This article shall be known and may be cited
as the "Council Rules of Procedure" and is hereinafter sometimes referred
to as "the rules."
[Amended 11-12-2003 by Ord. No. 03:31; 12-17-2013 by Ord. No. 2013:36]
A.
Regular
meetings. The Council shall meet annually for organization on any
day during the first week of January. The Council shall have regular
monthly meetings, which may include a conference portion for the consideration
of preliminary business to be immediately followed by the regular
portion, commencing at 7:30 p.m. The Council shall, at its annual
organization meeting, fix the regular monthly meeting dates for the
year by resolution in accordance with the Open Public Meetings Act,
N.J.S.A. 10:4-6 et seq., as amended. Any regular meeting date so established
may be changed during the course of the year by majority vote of the
Council. Additional dates may be added or dates may be deleted or
changed by a majority vote of the Council.
B.
Special
meetings. The Mayor or Council President may call a special meeting
whenever either deems it in the public interest, and the Council President
shall call a special meeting upon the request, in writing, of a majority
of the Council members. The request and call for such special meeting
shall be filed with the Clerk at least 48 hours, excluding Saturdays,
Sundays and legal holidays, before the time for which the special
meeting is called, and the Clerk shall forthwith deliver copies thereof
to each Council member at his residence or at such other place calculated
to effect service as may be designated in advance.
C.
Emergency
meetings. The Council President, on his own initiative or at the request
of the Mayor, may call an emergency meeting of the Council. The request
and call for such an emergency meeting shall state the time and purpose
of the meeting, and no other business shall be considered. The call
for an emergency meeting shall be filed with the Clerk, and the Clerk
shall forthwith deliver copies thereof to each Council member at his
residence or at such other place calculated to effect service as may
be designated in advance.
D.
Agenda
meetings. The Council shall hold an agenda meeting during the week
immediately preceding each regular meeting for the purpose of fixing
an agenda for the next regular meeting and for the consideration and
discussion of municipal business. At each agenda meeting, the Council
shall determine and designate which items of municipal business, if
any, shall be included in the consent agenda for the next regular
meeting. The Council shall, at its annual organization meeting, fix
the agenda meeting dates for the year by resolution. Any agenda meeting
date so established may be changed or added to during the course of
the year by majority vote of the Council. If any agenda meeting falls
upon a New Jersey legal holiday or on such other day the Council may
deem unsuitable or inconvenient for the conduct of its business, the
meeting date may be changed by the majority vote of the Council.
E.
(Reserved)
F.
Special
public meetings. The Council may hold public meetings on matters of
general interest to the public or any segment thereof at such time
and places as a majority of the Council may deem appropriate.
G.
Hearings.
(1)
The Council shall hold hearings and appeals as required by law at
such times as a majority of the Council may deem appropriate, subject
to law. Seven copies of a transcript of the proceedings below, if
available, shall be filed with the Township Clerk at least 10 days
prior to the hearing date.
(2)
Upon request by the Council, the parties to hearings and appeals
will provide briefs or memoranda of law. Seven copies shall be filed
with the Township Clerk, and additional copies will be served upon
the opposing parties. All briefs and memoranda shall be filed and
served no later than 10 days prior to the hearing date.
(3)
Exhibits which are not part of the record below, but which the parties
wish to have considered, must also be filed 10 days prior to the hearing
date.
H.
(Reserved)
A.
The President of the Council shall be the presiding
officer, who shall be elected by the Council for a term of two years,
and he shall:
(1)
Appoint such special committees of the Council as
may be required.
(2)
Preside at all meetings of the Council.
(3)
State the question and announce the result of all
matters upon which the Council may vote.
(4)
Rule on all questions of order, subject to appeal
to the Council.
(5)
Sign all resolutions adopted in his presence.
(6)
Have such other functions, powers and duties as the
Council may prescribe.
B.
The Vice President of the Council shall be elected
by the Council for a term of two years and shall assume the full powers
and duties of the Council President in his absence.
C.
In the event of a vacancy in the position of President of the Council
or Vice President of the Council, the Council shall, by majority vote
of the remaining Councilmembers, appoint a Councilmember to fill the
vacancy for the unexpired term. The Mayor shall be permitted to vote
to fill a vacancy in the position of President of the Council or Vice
President of the Council only in the case of a tie vote.
[Added 2-12-2013 by Ord. No. 2013:01]
The Township Clerk shall serve as Clerk of the
Council in accordance with the Administrative Code. In the absence
of the Clerk, the President shall appoint a Clerk Pro Tempore.
