[Ord. No. 53-2014; amended 6-7-2023 by Ord. No. 19-2023]
The following rules of procedure shall govern the conduct of
the meetings of the Township Council:
A.
Governing
rules. Except as may be provided in the Charter, questions of order,
methods of organization and the conduct of business of the Township
Council shall be governed by Robert's Rules of Order in all cases
to which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent
with the rules of procedure hereinafter set forth in this article.
B.
Annual
and regular meetings.
(1)
The Council shall meet annually for organization. In the year following
a general election at which the Mayor and/or members of the Council
are elected, the Council shall meet for organization at noon on the
first day of January of that year. In all other years the Council
shall meet for organization on the first Wednesday in January of that
year.
(2)
The Council shall meet regularly on the first and third Wednesdays
of each month at 7:30 p.m., except that the Council may, by resolution,
cancel one or more meetings in addition to those meetings listed as
canceled in the Official Annual Notice of Meetings. In the event the
first or third Wednesday is a legal holiday, the meeting scheduled
for that date shall be canceled and not rescheduled.
[Ord. No. 1-2019]
(3)
All regular meetings shall be held in the Municipal Building of the
Township.
C.
Special
meetings.
(1)
The Mayor may, and upon written request of a 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 considered at any special
meeting than that specified.
(2)
Any call for a special meeting shall be filed with the Township Clerk,
and upon filing he/she shall serve notice of same on each Councilperson
and officers and department directors required to attend meetings
of the Council, at least 48 hours prior to the time the meeting is
held. Upon the filing of any call for a special meeting, the Township
Clerk shall forthwith give notice thereof by telephone, facsimile
or email to each Councilperson at such place as the latter shall have
previously designated for that purpose and pursuant to N.J.S.A. 10:4-8.
[Ord. No. 53-2014]
(3)
The Township may provide electronic notices pursuant to N.J.S.A.
10:4-9.1.
[Ord. No. 53-2014]
D.
Attendance
by public and Township personnel.
(1)
All regular and special meetings of the Council shall be open to
the public.
(2)
The Business Administrator, Attorney, Township Clerk, Deputy Township
Clerk, Chief Financial Officer, and Director of Public Works and such
other Township officers or employees as may be required by general
or special order of the Council shall attend regular or special meetings
of the Council.
[Ord. No. 53-2014]
E.
Conferences
of Council.
(1)
The Council may meet on the second and fourth Wednesdays of each
month and may also meet at any time in informal conferences (Conference
Meetings) for the consideration of any Township business or to meet
with any officer or employee of the Township or any other person on
Township business. Such conferences may be called for preliminary
consideration of municipal business or to plan the agenda of its future
meetings.
(2)
Conference Meetings shall be held in accordance with the Open Public
Meetings Act.
[Ord. No. 53-2014]
G.
Agenda.
[Ord. No. 53-2014]
(1)
The Council agenda for each regular and special meeting of the Council
shall be prepared by the Township Clerk.
(2)
The regular agenda for each regular meeting of the Council shall
include only such matters of routine Council business and/or items
which have been presented or delivered to the Township Clerk by a
Councilperson not later than 3:00 p.m. on the Friday preceding the
meeting.
(3)
The Township Clerk shall cause a copy of the final Council, Administrative
and Counsel agendas to be delivered electronically to each Councilperson,
the Mayor and each department head and shall be posted and advertised
in accordance with the law.
(4)
All items, on the Council agenda, Administrative agenda and Counsel
agenda must be delivered to each Councilperson and Mayor at the same
time that the agendas are delivered.
(5)
Each agenda may have no more than one addendum, which must be delivered
electronically to each Councilperson and Mayor along with the appropriate
backup by 12 noon on the day of the meeting, with the exception of
emergency matters, which can be added to the agenda at the meeting
with the approval of the majority of the Council present.
(6)
Any Councilperson shall have the right to present any new matter
under "new business" with the exception of ordinances and resolutions
which must be in accordance with above.
H.
Order
of business; changing order.
[Ord. No. 53-2014]
(1)
The business of the Council at regular meetings and, so far as practicable,
at special meetings shall be taken up for consideration and disposed
of in the following order:
(a)
Roll call.
(b)
Reports of the Fire Commissioner, and First Aid Commissioner.
(c)
Council comments and report of special committees.
(d)
Approval of minutes of previous meetings.
(e)
Hearing upon adoption or amendment of proposed ordinances on second
hearing.
(f)
Administrative agenda presented by Mayor.
(g)
New/unfinished business.
(h)
Proposed ordinances.
(i)
Proposed Resolutions.
(j)
Township Counsel agenda.
(k)
Written communications.
(l)
Licenses and permits.
(m)
Miscellaneous.
(n)
Public comment.
(o)
Adjournment.
I.
Presiding
officer; election; duties.
(1)
The President of the Council shall be the presiding officer. The
President shall be elected at the Council's organization meeting and
shall hold office for a period of one year. The President for each
succeeding year shall be elected by the Council at the first regular
or organization meeting in January, and when elected he/she shall
take office immediately and shall hold the office for one year from
that date or until his/her successor shall have been duly elected.
