A director may serve as a division head and
a division head may serve as a bureau head without additional compensation.
Department heads shall devote full time as required for the proper
and efficient discharge of the duties of their respective offices.
Whenever a vacancy exists in the office of the
head of any division by resignation, removal, disability or otherwise,
the director of the department may fill such vacancy temporarily by
appointing an acting head of the division, who shall have and perform
all the functions, powers and duties of the division until the office
shall be filled permanently.
A.
Every officer or employee of the City who by virtue
of his/her office or position is entrusted with the receipt, custody
or expenditure of public moneys or funds, and any officer or employee
who may be required so to do by the Council, before entering upon
the duties of his/her office or position, shall execute and deliver
a surety bond in such amount as may be fixed by resolution of Council,
binding him/her to the City in its corporate name and conditioned
upon the true and faithful performance of his/her duty. Each officer
or employee required by law to give bond shall execute the bond with
sufficient surety and deliver it to the City Clerk, except that the
Clerk shall deliver his/her bond to the comptroller before (s)he enters
upon the discharge of the duties of his/her office or employment.
B.
If any officer or employee shall neglect to execute
and deliver his/her bond as herein required within 30 days after due
notification of his/her election or appointment, his/her office may
be declared vacant by the Council.
C.
In every case in which any person is required by the
laws of the state or by any ordinance of the City to give a bond for
the faithful performance of his/her duties, the bond shall be secured
by a corporate surety authorized to do business in this state and
the premium therefor shall be paid by the City. Each bond shall be
approved by the City Attorney as to form and sufficiency, and nothing
in this section shall be construed to prevent the use of one or more
blanket bonds when so approved.
Upon the termination of the term of office or
the employment of any officer or employee, (s)he shall forthwith deliver
to his/her successor or, if there be no successor, to the Clerk or
other person who may be designated by the Council to receive the same,
all moneys, papers, books, memoranda, accounts and data of any nature
whatever pertaining to the office. In addition to any other penalty
provided by law, any person who shall violate the requirements of
this section may be adjudged a disorderly person.
A.
Each department head shall have the power, except
as otherwise specifically provided by law, to appoint and, with the
approval of the Mayor, remove and suspend subordinate officers and
employees within the department, subject to applicable civil service
rules and regulations.
B.
The Business Administrator may establish an Employee Grievance Committee to hear, review and adjust informally such grievances that any employee or department head may present to it. Such hearing, review and adjustment shall be in accordance with Article I, Section 19 of the New Jersey Constitution (1947).
Pursuant to the Charter (N.J.S.A. 40:69A-37
and 40:69A-43):
A.
The Mayor, in his/her discretion, may remove any department
head after notice and an opportunity to be heard. Prior to removing
a department head, the Mayor shall first file written notice of his/her
intention with the Council, and removal shall become effective on
the 20th day after the filing of the notice, unless the Council shall
prior thereto have adopted a resolution by a two-thirds vote of the
whole number of the Council disapproving the removal.
B.
The Council may for cause remove any municipal officer
other than the Mayor or a member of Council.
C.
The Council will consider notices under Subsection A above, and motions under Subsection B above, only after notice and an opportunity to be heard to the affected officer. The Clerk shall forthwith cause a copy of the notice or motion, as the case may be, together with a statement of the charges involved and notice of the time and place fixed for hearing, to be served personally or by registered mail upon the officer affected. The hearing shall be held not less than 10 days nor more than 15 days after the date of such service and shall be open to the public.
Pursuant to the Charter (N.J.S.A. 40:69A-37),
the Council, in its discretion, may require any municipal officer
to prepare and submit sworn statements regarding his/her official
duties and the performance thereof, and the Council may otherwise
investigate the conduct of any department, office or agency of the
municipal government.
No rule or regulation made by any department,
except upon written approval of the Mayor, shall take effect until
at least 10 days after it is filed with the City Clerk as required
by the Charter. This limitation of time shall not apply, however,
to any order, rule or regulation which related solely to the organization
or internal management of the City government or a part thereof. The
City Clerk shall maintain a docket of all orders, rules and regulations
filed in his/her office, which docket shall show the name of the issuing
department, a brief description of the subject matter and the date
of filing. At the close of each year the Clerk, with the advice and
assistance of the City Attorney, shall compile, codify and bind all
of the orders, rules and regulations which then remain in force and
effect. The City Clerk may arrange for the printing and sale of such
compilation within the limits of available appropriations.
A.
All the books, maps, papers, accounts, statements,
vouchers and other documents whatsoever acquired or produced in any
City department shall be carefully and conveniently filed, kept and
preserved, shall be and remain the sole property of the City, and
shall not at any time be removed from the offices of such department,
except when required for use in the official business of the City
and shall then be returned to such office without delay. Each City
officer shall be responsible for assuring that the requirements of
this section are complied with in respect to his/her particular office.
This section shall be subject to the provisions Destruction of Public
Records Law (1953), N.J.S.A. 47:3-15 et seq.