An agenda for each regular meeting of the Council
shall be prepared by the Clerk under the supervision of the President
of the Council and shall include the items as determined at the previous
agenda meeting, including a designation of those items determined
to be appropriate for consideration as part of the consent agenda,
except for emergency matters which may be added to the agenda at any
time before the meeting by the unanimous consent of the members of
the Council or at the time of the meeting by unanimous consent of
the members of the Council present. Those items designated as consent
agenda items may be removed from the consent agenda at any time before
the meeting by any member of the Council or at the time of the meeting
by any member of the Council present. The agenda shall be compiled,
except as to any of the aforementioned emergency matters, and a copy
shall be delivered to each Councilman and the Mayor prior to the meeting.
The President of the Council shall call each
meeting to order. In his absence the Vice President shall call the
meeting to order and shall preside during the absence of the President.
The President shall assume the Chair as soon as he is in attendance
at any meeting which may have been called to order in his absence,
and the Vice President of the Council shall thereupon relinquish the
Chair.
At the opening of each meeting of the Council,
the Clerk shall call the roll and the names of those present shall
be recorded in the minutes. Three members of the Council shall constitute
a quorum. If a quorum is not present 1/2 hour after the appointed
time for any meeting, the presiding officer shall declare the meeting
adjourned.
The order of business of each regular meeting
of the Council shall be as follows:
A.
Roll call.
B.
Ordinances upon second and final reading and public
hearing thereon.
C.
Public hearing.
D.
Consent agenda.
E.
Approval of minutes of previous meetings.
F.
Township office reports.
G.
Ordinances upon first reading.
H.
Resolutions.
I.
Applications for licenses and permits.
J.
Adjournment.
The Clerk shall, so far as practicable, prepare
and distribute to the Council the minutes of each meeting promptly
after the meeting. The minutes of any meeting may be approved without
reading whenever they have been distributed at least 24 hours prior
to the time of approval.
Advisory committees for legislative purposes
may be appointed by the Council by resolution. The resolution shall
include the membership, scope, objectives and duration of the committee.
A.
There shall
be a standing Finance Committee consisting of not more than two members
of the Council, who may be appointed by the Council President at the
annual organization meeting, or at any subsequent meeting. Members
of the Finance Committee shall serve at the pleasure of the Council
President for a term expiring not more than one year from the date
of appointment. The Finance Committee shall meet periodically with
the Mayor, or his designee, for purposes of reviewing bills and claims
paid by the Township, along with any supporting documentation, and
shall liaison between the Council and the Mayor regarding information
or recommendations pertaining to fiscal matters of the Township.
[Added 7-15-2014 by Ord. No. 2014:18]
A.
The vote upon every motion, resolution and ordinance
shall be taken by roll call, and the yeas and nays shall be entered
on the minutes.
B.
The consent agenda shall be voted upon by one motion,
but each individual item thereof shall be entered on the minutes.
C.
The minutes of each meeting shall be signed by the
presiding officer and by the Clerk.
A.
Appointments submitted by the Mayor for Council confirmation
will be considered by the Council and acted upon within 30 days after
submittal.
B.
With respect to Council appointments, any member of
the Council may nominate as many candidates as there are offices to
be filled. The Council will consider such nominations and act upon
the appointment at that meeting or at the next regular meeting of
the Council. Where there is a single office to be filled, the vote
of the Council on the appointment shall be taken as to each nominee
in alphabetical order, and the first nominee to receive a majority
vote shall be deemed appointed. Where there is more than one office
to be filled, 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 President, 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.
C.
The President
of the Township Council is authorized to appoint a liaison to the
Township Emergency Services Committee. Said liaison shall serve at
the pleasure of the Council President for a term expiring not more
than one year from the date of appointment. Said liaison shall have
no authority other than to observe the proceedings of the Emergency
Services Committee and to make reports to the Township Council from
time to time on any and all activity of the Emergency Services Committee.
[Added 3-15-2011 by Ord. No. 2011:02]
D.
The President
of the Township Council is authorized to appoint a liaison to the
Parsippany-Troy Hills Board of Education. Said liaison shall serve
at the pleasure of the Council President for a term expiring not more
than one year from the date of appointment. Said liaison shall have
no authority other than to observe the proceedings of the Parsippany-Troy
Hills Board of Education and to make reports to the Township Council
from time to time on any and all activity of the Parsippany-Troy Hills
Board of Education.
[Added 3-15-2011 by Ord. No. 2011:03]
The consent agenda shall include those items
on the regular Council agenda, determined and designated by the Council
at its agenda meeting to be routine and not requiring further discussion,
upon being individually reviewed and considered by the Council at
the agenda meeting. All items on the consent agenda shall be listed
separately on the agenda but shall be approved by one motion and one
vote at the time of consideration of the consent agenda as a whole
by the Council.
