All legislative power of the Township shall
be exercised by the Township Committee pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40A:63-1
et seq. and as may be otherwise provided by general law. The Township
Committee, in addition to such other powers and duties as may be conferred
by general law, may require any municipal officer to prepare and submit
sworn statements regarding his official duties and the performance
thereof and may investigate the conduct of any department, office
or agency of the municipal government.
The Committee shall consist of three members,
who shall hold office for three years, except as otherwise provided
in N.J.S.A. 40A:63-3 for members first elected. Members of the Committee
shall be elected at large by the voters of the Municipality and shall
serve for a term of three years beginning on the first day of January
next following their election.
A.
Presiding officer. The Township Committee shall elect
one of its number as Chairman of said Committee, who shall be known
as the "Mayor" and shall preside over all meetings of the Committee
and shall participate and vote as other Committee members.
B.
Quorum. A majority of the whole number of the Committee
shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.
C.
Finance Committee. The Mayor, with the approval of
the Township Committee, shall appoint a Finance Committee, which may
consist of one or more Committeemen.
D.
Other committees. The Mayor, with the approval of
the Township Committee, may appoint and designate other committees
of similar composition to the Finance Committee.
E.
Clerk of the Committee. The Township Clerk shall serve
as the Clerk of the Committee; keep a journal of the proceedings of
the Committee; prepare, sign and maintain the minutes of the Committee;
maintain the records of the Committee; and perform such others duties
as shall be assigned.
Vacancies in the membership of the Township
Committee shall be filled in the manner provided by the Municipal
Vacancy Law (N.J.S.A. 40A:16-1 et seq.).
A.
Reorganization meeting. The Committee shall hold a
reorganization meeting at 12:00 noon on January 1 of each year or
at some other hour on any day during the first week in January as
the Committee may, by ordinance, fix; provided, however, that, should
January 1 fall on Sunday and no other time for the meeting has been
fixed, said meeting shall be held on the following day.
B.
Regular meetings. At the annual reorganization, the
Committee shall, by resolution, designate the time and place of holding
regular meetings, which shall be at least monthly.
C.
Special meetings.
(1)
Special meetings may be called by the Mayor or any
two members of the Township Committee.
(2)
Upon a call of a special meeting, the Mayor shall
promptly direct the Clerk to serve notice, in writing, of such special
meeting upon each member of the Committee at least 48 hours prior
to the time for which the meeting is called and to serve all notices
required by the Open Public Meetings Act (N.J.S.A. 10:4-6 et seq.).
The notice shall designate the purpose of the special meeting, and
no other business shall be conducted.
D.
Emergency meetings.
(1)
Should the Mayor or a majority of the Committee determine
that a state of emergency exists which is of such urgency and importance
that the delay necessary to call a special meeting would be likely
to result in substantial harm to the public interest, the Mayor or
a majority of the Committee may call an emergency meeting.
(2)
The call shall be filed with the Clerk at any time
not less than three hours prior to the time set for the emergency
meeting and shall be signed by the Mayor or a majority of the Committee
and shall designate the purpose of the emergency meeting.
(3)
Whenever an emergency meeting is called, the Clerk
shall forthwith cause written notice to be served upon each member
of Committee at his place of residence or at his regular place of
business by leaving a copy thereof with the Committeemen personally
or with a responsible adult, said notice stating the date, time and
place of the meeting and the purpose for which the meeting is called.
Such written notice shall not be required if a written waiver of notice
is executed by all members of the Committee. The Police Department
shall cooperate fully with the Clerk in serving such notice.
(4)
At the time and place of the emergency meeting, the
meeting may proceed upon the affirmative vote of 2/3 of the members
present if:
(a)
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;
(b)
The meeting is limited to discussion of and acting
with respect to such matters of urgency and importance;
(c)
Notice of such meeting in accordance with N.J.S.A.
10:4-6 et seq. is provided as soon as possible following the calling
of such meeting; and
[Amended 10-21-1993 by Ord. No. 93-11]
(d)
Either the Committee could not reasonably have foreseen
the need for such meeting at a time when adequate notice could have
been provided or, although the Committee 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.
E.
F.
Special public hearings.
(1)
Any member of the Committee may, when he deems it
in the public interest, move for the holding of a special public hearing,
for the purpose set forth in his motion. No ordinance, resolution
or motion shall be voted upon at such special hearing, and such special
hearings shall not include public hearings on ordinances which are
a part of the order of business of regular meetings.
(2)
Should a special public hearing be called, the Clerk
shall cause the time, place and purpose of said hearing to be advertised
once in the official newspaper of the Township. Such advertisement
shall appear at least seven days in advance of the date of the hearing.
(3)
The Committeeman moving for the holding of a special
public hearing shall chair the hearing. Any interested parties may
appear to be heard at such hearing for the purpose set forth in the
advertisement of the hearing.
A.
Agenda. The agenda for each regular meeting of the
Committee shall be prepared by the Clerk and made available to the
Committeemen at least 24 hours prior to the opening of the meeting.
