Township of Maplewood, NJ Chapter 60 Shared Municipal Services Advisory Committee

[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Committee of the Township of Maplewood 8-21-2007 by Ord. No. 2423-07. Amendments noted where applicable.]

GENERAL REFERENCES

Administration of government — See Ch. 6.

§ 60-1 Committee established.

The Township Committee of the Township of Maplewood, in the County of Essex, State of New Jersey, hereby establishes a Shared Municipal Services Advisory Committee (the "Advisory Committee") as follows.

§ 60-2 Participating municipalities.

The participating municipalities shall include Maplewood and South Orange.

§ 60-3 Membership composition.

A. The Advisory Committee shall be composed of representatives appointed by the governing bodies of each municipality for one-year terms. The Advisory Committee shall consist of 10 voting members, five from each municipality, composed as follows:

(1) One governing body member from each municipality.

(2) Three public members who are not members of the governing body and are residents of the municipalities.

(3) The Municipal Administrator of each municipality.

B. Municipal department heads, as ex-officio, nonvoting members, shall advise the Advisory Committee when their departments are the subjects of studies.

§ 60-4 Committee mission.

The Advisory Committee's mission shall be to:

A. Receive assignments from the Shared Services Committee regarding specific areas of study.

B. Based on assignments from the Shared Services Committee, examine opportunities for cooperation between the municipalities and with other municipalities that will lead to increased financial and operational efficiencies and improve service levels, including, but not limited to, interlocal agreements, department mergers and regional solutions.

C. Recommend applications for grants to study the feasibility of such cooperation and the implementation of both cooperative services and solutions.

D. Monitor and guide such feasibility and implementation studies.

E. Serve in an advisory capacity to the Shared Services Committee and the governing bodies of the municipalities.

§ 60-5 Funding and expenditures.

A. The Advisory Committee shall fulfill its mission based on the support of municipal staff, county and state agencies and consulting professionals.

B. Consulting professionals' service shall be paid for primarily using grants and municipal funds.

C. To the extent that municipal funds shall be used, such as for matching grants or incidental expenses, these expenditures shall be subject to the Shared Services Committee's recommendation to each governing body, all of which must agree to approve any related expenditures.

D. All related municipal expenditures shall be apportioned equally between the municipalities.

§ 60-6 Organization; meeting schedule.

The Advisory Committee shall establish, as soon as possible, a schedule for the conduct of its business, including:

A. Election of a chairperson and vice chairperson, one of whom shall be from each municipality, based on a simple majority vote.

B. Appointment of a secretary to maintain minutes of the Advisory Committee's meetings.

C. Establishment of a schedule of periodic meetings for 2007 and 2008.

D. Requesting such assistance from the Shared Services Committee as conditions require.

§ 60-7 Committee guidelines; duties.

The Advisory Committee shall function under the following guidelines:

A. The Advisory Committee shall act as a body, and no individual member may take any action in the name of the Advisory Committee that has not been authorized by the Advisory Committee as a whole. The Committee shall issue all its formal recommendations, in writing, to the Shared Services Committee of each municipality.

B. The Advisory Committee may recommend policies for formal adoption, but shall have no authority to adopt policies. The Advisory Committee shall have no management or supervisory authority over any department or its employees.

C. These tasks, while not exhaustive or inclusive, represent the types of tasks that the Advisory Committee shall undertake:

(1) Develop and reach a consensus on its goals and objectives.

(2) Monitor ongoing interlocal cooperation studies and provide guidance to consultants engaged to perform any such studies.

(3) Review issues relevant to its mission; consider alternative strategies for addressing related issues and recommend actions to be taken.

(4) Advise, assist, consult with and make recommendations concerning services and solutions under study.

(5) Recommend policies with respect to the management and financing of services and solutions for which it is considering undertaking or completing study.