Township of East Brunswick, NJ Township Council: Powers and Procedures

[Amended 2-23-65 by Ord. No. 65-1-A; 12-28-70 by Ord. No. 70-1-N; 5-29-73 by Ord. No. 73-1-V; 11-26-73 by Ord. No 73-1-V; 3-22-76 by Ord. No. 76-1-OO; 9-14-81 by Ord. No. 81-393; 9-28-87 by Ord. No. 87-868; 3-24-14 by Ord. No. 14-02; amended 1-27-2020 by Ord. No. 20-02]

A biannual meeting of the Council shall be held on a date set by resolution, said meeting to be during the first week in January, and the date shall be published at least three days prior to the meeting following each municipal election. In addition to consideration of all appropriate reorganizational matters, the annual meeting shall in all other respects be deemed to be a public action/agenda meeting of the Council. This meeting shall be in addition to further public action/agenda meetings provided by this subsection. Public action/agenda meetings of the Council shall be held on the second and fourth Mondays of each month at 7:30 p.m. at the place of meeting provided in § 3-6, provided that when any such day falls upon a legal holiday, or the Township Clerk is unavailable to attend such meeting the meeting shall be held on the next succeeding Monday that is not a legal holiday. Should the Council determine that it is impractical or inconvenient to hold the meeting on the next succeeding Monday that is not a legal holiday, the Council may provide by resolution that the meeting may be held at the same whatsoever day is deemed reasonable and convenient by the Council.

§ 3-5 Special meetings.

[Amended 12-8-75 by Ord. No. 75-1-GG; 3-27-95 by Ord. No. 95-11; 4-22-96 by Ord. No. 96-9]

The Mayor or the President of the Council may, and upon written request of the majority of the members of the Council shall, call a special meeting of the Council. The request and call for such special meeting shall specify the purpose of the meeting, and no other business shall be transacted at the meeting. The call for a special meeting shall be filed with the Township Clerk at least 48 hours before the time for which the meeting is called, and the Clerk shall forthwith give notice thereof by telephone or telegraph to each Councilman at such place as the latter shall have previously designated for that purpose, and, failing to reach the Councilman by such method, the Clerk shall serve or cause to be served a written copy of the call upon each Councilman by giving a copy to him personally or by leaving a copy at his usual place of abode. The Clerk shall also forthwith release copies of the call to at least two newspapers, one of which shall be the officially designated newspaper or newspapers, and post at least one copy of the call in a prominent place in the Municipal Building. Upon the affirmative vote of at least four members of the Council, the Council may hold a meeting, notwithstanding the failure to provide adequate notice, if:

(1)

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 the public interest.

(2)

The meeting is limited to discussion of and acting with respect to such matters of urgency and importance.

(3)

Notice of such meeting is provided as soon as possible following the calling of such meeting by posting written notice of the same in the public place described herein and also by notifying the two newspapers referred to herein.

(4)

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.

(5)

This hereby creates a Quality Circle Advisory Committee whose purpose is to work toward increased productivity and improved budget efficiencies by having meetings with official representatives of the collective bargaining groups, administration and at least two members of the Municipal Council.

At the commencement of every meeting of the Council, the presiding officer shall announce publicly, and shall cause to be entered in the minutes of the meeting, an accurate statement to the effect that:

(1)

Adequate notice of the meeting has been provided, specifying the time, place and manner in which such notice was provided; or

(2)

Adequate notice was not provided, in which case such announcement shall state:

(a)

The nature of the urgency and importance referred to herein and the nature of the substantial harm to the public interest likely to result from a delay in the holding of the meeting.

(b)

That the meeting will be limited to discussion of and acting with respect to such matters of urgency and importance.

(c)

The time, place and manner in which notice of the meeting was provided.