Written notice of changes in the agenda shall be made available to
each Committeeman prior to the convening of a meeting. Additional
copies of the agenda shall be available to the public. Except for
an emergency matter which may be added at any time with the approval
of the Mayor, the agenda shall include only such matters of Committee
business as have been presented or delivered to the Clerk not later
than 48 hours prior to the start of the meeting.
B.
Order of business. Promptly at the hour designated,
all regular and special meetings of the Committee shall commence.
Unless otherwise authorized by resolution of the Committee, all business
coming before the Committee shall be heard and voted on in the following
order:
(1)
Quorum call.
(2)
Approval of minutes of previous meeting.
(3)
Reports of elected officials, department heads, Township
officers and official correspondence.
(4)
Public
comment on agenda items. The time limit for public comment on agenda
items and also for petitions of citizens and public discussion shall
be three minutes for each speaker.
[Added 2-17-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-02[1]]
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also redesignated former Subsection
B(4) through (11) as Subsection B(5) through (12), respectively.
(5)
Resolutions.
(6)
Ordinances, first reading.
(7)
Ordinances, final reading.
(8)
Written communications.
(9)
Old business.
(10)
New business.
(11)
Petitions of citizens and public discussion.
(12)
Adjournment.
C.
Call to order. The Mayor shall call each meeting to
order. In his absence, the Deputy Mayor shall call the meeting to
order and shall preside during the absence of the Mayor. The Mayor
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 Deputy
Mayor shall thereupon relinquish the chair.
E.
Quorum call. At the opening of each meeting of the
Committee, the Clerk shall call the roll, and the names of those present
shall be recorded in the minutes. Two members of the Committee shall
constitute a quorum for the conduct of business. If a quorum is not
present by 1/2 hour after the appointed time for any meeting, the
meeting shall be deemed adjourned.
F.
Distribution and reading of minutes. The Clerk shall,
insofar as is practicable, prepare and distribute to the Committee
the minutes of each meeting within 15 days of 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.
The Clerk shall promptly post a copy of the approved minutes in a
public place in the Municipal Building and shall leave such copy posted
for 30 days.
G.
Committees. The rules of the Committee shall, insofar
as applicable, govern meetings of the Committee of the Whole and other
committees of the Township Committee which may be appointed from time
to time. Special committees of the Township Committee for legislative
purposes may be appointed by the Mayor pursuant to resolution. No
special committee shall proceed to the consideration of any matter
referred to it unless a majority of the members of that committee
shall be present. No special committee shall report on a matter referred
to it at the same meeting at which reference is made, except by unanimous
consent of the members of the committee.
H.
Nominations and appointments.
(1)
Nominations submitted by the Mayor will be considered
in Committee of the Whole and may be confirmed at the regular meeting
at which they are submitted or may be acted upon at the next regular
meeting.
(2)
With respect to appointments to be made by the Committee,
any member of the Committee may nominate as many candidates as there
are offices to be filled. The Committee will consider such nominations
in Committee of the Whole, which will report to a regular meeting
of the Committee. Where there is a single office to be filled, the
sense of the Committee on the appointment shall be taken as to each
nominee in alphabetical order, and the first nominee to receive a
majority shall be deemed appointed. Where there is more than one office
to be filled, such as a board, commission 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 Committee as to
the nominees included in the group.
I.
Rules of debate.
(1)
Except as otherwise specifically provided in these
rules, the proceedings of the Committee shall be governed by Robert's
Rules of Order.
(2)
The presiding officer shall have all of the rights,
powers and duties of Committeeman as elsewhere provided within this
code.
(3)
A member of the Committee shall be entitled to the
floor only upon recognition by the Chair. Once a member has been recognized
and has taken the floor, he shall not be interrupted for any reason
other than a call to order, and in such case the Chair shall promptly
rule on the point of order, and the speaker shall be allowed to continue
if he is in order.
(4)
A motion to reconsider may be made by a Committeeman
on the prevailing side. Such motion may be made only at the same meeting,
or at an adjournment thereof, at which the action was taken.
(5)
A Committeeman shall be entitled to have his remarks
included in the minutes, with the consent of the Committee.
(6)
The Mayor, with the consent of the Committee, may
direct a synopsis of the debate on any question to be included in
the minutes.
J.
Addressing Committee.
(1)
Persons other than Committeemen may be permitted to
address the Committee in the proper order of business. A person present
may, upon recognition by the Chair, be heard in the order of petitions
of citizens and public discussion. A person present may, upon recognition
by the Chair and with the consent of a majority of the Committeemen
present, be heard at any other time. No person shall address any remark
or question to any specific Committeemen or to any other person present
except by permission of the majority of the Committee. A Committeeman
may, through the Chair, respond to any communication or address received
pursuant to this section.
(2)
Except upon consent of the Committee, each person
addressing the Committee pursuant to this section shall be required
to limit his remarks to five minutes and shall at no time engage in
any personally offensive or abusive remarks. The Chair shall call
any speaker to order who violates any provision of this rule.
