There shall be a Department of Law, the head of which shall be the Borough Attorney. He/she shall be appointed by the Council and shall serve at its pleasure, receiving therefor remuneration as established by the Council pursuant to law. He/she may be an individual attorney or a member of a law firm; however, he/she must have been admitted to practice as an attorney at law in the State of New Jersey for a period of five years or more.
The Borough Attorney, in addition to such other duties, functions and powers as may be otherwise delegated to him/her, shall:
A. 
Be the chief legal advisor to the Council and Manager and shall give all necessary legal advice and counsel as required by the Council and Manager, for the Borough, its department heads and employees.
B. 
Prepare all ordinances, regulations, resolutions, contracts and other legal documents and papers not otherwise prepared.
C. 
Appear as attorney of record for the Borough in all actions or proceedings in which it may be or become involved.
D. 
Attend all regular and special meetings and such other meetings as requested by the Council or Manager.
E. 
Supervise the administration of the Law Department, the maintenance of its offices at the municipal building, its budget and expenditures, make annual budget recommendations to the Manager, allocate duties and responsibilities to Law Department personnel.
As may be required from time to time to meet the workload of the Department of Law, legal assistants may be appointed by the Manager, after consultation with the Borough Attorney as to need in such number as may be required. Said legal assistants shall be attorneys at law of the State of New Jersey, admitted to practice in this state for not less than one year. A legal assistant may be appointed for a term of one year or for a part of a year, as circumstances require, and shall receive a salary as established pursuant to law.
The legal assistants shall perform such duties as may be required by the Borough Attorney and specifically as follows:
A. 
One legal assistant shall be designated as Borough Prosecutor in the Municipal Court of the Borough and in any appeals from the decisions of that Court. Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 2B:25-4, the Mayor and Council shall, by resolution, adopt a list of a pool of attorneys as "Alternate Borough Prosecutors" who shall appear in the place and stead of the Borough Prosecutor when the Borough Prosecutor is either incapacitated or unable to appear in Municipal Court due to any conflict in scheduling or conflict of interest. The Alternate Borough Prosecutors, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 2B:25-4d, shall be compensated on a per diem basis for services rendered.
[Amended 7-23-2002 by Ord. No. 1920-2002]
B. 
One legal assistant may be delegated to assist and advise the Rent Leveling Board in its functions and duties and in any appeals from the decisions of that Board.
C. 
Aid and assist the Borough Attorney in the operation of the Department of Law in any litigation by or against the Borough or any of its departments, agencies, boards or employees, agents, officers, officials or servants arising in the course of and in the scope of their employment, prepare ordinances, contracts, resolutions, other legal documents and review such documents, provide research, correspondence and maintain proper files, all as directed by the Borough Attorney.
Both the Zoning Board and Planning Board shall appoint attorneys who shall act on behalf of those boards, respectively, as provided by law. These attorneys shall be independent of the Borough Attorney in the performance of their legal duties; however, administratively they are deemed as legal assistants for the purpose of submitting vouchers, if any, for review by the Borough Attorney, for all administrative assistance, budgetary allowances and planning and shall maintain in the municipal building or the office of the respective boards all permanent files, including litigation files.
In the event that the Borough Attorney is a member of a law firm, the name of that firm may appear as attorney of record for the Borough in all actions or proceedings. In a specific case and without regularity, any member of the firm may appear on behalf of the Borough; however, no additional compensation will be paid relative to such appearances.
In the event that any attorney employed by the Borough disqualifies him/herself because of a conflict of interest arising out of a particular proceeding, the Borough Attorney, with the consent of the Council or Manager shall make the appropriate arrangements for representation by the Borough.