[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council
of the Borough of Rockaway 11-14-1991 by Ord. No. 32-91. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
The latest revision and edition of Roberts Rules
of Order shall, in all cases, when not in conflict with the bylaws
now or hereafter adopted by the Mayor and Council of the Borough of
Rockaway, be considered and held as standard authority.
A.
It shall be the duty of the Mayor to see that the
laws of the state and the ordinances of the Borough are faithfully
executed and to recommend to the Council such measures as the Mayor
deems necessary or expedient for the welfare of the Borough, and whenever,
in the Mayor's opinion, the public good may require the same, the
Mayor shall call special meetings of the Council.
B.
The Mayor shall preside at all meetings, preserve
order and decorum and shall decide points of order. The Mayor shall
vote on matters only in the case of a tie.
C.
The Mayor shall, on all occasions, preserve the strictest
order and decorum and shall have the authority to call on the Chief
of Police or other officers for assistance to preserve order and shall
cause the arrest of all persons who interrupt the proceedings of the
Council. The Mayor shall maintain peace and good order in the Borough
and shall have the power to suppress all riots and tumultuous assemblies.
D.
The Mayor shall appoint all committees, standing or
special, the membership and the number of which shall be subject to
the advice and consent of the Council.
E.
The Mayor shall nominate and, with the advice and
consent of the Council, appoint all subordinate officers of the Borough
unless a law of the State of New Jersey shall provide otherwise. The
Mayor shall make an appointment to any office which becomes vacant
within 30 days of such vacancy.
F.
The Mayor shall be the head of the municipal government.
G.
The President of the Council shall preside at all
meetings when the Mayor does not preside.
H.
The President of the Council shall perform all the
duties of the Mayor during any period in which the Mayor is absent
from the Borough for three days or more or is unable to perform the
duties of the office of Mayor. Where such absence is intended, the
President of the Council shall become the Acting Mayor until the Mayor's
return. If the President of the Council is unable to perform the duties
of the Acting Mayor, then the member of Council with the longest term
of service may act temporarily for the President of the Council.
A.
The Council shall be the legislative body of the municipality.
B.
The Council may, subject to New Jersey law:
(1)
Pass, adopt, amend and repeal any ordinance or, where
permitted, any resolution for any purpose required for the government
of the municipality or for the accomplishment of any public purpose
for which the municipality is authorized to act under New Jersey law;
(2)
Control and regulate the finances of the municipality
and raise money by borrowing or taxation;
(3)
Create such offices and positions as it may deem necessary;
(4)
Investigate any activity of the municipality;
(5)
Remove any officer of the municipality, other than
those officers excepted by law, for cause; and
(6)
Override a veto of the Mayor by a two-thirds majority
of all the members of the Council.
C.
The Council shall have all the executive responsibilities
of the municipality not placed, by New Jersey law, in the office of
the Mayor.
The Borough Clerk shall attend all meetings
of the Council, keep a record of their proceedings and perform all
such other duties as the Council may require or as may be directed
by law. The Borough Clerk shall give notice of all special meetings
called by the Mayor and Council to all members of the Council or leave
the notice at their place of residence. The Borough Clerk shall cause
all meetings to comply with the New Jersey Open Public Meetings Act.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See N.J.S.A. 10:4-6 et seq.
Three members of the Council and the Mayor shall
constitute a quorum for the transaction of business, but a smaller
number may meet and adjourn from time to time. In the absence of the
Mayor, four members of the Council shall constitute a quorum.
[Amended 12-13-2012 by Ord. No. 27-12]
The following shall be the order of business
at all regular meetings of the Mayor and the Borough Council:
A.
Roll call.
B.
Pledge
of Allegiance.
C.
Appointments
and proclamations of the Mayor.
D.
Approval
of minutes.
E.
Correspondence
(presentation of communications, petitions, etc.).
F.
Report
of committees or Council comments (includes presentation of bills,
which shall be referred for examination before final action).
G.
Reports
of the Borough Attorney, Mayor and Clerk.
