[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Council
of the Township of West Windsor 1-7-2019 by Res. No. 2019-R003,[1] effective 1-1-2019 through 12-31-2019. Amendments noted
where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Administration of government — See Ch. 4.
[1]
Editor’s Note: This resolution also superseded former
Ch. A205, Council Procedural Guidelines, adopted 1-1-2018 by Res.
No. 2018-R008, effective 1-1-2018 through 12-31-2018, as amended.
A.
Regular business meetings.
(1)
Regular business meetings will be held as noted below (generally
on second and fourth Mondays unless a Monday is a holiday):
[Amended 1-2-2020 by Res. No. 2020-R003; 1-4-2021 by Res. No. 2021-R003; 1-3-2022 by Res. No. 2022-R003a; 1-9-2023 by Res. No. 2023-R003]
January 9, 23
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July 17
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February 13, 27**
|
August 14,** 28
|
March 13, 27
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September 12, 26*
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April 10, 24
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October 10, 24*
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May 8,** 22
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November 13,** 27
|
June 12, 26
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December 11, 18
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*
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Meeting will be scheduled on a Tuesday due to Monday holiday.
|
**
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Start time adjusted. Business session will begin immediately
after the adjournment of the Board of Health meeting
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(2)
Unless otherwise noticed, all regular business meetings begin at
7:00 p.m. and will be held in the Council Meeting Room A of the West
Windsor Township Municipal Building.
B.
Work sessions. Work sessions will be scheduled as needed.
C.
Special sessions. Special sessions will be scheduled as needed.
D.
Budget work sessions: Budget work sessions will be scheduled as needed.
[Amended 1-9-2023 by Res. No. 2023-R003]
E.
Board of Health meetings: February 27, May 8, August 14, November
13. Unless otherwise noticed, all Board of Health meetings will begin
at 7:00 p.m. before the start of the business session and will be
held in the Council Meeting Room A of the West Windsor Township Municipal
Building.
[Amended 1-2-2020 by Res. No. 2020-R003; 1-3-2022 by Res. No. 2022-R003a; 1-9-2023 by Res. No. 2023-R003]
F.
Closed sessions. For meetings where the public is excluded, provision
will be made for public comment before or after the closed portion
takes place. When a closed session is part of another meeting, a separate
public comment session is not required.
G.
If a Council
Member is attending a Council meeting via Zoom ( or similar program),
they must stay physically present on camera with active microphone
and speakers during the entire meeting to comply with the Open Public
Meetings Act. (If technical difficulties occur during a meeting the
Township Clerk or designee will make the decision as to whether the
meeting continues or if a break will be necessary until the technical
difficulties can be corrected. If difficulties cannot be resolved
within a reasonable period of time, the Township Clerk or designee
may deem that the Council Member has left the meeting and proceed.)
[Added 1-3-2022 by Res. No. 2022-R003a]
The Council President or Vice President shall preside at all
meetings. In the absence of both the Council President and Vice President,
the members of Council in attendance shall select one member to serve
as presiding officer for that meeting. The meeting will be called
to order at 7:00 p.m. No meeting shall be called to order unless there
is a quorum.
[Amended 1-2-2020 by Res. No. 2020-R003; 1-4-2021 by Res. No. 2021-R003]
A.
The order of business for regular business meetings shall be as follows:
(1)
Call
to order.
(2)
Roll
call.
(3)
Statement of adequate notice.
(4)
Salute to the flag.
(5)
Ceremonial matters or topic for priority consideration.
(6)
Public comment (thirty-minute comment period; three-minute limit
per person).
(7)
Administration comments.
(8)
Council member comments.
(9)
Chair/Clerk comments.
(10)
Public hearings.
(12)
Items removed from consent agenda.
(13)
Recommendations from Administration and Council/Clerk.
(14)
Introduction of ordinances.
(15)
Additional public comment (fifteen-minute comment period; three-minute
limit per person).
[Amended 1-9-2023 by Res. No. 2023-R003]
(16)
Council reports/discussion/new business.
(17)
Administration updates.
(18)
Closed session (if needed).
(19)
Adjournment.
A.
The business meeting agenda shall be set by 12:00 noon on the Monday
prior to the upcoming Monday business meeting. A Request For Council
Action form must be submitted reflecting the nature of the action
sought, and, if other than a business transaction, the nature of the
item and the anticipated length of time necessary for consideration
must be outlined.
B.