(d)

Either the need for such meeting could not reasonably have been foreseen at a time when adequate notice could have been provided, in which event such announcement shall specify the reason why such need could not reasonably have been foreseen; or that such need could reasonably have been foreseen at a time when adequate notice could have been provided, but such notice was not provided, in which event the announcement shall specify the reason why adequate notice was not provided.

§ 3-6 Place of meetings.

[Amended 2-23-65 by Ord. No. 65-1-A; 4-25-66 by Ord. No. 66-1-A; 6-27-66 by Ord. No. 66-1-C; 6-28-71 by Ord. No. 71-1-P; 9-27-76 by Ord. No. 76-1-TT; 2-14-77 by Ord. No. 77-1-WW; 5-23-77 by Ord. No. 77-1-FFF]

All public meetings of the Council, both agenda meetings and action meetings, shall be held at the East Brunswick Municipal Building, 1 Jean Walling Civic Center, East Brunswick, New Jersey, except that for special reasons or in case of an emergency making it impractical to conduct the business of the Council at the Municipal Building, the Council, upon such reasonable public notice as the circumstances permit, may meet in or adjourn a meeting to any other public building.

§ 3-7 Meetings open to the public; exceptions.

[Amended 3-25-74 by Ord. No. 74-1-DD; 12-8-75 by Ord. No. 75-1-FF]

Public meetings. All meetings of the Council shall be open to the public. The Council may, however, exclude the public from that portion of a meeting at which it discusses:

(1)

Any matter which by express provisions of federal law or state statute or rule of court shall be rendered confidential.

(2)

Any matter in which the release of information would impair a right to receive funds from the United States.

(3)

Any material the disclosure of which constitutes an unwarranted invasion of individual privacy as defined in the Open Public Meetings Act.

Editor's Note: See N.J.R.S. 10:4-6 et seq.

(4)

Any collective-bargaining agreement, including the negotiation of the terms and conditions thereof, with employees or representatives of employees of the Township of East Brunswick.

(5)

Any matter involving the purchase, lease or acquisition of real property with public funds, the setting of banking rates or investment of public funds, where it could adversely affect the public interest if discussion of such matters were disclosed.

(6)

Any tactics and techniques utilized in protecting the safety and property of the public, provided that their disclosure could impair such protection and any investigations of violations or possible violations of the law.

(7)

Any pending or anticipated litigation or contract negotiation in which the Township may become a party and any matters falling within the attorney-client privilege to the extent that confidentiality is required in order for the attorney to exercise his or her ethical duties as a lawyer.

(8)

Any matter involving employment, evaluation of the performance of, promotion or disciplining of any current or prospective public employee or officer, unless all the individual employees or appointees whose rights could be adversely affected request in writing that such matter or matters be discussed at a public meeting.

(9)

Any deliberation after a public hearing that may result in the imposition of a specific civil penalty or the suspension or loss of a license or permit.

Public agenda meetings. In public agenda meetings, the public will be permitted to participate in the proceedings, at the discretion of the Chair. Such a meeting shall be held preceding each regular meeting at the Municipal Building for the purpose of reviewing the agenda. All reports, communications, ordinances, resolutions, contract documents or other matters to be submitted to the Council shall be delivered to the Clerk at a reasonable time in advance of a public agenda conference meeting, whereupon the Clerk shall, as far in advance of such meeting as circumstances will permit, furnish a copy thereof to each member of the Council, the Mayor, the Business Administrator and the Township Attorney.

[Amended 3-22-76 by Ord. No. 76-1-OO; 3-23-87 by Ord. No. 87-827]

Procedure. The Council shall not exclude the public from any meeting to discuss any matter described in this section until the Council shall first adopt a resolution, at a meeting to which the public shall be admitted, stating the general nature of the subject to be discussed and stating, as precisely as possible, the time when and the circumstances under which the discussion conducted in closed session can be disclosed to the public.