B.
All documents and records of the City shall, during
office hours, be open to public search, inspection and examination;
provided, however, that such research, inspection and examination
shall not extend to work papers of any department, nor to materials
prepared for the prosecution or defense by the City of any legal action
or right; and further provided that such search, inspection and examination
be made under such regulations as the officer in whose custody the
records, books and documents may be, shall establish for the safety
and preservation thereof.
The public, administrative and executive business
office of the City shall be open for the transaction of public business
daily except Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays, between such hours
as the Mayor may prescribe with the approval of Council. In times
of emergency all departments shall provide City services for 24 hours
a day. The Business Administrator or a department head may require
any officer or employee to be in attendance for work on any day or
days whenever (s)he determines that a public exigency or emergency
so requires.
A.
Required.
(1)
All officers and employees of the City of Trenton,
New Jersey, now in the employ of or hereafter to be employed by the
City, are hereby required as a condition of their continued employment
to have a place of abode in the City and to be bona fide residents
therein. All officers, commissioners, directors and employees and
regular legal representatives of all quasi-municipal boards, authorities,
commissions and all other bodies which the City Council is by law
empowered to create shall be bona fide residents of the City within
the meaning of this section, except as otherwise specifically provided
by state law or where specific creating ordinances provide for or
expressly permit the appointment or employment of nonresidents or
designate membership by reference to some specific qualifications
or characteristic other than residency. [1]
(2)
A bona fide resident for the purpose of this section
is a person having a permanent domicile within the City.
(3)
Candidates for open competitive examinations shall
meet City residency requirements by being a bona fide City resident
as of the announced closing date of the examination. Continuous bona
fide residency must be maintained within the City from the announced
examination closing date up to and including the date of appointment.
Should a candidate discontinue his/her residency prior to appointment
(s)he will be subject to removal from consideration for employment.
B.
Exceptions.
[Amended 10-2-2014 by Ord. No. 14-33]
(1)
Present and future employees with 15 years of continuous
employment shall be exempt from the residency requirement.
(2)
In the event that any person who is not presently a bona fide resident
of the City of Trenton but shall be found qualified for employment,
then such person shall be required to establish bona fide residency
within 90 days of the date of employment and shall be required to
execute an affidavit stating such. The execution of said affidavit
and compliance with the terms stated therein shall be a condition
to employment.
C.
Waiver
to expand hiring class.
[Amended 10-2-2014 by Ord. No. 14-33]
(1)
Whenever the hiring authority of the City of Trenton shall determine
that there cannot be recruited a sufficient number of qualified residents
for available specific positions or employments, the City of Trenton
shall advertise for other qualified applicants. The City of Trenton,
or the hiring authority thereof, shall thereupon classify all qualified
applicants for such positions or employments so determined in the
following manner:
(2)
The hiring authority shall first appoint all those in Class 1 and
then those in each succeeding class in the order above listed and
shall appoint a person or persons in any such class only to a position
or positions, or employment or employments, remaining after all qualified
applicants in the preceding class or classes have been appointed or
have declined an offer of appointment. The preference established
by this section shall in no way diminish, reduce or affect the preferences
granted pursuant to any other provisions of the law.
D.
Waiver
for exceptional persons. Whenever the hiring authority of the City
of Trenton shall determine that there are certain specific positions
and employments requiring special talents or skills which are necessary
for the operations of the City of Trenton and which are not likely
to be found among the residents of the City, such positions or employments
so determined shall be filled without reference to residency. This
provision shall be used for positions or employments for (1) officers
that are subject to the advice and consent of the City Council and
(2) positions requiring persons with scientific or technical licenses
or certifications required by the New Jersey Department of Environmental
Protection, New Jersey Division of Community Affairs or any other
state governing agency.
[Amended 10-2-2014 by Ord. No. 14-33]
E.
Cause for discharge. Failure of any officers or employees
to comply with this section, except when otherwise permitted by law,
shall be cause for removal or discharge from the City's service or
employment.
A.
Full-time employees. All full-time employees of the
City shall be compensated as set by ordinance.
B.
Applicability. This subsection is intended to be a
complete longevity plan for the employees of the City of Trenton.
C.
Administration. The Department of Administration shall
promulgate such rules and regulations as may be necessary to assure
an equitable and proper administration of this subsection.
E.
Longevity pay plan. There shall be no additional increases for longevity
pay for all noncontractual employees and elected officials above and
beyond those received prior to the effective date of this subsection.
[Added 2-21-2013 by Ord. No. 13-07]
No permanent employee shall be terminated for
reasons of economy after 20 years of continuous service from the date
of employment, except for cause arising from the performance of his/her
duties. It is understood that this provision cannot be enforced if
the Mayor and City Council determine that the City faces extreme financial/budgetary
hardship. In such cases, the Mayor shall have the right to report
to Council that this provision cannot be enforced and by a vote of
Council only shall another alternative be instituted.