In the absence of the President, the Council shall elect a temporary
President, who shall then preside over said Council. The President
shall assume the chair of the presiding officer immediately after
his/her election. The presiding officer shall preserve strict order
and decorum at all regular and special meetings of the Council. A
majority vote of the Council shall govern and determine all questions
of order not otherwise herein covered. The President may vote on all
questions, his/her name being called last. The President shall sign
all ordinances and resolutions adopted by the Council during his/her
presence. In the event of the absence of the President, such ordinances
and resolutions shall be signed by the presiding officer.
(2)
The Township Clerk shall draw the names of each Councilperson by
lot. The order in which the name of each Councilperson is drawn will
be the order in which each Councilperson will have an opportunity
to nominate one Councilperson for the office of Council President.
After each Councilperson has the opportunity to nominate one Councilperson,
and after any debate, the Council will vote on each Councilperson
in the order in which each Councilperson was nominated. The first
Councilperson receiving a majority of the full authorized membership
shall be elected Council President.
J.
Mayor's
attendance. The Mayor may attend meetings of the Council and may take
part in discussions of the Council but shall have no vote except as
provided by law.
K.
Call
to order. The President shall take the chair for the meeting and shall
immediately call the Council to order. In the absence of the President,
the Township Clerk or his/her designee shall call the Council to order,
whereupon a temporary President shall be elected by the members of
the Council present. Upon the arrival of the President, the temporary
President shall forthwith relinquish the chair upon the conclusion
of the business immediately before the Council.
L.
Roll
call. Before proceeding with the business of the Council, the Township
Clerk or Deputy Township Clerk shall call the roll of members in alphabetical
order, and the names of those present shall be entered in the minutes.
M.
Reading
of minutes. Unless a reading of the minutes of a Council meeting is
requested by a majority of the Council, the minutes, when approved
by the majority on roll call vote, will be considered approved without
reading, provided that the Township Clerk shall have, at least two
full working days preceding the meeting, delivered or caused to be
delivered electronically a copy thereof to each member of the Council.
N.
Motions
and rules of debate.
(1)
Participation by President. The President or such other member of
the Council as may be presiding may move, second and debate from the
chair, subject only to such limitations of debate as are by these
rules imposed upon all members; and he/she shall not be deprived of
any of the rights and privileges of a Councilperson by reason of his/her
being the presiding officer.
(2)
Debate. Every member desiring to speak shall address the presiding
officer and, upon recognition, shall confine himself/herself to the
question under debate, avoiding all personalities and indecorous language.
A member, once recognized, shall not be interrupted when speaking
unless it be to call him/her to order or as herein otherwise provided.
If a member, while speaking, is called to order, he/she shall cease
speaking until the question of order is determined by the presiding
officer, and if in order, he/she shall be permitted to proceed. Any
member may appeal to the Council from the decision of the chair upon
a question of order, whereupon without debate the chair shall submit
to the Council the question "Shall the decision of the chair be sustained?"
and the Council shall decide by a majority vote.
(3)
Closing debate. The Councilperson moving the adoption of an ordinance
or resolution shall have the privilege of closing the debate.
(4)
Voting on roll call. Upon any roll call, there shall be no discussion
or explanation given by any member voting and he/she shall vote "aye"
or "nay" unless he/she shall first receive permission from the Council
to explain his/her vote. A member of the Council may abstain from
voting on any matter.
O.
Addressing
the Council.
(1)
Any person desiring to address the Council shall first seek recognition from the presiding officer and, upon such recognition, shall confine his/her statement to the order of business prescribed by Subsection H and, in addition thereto, as hereinafter set forth in this subsection:
(a)
As to written communications. Under the heading of "written communications,"
parties affected or their authorized representatives may address the
Council in regard to matters then under discussion which are the subject
of such written communications.
(b)
As to public comments. Under the heading of "public comments," any
person may address the Council on any matter, provided, however, that
preference shall be given to those persons who may have notified the
Township Clerk in advance, within the time required for the preparation
of the agenda, of their desire to be heard.
[Ord. No. 53-2014]
(2)
Upon recognition by the chair, the person shall proceed to the floor
and give his/her name and address in an audible tone of voice for
the record, unless such person is a registrant under Daniel’s
Law (P.L. 2020, c.125), in which case, such person shall indicate
such status and refrain from giving his/her address). Unless further
time is granted by the Council, he/she shall limit his/her statement
to five minutes. After a motion is made by a Councilperson, no person
shall address the Council except on request of the Council.
[Amended 6-7-2023 by Ord. No. 19-2023]
P.
Decorum.
(1)
While the Council is in session, the members shall preserve order
and decorum and a member shall neither by conversation or otherwise
delay nor interrupt the proceedings. A member of the Council shall
not disturb any member while speaking or refuse to obey the orders
of the Council or its presiding officer, except as otherwise herein
provided. Any person making personal, impertinent or slanderous remarks
or who becomes boisterous shall be barred by the presiding officer
from further attendance at the meeting of the Council unless permission
to continue is granted by the majority of the Council.