Notice of meetings. All municipal agencies required to comply with the Open Public Meetings Act of 1975 (Sunshine Laws), as set forth in § 3-52, shall furnish the Township Clerk with an annual schedule, or any revision thereof, of regular meetings to be held during the year and shall furnish the Township Clerk with notice of the time, date, location and, to the extent known, the agenda, at least 48 hours in advance of any meeting not referred to in the annual schedule or revision. The Clerk shall post all such schedules and notices in the main lobby of the Municipal Building, shall provide notice to the newspapers, shall maintain a copy in his office and shall certify to the foregoing in writing. The Clerk's written certification shall be delivered to the presiding officer of the municipal agency, who shall state at a public meeting that adequate notice of the meeting has been given. Any person may request the Clerk to mail him copies of any regular meeting schedule or revision and any advance written notice of any regular, special or rescheduled meeting of a municipal agency upon payment of a fee of $25 which will entitle such person to receive notice until December 31 of the year in question. The payment of $25 shall cover all municipal agencies or any lesser number referred to in § 3-52.

[Added 2-9-76 by Ord. No. 76-1-MM]

Editor's Note: See N.J.R.S. 104-6 et seq.

§ 3-8 President and Vice President of Council.

[Amended 11-12-79 by Ord. No. 79-197]

The Council, at its first meeting on or after January 1 of any year, 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/her 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/her successor, who shall have all of 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 the functions, powers and duties of the President during his/her 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/she shall preserve order and decorum at all meetings of the Council. He/she 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/she shall appoint all special committees with the advice and consent of the Council and shall sign all ordinances and resolutions adopted by the Council during his/her presence.

§ 3-9 Roll call.

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.

§ 3-10 Quorum.

A majority of all the members elected to the Council shall constitute a quorum at any regular or special meeting of the Council, but a lesser number may adjourn any meeting from time to time.

§ 3-11 Order of business.

[Amended 4-23-73 by Ord. No. 73-1-U; 2-14-77 by Ord. No. 77-1-XX; 3-11-85 by Ord. No. 85-643; 2-28-94 by Ord. No. 94-10]

The business of the Council at each action meeting shall be taken up for consideration and disposition in the following order:

[Amended 2-28-94 by Ord. No. 94-10]

(1)

Roll call.

(2)

Scheduling public hearings.

(3)

Reports of Mayor, administrative officers, boards and committees.

(4)

General public discussions.

Consent agenda.

Unfinished business.

New business.

Petitions and communications.

(9)

Adjournment.

Those items on the council agenda which are considered routine by the Municipal Council shall be marked with an asterisk. Prior to voting upon any item on the consent agenda, the Chair shall open the meeting to the public and Council to entertain requests for removal from the consent agenda. There will be no separate discussion of items on the consent agenda unless a Council member or citizen so request, in which event the item will be removed from the consent agenda and considered in its normal sequence on the agenda. Items to be included in the consent agenda may include, but are not limited to, the following: approval of minutes, payment of bill list, conveyances, easements, leases and agreements previously approved in principle and award of bids. Those items which appear on the consent agenda are not required to be read at the public meeting in their entirety but may be read by description only. If a Council member requests the removal of an item from the consent agenda, the Clerk shall read that item by title only, unless the Council member requests that the item be read in its entirety. Once a matter is placed on the consent agenda, there will be no separate discussion of that item. Those items so approved under the consent agenda will appear in the Council minutes in their complete and proper form.

[Amended 3-13-78 by Ord. No. 78-3-A[1]; 4-8-85 by Ord. No. 85-654]

[1]

Editor's Note: Ordinance No. 78-3-A provided for the deletion of the sentence of this subsection which provided an expiration for the effectiveness of the subsection. Section 3 of Ordinance No. 78-3-A provided as follows:

"It is the intent of the East Brunswick Township Council that the ordinance providing for a consent agenda is a permanent part of the Code of the Township of East Brunswick, with no effective expiration date, unless and until further action is taken by the East Brunswick Township Council."

§ 3-12 Reading of minutes.

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.

§ 3-13 Rules of debate.