H.
Resolutions
to be adopted.
I.
Introduction,
consideration and passage of ordinances (first reading and second
reading).
J.
Meeting
open for public comment.
K.
Adjournment.
A.
The following standing committees, consisting of one
or more members each, shall be appointed by the Mayor with the advice
and consent of the Council at the annual reorganization meeting of
the Council in each year or thereafter at such time as the Council
may, by resolution, direct:
B.
Special committees may be appointed for purposes other
than those embraced in the duties of the standing committees.
A.
All ordinances shall be submitted, in writing, at
a meeting of the Council and passed at a subsequent meeting; provided,
however, that no ordinance shall be finally passed, no officer appointed
or removed and no salary fixed except by the vote of the majority
of the members of the Council present at the meeting, provided that
at least three affirmative votes shall be required for such purpose,
the Mayor voting only in the case of a tie. Every ordinance passed
by the Council and every resolution appropriating or in any way tending
to pecuniarily obligate the Borough and also resolutions auditing
or directing the payment of bills or demands, together with such bills,
shall, within five days after the passage thereof (Sundays excepted),
be presented to the Mayor, and the report of the Clerk shall be conclusive
evidence that such ordinance or resolution has been so presented;
if the Mayor approves it, the Mayor shall, within 10 days (Sundays
excepted) after its receipt, sign and file it with the Borough Clerk,
and if not, the Mayor shall, within the same time, return the same
to the Clerk with objections thereto, in writing, and the Council
shall at its next meeting cause the objections to be entered at length
on its minutes and proceed to reconsider the same. If 2/3 of
all the Council shall, at said meeting or at any subsequent meeting
to which it shall postpone its reconsideration, vote to pass the same
over said veto, it shall take effect upon the taking of such vote;
if such ordinance or resolution shall not be so returned by the Mayor
within 10 days (Sundays excepted) after received by the Mayor, it
shall take effect in like manner as if it had been signed, provided
that if any such ordinance, resolution or bill shall contain more
than one distinct section, clause or item, the Mayor may approve one
or more thereof and veto the rest. Every ordinance shall be recorded
in full by the Borough Clerk in a proper book kept for that purpose.
No ordinance may be finally passed unless it has been read in substantially
its final form at a meeting held at least one week prior to its final
passage and shall have been published in the official newspaper printed
and circulating in the Borough, and if there is no official newspaper
printed and circulated in the Borough, then in at least one newspaper
printed and circulated in Morris County. Such publication shall contain
a notice stating the time and place when and where the governing body
will consider the final passage thereof.
B.
Before any ordinance shall take effect, such ordinance
or its title shall be published, at least once, in the official newspaper
printed and circulating in said Borough, and if there is no official
newspaper printed and circulating in said Borough, then in at least
one newspaper printed and circulating in the County of Morris. Such
ordinance shall not take effect until so published, but in every case
where such ordinance may come in question or be enforced, such publication
shall be presumed to have been had until the contrary thereof is shown.
The yeas and nays shall be called upon the final
passage of every ordinance and may be called upon the final passage
of any resolution or amendment to these bylaws. A yea or nay vote
may be called upon the request of any Council person or the Mayor.
All bills and demands against the Borough of
Rockaway shall be in writing and sworn to and shall be processed in
accordance with the provisions of law and the Code of the Borough
of Rockaway.
No standing rule, order or bylaw shall be suspended,
altered, amended or repealed unless the suspension, alteration, amendment
or repealer shall be proposed at a regular meeting or special meeting
and adopted at the next succeeding regular meeting by a majority of
the members of the Council, but any of them may be suspended temporarily
with the concurrence of four members of the Council and the Mayor.
A.
The Seal of the Borough of Rockaway shall be circular
in form and shall contain the following "The Borough of Rockaway,
Incorporated July 10, 1894."
B.
The seal shall be in the custody of the Borough Clerk
and shall be affixed only by the Clerk on order of the Council or
the Mayor or as required and directed by law.