(2)
The Chief of Police or such other member of the Police Department
as he/she may designate shall be Sergeant at Arms of the Council meeting
and shall be present at the Council meetings. The Sergeant at Arms
shall carry out all orders and instructions given by the presiding
officer for the purpose of maintaining order and decorum at the Council
meetings. Upon instruction of the presiding officer, it shall be the
duty of the Sergeant at Arms to remove any person who violates the
order and decorum of the meeting.
Q.
Special
committees.
(1)
All special committees and the chairpersons thereof shall be appointed
by the presiding officer at a regular or special meeting. All special
committees shall consist of a minimum of three Councilpersons, two
of whom shall be members of the majority party and one of whom shall
be a member of the minority party. The presiding officer shall have
the right to appoint other persons to serve on such committees, however,
special committees shall not exceed four members unless in compliance
with the OPMA.
(2)
A quorum of each special committee appointed shall consist of a majority
of the members thereof.
(3)
Meetings of special committees shall be held at such time as shall
not conflict with regular Council meetings.
R.
Nominations.
(1)
The Mayor shall give at least 7 days advanced written notice to the
Township Clerk of his/her nomination of a person to any office or
position that he/she so appoints which requires the advice and consent
of the Township Council. The Township Clerk shall immediately notify
the Township Council of same. Such appointment shall be placed on
the Council agenda for consideration. In the event that each Councilperson
has received at least 24 hours' notice of the proposed nomination,
said seven-day-notice requirement may be waived by unanimous consent
of all Councilpersons present. Action of confirmation or rejection
upon a nomination made by the Mayor shall not be postponed or delayed
longer than for one regular meeting.
(2)
When taken up for action, the President shall put the question on
each nomination as follows: "Will the Council confirm the nomination?"
On such motion a vote shall be ordered, and if five or more members
vote to confirm, the President shall announce "The nomination is confirmed."
If less than five members vote to confirm, the President shall announce
"The nomination is rejected."
(3)
Within two days after confirmation or rejection of nomination, the
Township Clerk shall, in writing, notify the Mayor of that fact.
S.
Ordinances
and resolutions.
(1)
Introduction. Notwithstanding any other provision hereof, any Councilperson
may introduce a resolution or ordinance.
(2)
Preparation. All ordinances and resolutions shall be drafted by or
receive the approval of the Township Attorney or his/her designee
as to form and legality. He/she shall prepare such ordinances and
resolutions as the Council may request. A copy of each ordinance which
will be submitted to the Council for introduction at a regular or
special meeting of the Council shall be delivered electronically to
each Councilperson at the same time the agendas are delivered but
no later than 4:30 p.m. on Monday prior to the time of said meeting;
provided, however, the Council, by unanimous consent, may waive this
requirement.
(3)
Adoption of ordinances.
(a)
Procedure as required by general law. All ordinances shall be adopted
and published in the manner required by general law; provided, however,
that any ordinance may incorporate by reference any standard technical
regulations or code, official or unofficial, which need not be so
published whenever 3 copies of said regulations or code have been
placed on file in the office of the Township Clerk and in the office
of the body or department charged with the enforcement of said ordinance
for the examination by the public so long as said ordinance is in
effect.
[N.J.S.A. 40:49-5.1]
(b)
Submission of ordinances to Mayor. All ordinances adopted by the
Council shall be submitted to the Mayor, and he/she shall, within
10 days after receiving any ordinance, either approve the ordinance
by affixing his/her signature thereto or return it to the Council
by delivering it to the Township Clerk, together with a statement
setting forth his/her 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/her,
or unless the Council, upon reconsideration thereof on or after the
third day following its return by the Mayor, shall, by a vote of 2/3
of the members, resolve to override the Mayor's veto.
(4)
Effective date of ordinance. No ordinance other than the local budget
ordinance shall take effect less than 20 days after its final passage
by the Council and approval by the Mayor (unless the Council overrides
the Mayor's veto) unless the Council shall adopt a resolution declaring
an emergency and at least 2/3 of the Council vote in favor of such
resolution; provided, however, that nothing herein shall affect the
provisions of the Local Bond Law with respect to the effective date
of ordinances passed pursuant thereto.
(5)
Certification of passage of ordinance over Mayor's veto. Whenever
an ordinance has been vetoed by the Mayor and is passed by the Council
over such veto in the manner provided by law, the Township Clerk shall
append to such ordinance a certificate signed by him/her in substantially
the following form:
I hereby certify that the above ordinance was adopted by the
Council on the ___ day of _______ 20__ and was vetoed by the Mayor
by his/her action whereby he/she returned the said ordinance to the
Council by delivering it to the Township Clerk, together with a statement
setting forth his/her objections thereto, and thereafter on the ___
day of _______ 20__ the Council did by a vote of two-thirds of the
members thereof resolve to override the Mayor's veto.
________________
(signature) Township Clerk
