The legislative power of the municipality shall
be exercised by the Council.
The Council, at its first meeting after each
election for Councilmen, shall elect a President of the Council from
among its members, to serve for a term of one year or until the election
and qualification of his successor. At the same time, the Council
may elect a Vice President of the Council to serve for a period of
one year or until the election and qualification of his successor,
who shall have all the functions, powers and duties of the President
of the Council whenever the President may be absent. In the absence
of both the President and Vice President of the Council, the Council
shall elect a temporary presiding officer who shall have all the functions,
powers and duties of the President during his absence. Upon the arrival
of the President or the Vice President, as the case may be, the officer
presiding shall relinquish the chair immediately upon the conclusion
of the particular item of business before the Council. The President
of the Council shall preside at its meetings. He shall preserve order
and decorum at all meetings of the Council. He shall state every question
coming before the Council, announce the decisions of the Council and
decide all questions of order subject to appeal to the Council. He
shall appoint all special committees of the Council and shall sign
all resolutions adopted by the Council during his presence.
As soon as a meeting is called to order, the
Clerk or his deputy shall alphabetically call the roll of the members,
and the names of those present shall be entered in the minutes.
A majority of all the members elected to the
Council shall constitute a quorum for that session of any regular
or special meeting of the Council, but a lesser number may adjourn
any meeting from time to time.
Whenever a roll call is necessary, the Council
shall vote alphabetically with the presiding officer voting last.
[Amended 12-16-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-25]
A.
At the organization meeting, the Council shall adopt a resolution
designating the order of business at each regular meeting, and such
order of business shall prevail until amended or changed by the Council.
(1)
The proposed agenda for each meeting shall be compiled by the Municipal
Clerk and the Township Business Administrator. The Municipal Clerk
shall make the proposed agenda available to the public and the press
upon request, after same has been made available to Council. Any member
of Council may add an item to the agenda prior to the agenda being
made available to the press. All ordinances and resolutions shall
be distributed to the Council no later than the second business day
preceding the meeting of the Council unless exigency requires a shorter
time frame.
(2)
The Council may amend the agenda at the council meeting upon the
determination that a need to amend the agenda exists. A majority of
Council members present must agree that a need exists in order to
add an item for discussion.
Unless a reading of the minutes of the previous
meeting is requested by a member of the Council, such minutes may
be approved without a reading if the Clerk has previously furnished
each member with a copy thereof.
Voting silence or abstention shall be construed
as a vote with the majority, except where a member disqualifies himself,
in which case he shall be considered as absent.
A.
There shall be no standing committees of the Council
other than the Committee of the Whole. The President of the Council
shall be the presiding officer of the Committee of the Whole, and
the rules of procedure of the Council shall be observed in the Committee
of the Whole as far as the same may be applicable.
B.
The Council may, from time to time, authorize special
committees. The President of the Council shall appoint the members
of the special committee and shall designate the chairman. A quorum
of each special committee appointed shall consist of the majority
of the members thereof.
Upon recognition by the chair, the person shall
proceed to the floor and give his name and address in an audible tone
of voice for the records. Statements shall be addressed to the Council
as a body and not to any member thereof. A Councilman shall not direct
any question to a speaker addressing the Council, except through the
presiding officer.
A.
While the Council is in session, the members shall
preserve order and decorum, and a member shall neither by conversation
or otherwise delay or interrupt the proceedings. A member of the Council
shall not disturb any member while speaking or refuse to obey the
orders of the Council or its presiding officer, except as otherwise
herein provided.
B.
Any person making personal, impertinent or slanderous
remarks or who becomes boisterous shall be barred by the presiding
officer from further attendance at the meeting of the Council unless
permission to continue is granted by the majority of the Council.
No person shall operate a camera, tape recorder or other device for
the reproduction of the proceedings of any meeting of the Township
Council, unless such procedure shall have been specifically permitted
by resolution previously adopted.
C.
In any question concerning the organization, proceedings
or decorum in connection with meetings of the Township Council not
otherwise covered by these rules of procedure or general law, Robert's
Rules of Order shall govern.
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. Where there is a single office
to be filled, the sense of the Council on the appointment shall be
taken as to each nominee, and the nominee receiving a majority shall
be deemed appointed. Where there is more than one office to be filled,
such as on a board 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.
[1]
Editor's Note: Former § 4-18, Removals, was repealed 12-16-2021 by Ord. No.
2021-25.
The Council may investigate the conduct of any
department, officer or agency of the municipal government, and the
Council may in the course of such investigation, in its discretion,
require any municipal officer to prepare and submit sworn statements
regarding his official duties and the performance thereof and shall
have full power of subpoena permitted by statute.
A.
All ordinances shall be prepared by the Township Attorney
upon direction of the Council or the Mayor. Prior to introduction,
each proposed ordinance requiring or permitting administrative action
may be submitted to the Administrator and the department head concerned,
each of whom shall submit to the Council an opinion as to the administrative
implications of the proposed ordinance or resolution.
B.
An ordinance or resolution may be introduced by any
member of the Council. Each ordinance and resolution shall be limited
to a single object, which shall be expressed in its title.
C.
All ordinances shall be introduced, seconded, read,
heard and enacted in the manner provided by general law. Each ordinance
passed by the Council shall be promptly delivered by the Clerk to
the Mayor, and he shall, within 10 days after receiving any ordinance,
either approve the ordinance by affixing his signature thereto or
return it to the Council by delivering it to the Clerk, together with
a statement setting forth his objections thereto or to any item or
part thereof. No ordinance or any item or part thereof shall take
effect without the Mayor's approval, unless the Mayor fails to return
an ordinance to the Council within 10 days after it has been presented
to him or unless the Council, upon reconsideration thereof on or after
the third day following its return by the Mayor, shall, by a vote
of 2/3 of the whole number of the Council, resolve to override the
Mayor's veto.
D.
No ordinance, other than the local budget ordinance,
shall take effect less than 20 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 members of the Council vote in favor of such resolution.
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 Council on the _____ day of __________, 20___, was delivered
to the Mayor on the _____ day of ________________, 20___, and was
returned to me on the _____ day of __________, 20___, 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 ________________, 20___,
["the Council duly resolved by the affirmative vote of 2/3 of its
members to enact such ordinance, item or part thereof notwithstanding
the Mayor's veto" or "the Mayor's veto was sustained"].
| |
|
Dated:
| |
|
, Clerk"
| |
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 a certificate
in substantially the following form:
|
"I hereby certify that the above ordinance was
adopted by the Council on the _____ day of __________, 20_____, and
was presented to the Mayor duly certified on the_____ day of __________,
20_____, and, upon his failure to sign it or to return and file it
with the Clerk within 10 days thereafter, said ordinance took effect
in like manner as if the Mayor had signed it.
| |
|
Dated:
| |
|
, Clerk"
| |
The Council shall file with the Clerk all petitions,
resolutions or other papers considered by it on each matter. All reports
to the Council and all resolutions shall be filed with the Clerk.
