[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. II)]
The powers of the Council are those vested by authority of statutory
law as enumerated in N.J.S.A. 40A:60-6 and as provided elsewhere in
this chapter and amendments thereto.
The Mayor shall preside over all meetings of the Council, which
shall organize annually on January 1 or during the first seven days
of January in each year.
A.
The
Council shall, at its organizational meeting, elect from its number
a President of the Council. He shall hold office for one year until
the next organizational election. If the Council fails to elect a
President at the designated time, the Mayor shall appoint a President,
and no confirmation by the Council shall be necessary.
B.
It
shall be the duty of the President to preside at all meetings of the
Council in the absence of the Mayor, but he shall not lose his right
to debate or vote on all questions before the Council while presiding.
[Amended 2-28-2017 by Ord. No. 2017-01]
A.
Open
meetings. Any meeting or gathering, including those held by means
of electronic communication, attended to by three Council members
and the Mayor or four Council members and held with the intent to
discuss or act upon specific public business shall be open to the
public. All meetings that are open to the public as provided for hereinabove
shall have a published agenda which will be as complete as reasonably
possible.
B.
Regular
meetings. The Council shall conduct an annual meeting during the first
seven days of each year. All Council meetings shall be held within
the Borough, with preference to the Municipal Hall. Thereafter, the
Council shall meet regularly at 8:00 p.m. or shortly thereafter on
the first and third Wednesday of each month, with the exception of
the months of July, August, November and December, when the meetings
will only occur on the first Wednesday of the month. If the regular
meeting of the Council is also a legal holiday, such meeting shall
then be held on the next succeeding business day which is not a legal
holiday or at such other date and time as the Council may designate.
[Amended 2-9-2022 by Ord. No. 2022-01]
C.
Work
sessions. In recognition that an initial presentation for each subcommittee
may facilitate a better understanding of a matter prior to a formal
vote, the Council shall hold a meeting for said purpose at 6:00 p.m.
just prior to the regular meeting. In addition to the foregoing, the
Borough Engineer, Attorney, Clerk and advisory group or person may
provide a brief report of their concerns and/or activities at the
work session.
[Amended 2-9-2022 by Ord. No. 2022-01]
D.
Closed executive
session. The Council, after a resolution, may exclude the public for
any portion of either the regular meeting or work session to discuss
any one of the following:
(1)
Any
matter that federal or state law expressly requires it to be confidential;
(2)
Any
matter that a court rule expressly denotes as being confidential;
(3)
Any
matter in which the release would impair the right to receive funds
from the United States government;
(4)
Any
matter that constitutes an unwarranted invasion of one's individual
privacy if disclosed;
(5)
Negotiations
of terms for collective bargaining agreement;
(6)
Any
matter involving the purchase lease or acquisition of real property
or the investment of public funds;
(7)
Techniques
or methods used to protect the safety of the public, including investigations
of violations of law;
(8)
Any
pending or anticipated litigation or contract negotiations;
(9)
Any
matter involving employment, appointment, discipline or promotion
of a public employee;
(10)
Deliberation
that may result in the imposition penalties or suspension of licenses.
E.
Public participation.
Public participation at Borough meetings is permitted under the control
of the presiding officer or his designee who may impose time limits,
provided that they are fairly and uniformly applied. A member of the
public may be permitted three minutes to talk about any matter of
importance to the Borough before being asked to surrender the floor.
If any other member of the public should address the same matter and
take a materially different position, then the initial individual
may be permitted up to one minute to publicly refute any further comments.
Three Councilmen and the Mayor or, in the absence of the Mayor,
four Councilmen shall constitute a quorum, but a smaller number may
meet and adjourn from time to time.
The vote upon every resolution or ordinance shall be taken by
roll call, and the yeas and nays shall be entered on the minutes.
After approval at public meetings, the official copy of the minutes
of each meeting shall be countersigned by the presiding officer, either
the Mayor or the Council President, and by the Clerk.
The rules of procedure to be followed and the rules for the
consideration of nominations submitted by the Mayor and for the conduct
of other business of the Council shall be as adopted at the annual
organizational meeting.