K.
Decorum.
(1)
Each member of the Committee shall cooperate with
the Chair in preserving order and decorum, and no member shall, by
conversation or otherwise, delay or interrupt the proceedings of the
Committee, disturb any member while speaking or fail to abide by the
orders of the Committee or its presiding officer, except as specifically
permitted by these rules.
(2)
Any person who shall disturb the peace of the Committee,
make impertinent or slanderous remarks or conduct himself in a boisterous
manner while addressing the Committee shall be forthwith barred by
the presiding officer from further audience before the Committee,
except that if the speaker shall submit to proper order under these
rules, permission for him to continue may be granted by majority vote
of Committee.
(3)
The Police Department shall designate a member of
the Department to serve as Sergeant-at-Arms at Committee meetings.
He shall carry out all orders and instructions given by the presiding
officer for the purpose of maintaining order and decorum at such meetings.
He shall not be required to be in attendance at the meeting, provided
that he is present in the Municipal Building during the time of the
meeting whenever possible.
L.
Filing of reports, petitions and resolutions. All
reports to the Committee and all resolutions and all petitions shall
be filed with the Clerk and referenced in the minutes of the Committee.
M.
Adjournment. A motion to adjourn shall always be in
order and shall be decided without debate.
N.
Roll call votes; minutes. The vote upon every motion,
resolution or ordinance shall be taken by roll call. The vote shall
be "aye" or "nay" or words to that effect of affirmative or negative
by each member, and there shall be no further discussion following
the commencement of the roll call. The vote of each member shall be
entered on the minutes. Any member of the Committee may abstain from
voting at any time. When the roll is called on any question, the silence
of a Committeeman present shall constitute an affirmative vote, unless
he states that he abstains. The question shall be determined by a
majority of those members voting unless otherwise provided by law.
The minutes of each meeting shall be signed by the officer presiding
and by the Township Clerk.
A.
Preparation. All ordinances and resolutions shall
either be prepared by the Municipal Attorney or reviewed by him prior
to introduction.
B.
Preintroduction review.
C.
Introduction.
(1)
An ordinance or resolution may be introduced by any
member of the Committee. Each ordinance or resolution shall be introduced
in written or typewritten form and shall be read and considered as
provided by general law.
(2)
All ordinances and resolutions shall require an affirmative
vote from a majority of the Committee for adoption unless specified
otherwise.
D.
Publication.
(1)
After introduction and passage at first reading, each
ordinance shall be published in accordance with general law.
(2)
An ordinance may incorporate by reference any standard
technical regulations or code, official or unofficial, which need
not be so published whenever 10 copies of such regulations or code
have been placed on file in the office of the body or department charged
with the enforcement of said ordinance for examination by the public
so long as said ordinance is in effect.
E.
Second reading and public hearing.
(1)
At the time and place so stated in the publication,
or at any time and place to which the meeting for the further consideration
of the ordinance shall from time to time be adjourned, all persons
interested shall be given an opportunity to be heard concerning the
ordinance. The opportunity to be heard shall include the right to
ask pertinent questions concerning the ordinance by any resident or
any other person affected by the ordinance. Final passage thereof
shall be at least 10 days after the first reading.
(2)
Upon the opening of the hearing, the ordinance shall
be given a second reading, which reading may be by title, and thereafter
it may be passed with or without amendments or rejected. Prior to
said second reading, a copy of the ordinance shall be posted on the
bulletin board or other place upon which public notices are customarily
posted in the principal municipal building, and copies of the ordinance
shall be made available to members of the general public who shall
request such copies. If any amendment is adopted which substantially
alters the substance of the ordinance, the ordinance as so amended
shall not be finally adopted until at least one week thereafter, and
the ordinance as amended shall be read at a meeting of the Committee,
which reading may be by title, and shall be published, together with
a notice of the introduction and the time and place when and where
the amended ordinance will be further considered for final passage,
at least two days prior to the time so fixed. At the time and place
so fixed, or at any other meeting to which the further consideration
of the amended ordinance may be adjourned, the Committee body may
proceed to pass the ordinance as amended or again amend it in the
same manner.
(3)
Upon passage, every ordinance, or the title, together
with a notice of the date of passage or approval, or both, shall be
published in accordance with general law.
F.
Effective date. No ordinance other than the Local
Budget Ordinance shall take effect less than 20 days after its final
passage by the Committee and approval by the Mayor, where such approval
is required, unless the Committee shall adopt a resolution declaring
an emergency and at least 2/3 of all the members of the Committee
vote in favor of such resolution.
G.
Compilation. The Township Clerk shall record all ordinances
and resolutions adopted by the Committee and, at the close of each
year, with the advice and assistance of the Township Attorney, shall
bind, compile or codify all the ordinances and resolutions, or true
copies thereof, of the Municipality which then remain in effect. The
Township Clerk shall also properly index the record books, compilation
or codification of ordinances and resolutions.