Presiding officer may debate and vote. The President or such other member of the Council as may be presiding may move, second and debate from the Chair, subject to such limitations of debate as are by these rules imposed on all members, and shall not be deprived of any of the rights and privileges of a Councilman by reason of his acting as the presiding officer.

Obtaining the floor, improper references to be avoided. Every member desiring to speak shall address the Chair and, upon recognition by the presiding officer, shall confine himself to the question under debate, avoiding all personalities and indecorous language.

Interruptions. A member, once recognized, shall not be interrupted when speaking unless it is to call him to order or as herein otherwise provided. If a member, while speaking, is called to order, he shall cease speaking until the question of order is determined, and, if in order, he shall be permitted to proceed.

Privilege of closing debate. The Councilman moving the adoption of an ordinance or resolution shall have the privilege of closing the debate.

Motion to reconsider. A motion to reconsider any action taken by the Council may be made only on the day such action was taken. It may be made either immediately during the same session or at a recessed or adjourned session and may be seconded by any member. It may be made at any time and have precedence over all other motions, and it shall be debatable. Nothing herein shall be construed to prevent any member of the Council from making or remaking the same or any other motion at a subsequent meeting of the Council.

Synopsis of debate; when entered in minutes. The Clerk shall enter in the minutes a synopsis of the discussion on any question coming before the Council.

Remarks of councilman; when entered in minutes. A Councilman may request, through the presiding officer, the privilege of having an abstract of his statement on any subject under consideration by the Council entered in the minutes.

Motion to adjourn. A motion to adjourn shall always be in order and shall be decided without debate.

Other matters. Any matter not covered by these rules shall be governed by Robert's Rules of Order (Revised).

§ 3-14 Order of vote.

Whenever a roll call vote is necessary, the Council shall vote alphabetically, with the presiding officer voting last.

§ 3-15 Effect of Councilman not voting.

Voting silence or an 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.

§ 3-16 Standing committees.

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.

§ 3-17 Manner of addressing Council.

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. Unless further time is granted by the Council, he shall limit his statement to five minutes. 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.

§ 3-18 Enforcement of order.

The President of the Council may request the Division of Police to designate a police officer 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 Council meetings, and it shall be his duty to place any person under arrest who violates the order and decorum of a meeting and to cause him to be prosecuted under the provisions of this Code upon a complaint signed by the presiding officer.

§ 3-19 Adoption of ordinances and resolutions.

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.

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.

All ordinances shall be introduced, 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 two thirds (2/3) of the members, resolve to override the Mayor's veto.

No ordinance other than the local Budget Ordinance shall take effect less than twenty (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 two-thirds (2/3) of all members of the Council vote in favor of such resolution.

§ 3-20 Action after Mayor's veto.

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 two-thirds 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: __________

§ 3-21 Ordinances not returned by the Mayor.

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 ten days thereafter, the said ordinance took effect in like manner as if the Mayor had signed it."

Dated: __________

Clerk: __________

§ 3-22 Matters required to be filed with 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.

§ 3-23 Appointments.

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.

§ 3-23.1 Community Housing Corporation appointments.

[Added 10-9-78 by Ord. No. 78-70]

The East Brunswick Township Council shall have the authority to appoint one person to serve as a trustee on the East Brunswick Community Housing Corporation for a period of two years. The appointee may be a member of the Township Council or a member of the general public.

§ 3-23.2 East Brunswick Arts Coalition, Nonprofit, LLC appointments.

[Added 6-11-18 by Ord. No. 18-10]

The East Brunswick Arts Coalition Board shall consist of 12 members, of which seven will be appointed by the Mayor, with the advice and consent of council.

The seven voting members, to be appointed by the Mayor with the advice and consent of Council shall be allocated as follows:

Four (4) members will be residents of the Township.

Three (3) members will be selected using the Creative Arts Inventory and are not required to be residents of the Township.

