each meeting within 15 days of 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.
The Clerk shall promptly post a copy of the approved minutes in a
public place in the Municipal Building and shall leave such copy posted
for 30 days.
G.
Nominations and appointments.
(1)
Nominations submitted by the Mayor will be considered
and may be confirmed at the regular meeting at which they are submitted.
(2)
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 will consider such nominations
in the committee of the whole, which will report to a regular meeting
of Council. Where there is a single office to be filled, the sense
of the Council and 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 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. In 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.
H.
Rules of debate.
(1)
Except as otherwise specifically provided in these
rules, the proceedings of Council shall be governed by Robert's Rules
of Order.
(2)
The presiding officer shall have all of the rights,
powers and duties of a Council member, as elsewhere provided within
this code.
(3)
A member of the Council shall be entitled to the floor
upon recognition by the chair. Once a member has been recognized and
has taken the floor, he shall not be interrupted for any reason other
than to call to order, and in such case, the chair shall promptly
rule on the point of order, and the speaker shall be allowed to continue
if he is in order.
(4)
A motion to reconsider may be made by a Council member
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.
(5)
A Council member shall be entitled to have his remarks
included in the minutes, with the consent of the Council.
(6)
The Mayor, with the consent of the Council, may direct
a synopsis of the debate on any question to be included in the minutes.
I.
Addressing Council.
(1)
Persons other than Council members may be permitted
to address the Council in the proper order of business. A person present
may, upon recognition by the chair, be heard in the order of petitions
of citizens and public discussion. A person present may, upon recognition
by the chair and with the consent of a majority of the Council members
present, be heard at any other time. No person shall address any remark
or question to any specific Council member nor to any other person
present except by permission of the majority of the Council. A Council
member may, through the chair, respond to any communication or address
received pursuant to this section.
(2)
Except upon consent of the Council, each person addressing
the Council pursuant to this section shall be required to limit his
remarks to five minutes and shall at no time engage in any personally
offensive or abusive remarks. The chair shall call any speaker to
order who violates any provision of this rule.
J.
Decorum.
(1)
Each member of the Council shall cooperate with the
chair in preserving order and decorum, and no member shall, by conversation
or otherwise, delay or interrupt the proceedings of the Council, disturb
any member while speaking or fail to abide by the orders of the Council
or its presiding officer, except as specifically permitted by these
rules.
(2)
Any person who shall disturb the peace of the Council,
make impertinent or slanderous remarks or conduct himself in a boisterous
manner while addressing the Council shall be forthwith barred by the
presiding officer from further remarks 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 majority vote of
the Council.
(3)
The Police Department shall designate a member of
the Department to serve as Sergeant at Arms at Council meetings. He
shall carry out all orders and instructions given by the presiding
officer for the purpose of maintaining order and decorum at such meetings.
He shall not be required to be in attendance at the meeting, provided
that he is present in the Municipal Building during the time of the
meeting whenever possible.
K.
Filing of reports, petitions and resolutions. All
reports to the Council and all resolutions and all petitions shall
be filed with the Clerk and referenced in the minutes of the Council.
L.
Adjournment. A motion to adjourn shall always be in
order and shall be decided without debate.
M.
Roll call votes; minutes. The vote upon every motion,
resolution or ordinance shall be taken by roll call. The vote shall
be "aye" or "nay" or words to that effect of affirmative or negative
by each member, and there shall be no further discussion following
the commencement of the roll call. The vote of each member shall be
entered on the minutes. Any member of Council may abstain from voting
at any time. When the roll is called on any question, the silence
of a Council member present shall constitute an affirmative vote,
unless he states that he abstains. The question shall be determined
by a majority of those members voting unless otherwise provided by
law. The minutes of each meeting shall be signed by the officer presiding
and by the Municipal Clerk.
B.
Preintroduction review.
C.
Introduction.
(1)
An ordinance or resolution may be introduced by any
member of the Council. Each ordinance or resolution shall be introduced
in written or typewritten form and shall be read and considered as
provided by general law. The vote upon every motion, resolution or
ordinance shall be taken by roll call, and the "ayes" and "nays" shall
be entered upon the minutes of the meeting.
(2)
All ordinances and resolutions shall require an affirmative
vote from a majority of the Council present for adoption unless specified
otherwise.
D.
Publication.
(1)
After introduction and passage at first reading, each
ordinance shall be published in accordance with general law.
(2)
An ordinance may incorporate by reference any standard
regulations or code, official or unofficial, which need not be so
published whenever 10 copies of such regulations or code have been
placed on file in the office of the body or department charged with
the enforcement of said ordinance for examination by the public so
long as said ordinance is in effect.
E.
Second reading and public hearing.
(1)
At the time and place so stated in the publication
or at any time and place to which the meeting for the further consideration
of the ordinance shall, from time to time, be adjourned, all persons
interested shall be given an opportunity to be heard concerning the
ordinance. The opportunity to be heard shall include the right to
ask pertinent questions concerning the ordinance by any resident or
any other person affected by the ordinance. Final passage shall be
at least 10 days after the first publication of any ordinance after
introduction.
(2)
Upon the opening of the hearing, the ordinance shall
be given a second reading, which reading may be by title, and thereafter
it may be passed with or without amendments or rejected. Prior to
said second reading, a copy of the ordinance shall be posted on the
bulletin board or other place upon which public notices are customarily
posted in the principal municipal building, and copies of the ordinance
shall be made available to members of the general public who shall
request such copies. If any amendment is adopted which substantially
alters the substance of the ordinance, the ordinance, as so amended,
shall not be finally adopted until at least one week thereafter, and
the ordinance, as amended, shall be read at a meeting of the Council,
which reading may be by title, and shall be published, together with
a notice of the introduction and the time and place when and where
the amended ordinance will be further considered for final passage,
at least two days prior to the time so fixed. At the time and place
so fixed or at any other meeting to which the further consideration
of the amended ordinance may be adjourned, the Council body may proceed
to pass the ordinance, as amended, or again amend it in the same manner.
(3)
Upon passage, every ordinance or the title, together
with a notice of the date of passage or approval, or both, shall be
published in accordance with general law.
F.
Effective date. No ordinance, other than the local
Budget Ordinance, shall take effect less than 20 days after its final
passage by the 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 members of Council vote
in favor of such resolution.
G.
Compilation. The Municipal Clerk shall record all
ordinances and resolutions adopted by the Council and, at the close
of each year, with the advice and assistance of the Township Attorney,
shall bind, compile or codify all the ordinances and resolutions or
true copies thereof of the municipality which then remain in effect.
The Municipal Clerk shall also properly index the record books, compilation
or codification of ordinances and resolutions.