Each of following Organizations, the Township Arts Commission, Museum Corporation, Human Relations Commission, Historical Society, and Playhouse 22 shall appoint one member to represent their Organization on the Board, for a total five members.

§ 3-24 Removal of officers and members of boards and commissions.

The Council may for cause remove any municipal officer or member of a board or commission for which the Council is required by statute to hold removal hearings, including the Zoning Board of Adjustment, Planning Board, Environmental Commission and Library Board, but the Council shall not have the power to remove the Mayor or a member of Council. Members of all other boards and commissions for which the Council is not required by statute to hold removal hearings shall be notified by the chairpersons of the board or commission, if such member misses two consecutive official meetings without good cause, that such member shall be removed from the board or commission if he or she misses a third meeting without good cause. The member shall have a right to appeal and request a hearing before the entire board or commission, which hearing and general proceedings shall be conducted under the same terms and provisions governing Council hearings under § 3-24B and C of the Code of the Township of East Brunswick, and such board or commission shall conduct all other hearings on removal of a member for cause.

[Amended 9-27-76 by Ord. No. 76-1-QQ]

The Council shall consider a motion to remove for cause only after removal has been duly proposed and considered at an agenda conference.

A motion for removal shall set forth the alleged cause for removal, making specific charges, and provide for notice and an opportunity to be heard to the affected officer. The Clerk shall forthwith cause a copy of the motion for removal, together with a statement of the causes and charges involved and notice of the time and place fixed for the hearing, to be served personally or by certified 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 may be adjourned from time to time. Such hearings shall be open to the public, and the officer charged shall be entitled to be represented by his own counsel. Following the conclusion of the hearing, the presiding officer shall call for a vote on the motion which shall be determined by a majority vote of the Council.

§ 3-25 Investigations.

The Council may, in its discretion, require any municipal officer to prepare and submit sworn statements regarding his official duties and the performance thereof, and the Council may otherwise investigate the conduct of any department, officer or agency of the municipal government.

§ 3-26 Annual audit.

The Council shall cause to be made an annual audit of the municipality's accounts and financial transactions, as required by law. Such annual audit shall be made by a registered municipal accountant of New Jersey selected by the Council.

§ 3-27 Attorney to the Township Council.

[Amended 12-9-68 by Ord. No. 68-1-G]

Notwithstanding the provisions of Article XI, the Township Council, by resolution, may from time to time appoint or retain an attorney, other than the Township Attorney, to advise and represent the Council in its capacity as the legislative body and governing body of the Township. No appointment or retainer shall extend beyond the calendar year in which it is made, except that the Council may permit an attorney to continue to represent it in any litigation which continues beyond the end of the calendar year. Whenever the Council directs the attorney appointed or retained under this section to represent it in any administrative proceedings or litigation, the Attorney to the Township Council shall be the official representative of the Council, and the Township Attorney's position shall be limited to representing the executive branch of the government.

§ 3-28 Constables.

[Amended 4-14-75 by Ord. No. 75-1-CC]

The Council may from time to time elect Municipal Constables as provided for by law (N.J.R.S. 40:41-34 et seq.).

The total number of Constables elected shall not exceed five, and each shall hold office for a term of three years from the date of their appointment.

The Constables shall have the powers and duties prescribed by law and, before entering upon the execution of their duties, shall furnish bonds to the municipality in such sums as the Council may deem sufficient.

§ 3-29 Smoking at Council meetings prohibited.

[Added 1-10-77 by Ord. No. 76-1-UU]

Due to the fact that smoking is a major cause of disease, disability, public nuisance and irritation to smokers and nonsmokers alike, it is hereby provided that smoking shall be prohibited at all meetings of the Township Council and all joint meetings in which the Township Council takes part. Notices shall be posted at all Council meetings and on all Council meeting announcements indicating as follows: "Smoking Not Permitted During Meetings of Township Council." Any violation of this section shall result in a fine of not more than $25.