Council actions may be initiated by members of the Council, the Mayor,
the department heads and the Clerk's office. All actions other than
those initiated by the Council members and/or the Clerk must be approved
by the Mayor or the Business Administrator prior to consideration
by the Council President for placement on the agenda.
C.
The Council President shall review with the Clerk all items received
and will determine the ultimate composition of the agenda. A draft
agenda will be distributed to the Council President at the end of
the workday Friday (after the previous business meeting), and a final
agenda will be distributed to Council upon the President's approval.
[Amended 1-3-2022 by Res. No. 2022-R003a; 1-9-2023 by Res. No. 2023-R003]
D.
The final agenda and any supporting materials will be delivered to
the Council no later than the Wednesday preceding the applicable business
meeting. The final agenda shall be posted to the West Windsor website
on the Thursday preceding the applicable business meeting.
E.
Any matter not submitted to the Clerk's office in a timely manner
as set forth above may be considered and acted on by the Council members
present, if they agree by majority vote to consider the matter.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Former Subsection E, regarding consideration
of resolutions or ordinances, was repealed 1-3-2022 by Res. No. 2022-R003a.
This resolution also redesignated former Subsections F and G as E
and F, respectively.
F.
Special Business Session agendas as needed will be set by the Council
President to include form and format.
A.
Work sessions will be utilized for the discussion of policy or similar
matters and will be scheduled and/or retained as the Council sees
fit. There will be a public comment period, the timing and duration
of which shall be at the discretion of the Council; comments are limited
to three minutes per person. Action may be taken if it is noticed
to be considered.
B.
Scheduled work sessions may also be used for those matters that,
of necessity, must be considered in closed sessions, and therefore
provide for closed session meetings on other than regularly scheduled
business session evenings.
C.
Order of Business for Work Sessions will be as follows:
[Amended 1-2-2020 by Res. No. 2020-R003; 1-4-2021 by Res. No. 2021-R003]
(1)
Call to order.
(2)
Roll
call.
(3)
Statement of adequate notice.
(4)
Salute to the flag.*
(5)
Public comment (thirty-minute comment period; three-minute limit
per person).
(7)
Additional public comment (fifteen-minute comment period; three-minute
limit per person).
[Amended 1-9-2023 by Res. No. 2023-R003]
(8)
Closed session (if needed).
(9)
Adjournment.
(*If just a stand-alone work session)
[Amended 1-2-2020 by Res. No. 2020-R003]
The presiding officer shall have general supervision of the
meeting. Members and others given the privilege of the floor shall
address the presiding officer. If a Council Member and/or Mayor is
specifically mentioned during public comment, the Presiding Officer
will allow that Council Member and/or Mayor to address the comment
immediately thereafter.
A.
General provisions.
(1)
Every legislative act of the Council shall be by resolution or ordinance.
(2)
All proposed ordinances and resolutions shall be presented to the
Council in fully prepared form. No ordinance, except general appropriation
ordinances, shall be passed containing more than one subject, which
shall be expressed in its title.
(3)
Resolutions and ordinances shall be numbered sequentially at the
time of placement on the business agenda. Two separate numbering systems
shall be used for the two forms of action.
(4)
A majority of the whole number of members of the Council shall constitute
a quorum. Recusals are not to be counted towards a quorum, Abstentions
are counted toward a quorum. No ordinance shall be adopted by the
Council without the affirmative vote of a majority of the full membership
of the Council (N.J.S.A. 40:69A-180). In the case of the adoption
of a bond ordinance, the affirmative vote of 2/3 of the full governing
body (generally four "yes" votes) is required. No resolution shall
be adopted without the affirmative vote of a majority of the quorum.
(5)
All votes shall be taken by roll call, and the yeas and nays shall
be entered on the minutes. The presiding officer shall vote last on
all questions.
(6)
Resolutions shall take effect after final passage by the Council.
Ordinances shall take effect after final passage, publication and
the conclusion (running) of any waiting periods as required by law.
(7)
The Township Clerk shall record all ordinances and resolutions adopted
by the Council.
(8)
Resolutions and ordinances shall each be maintained in separate ledgers
that are kept on an annual basis and that are permanent records of
the West Windsor Township.
B.
Procedure for ordinances:
(1)
An ordinance may be presented at any regular meeting, and also at
special meetings, when such special call is for general business or
such ordinance is mentioned in the call for a special meeting.
(2)
The action of the Council on ordinances shall be noted in the minutes.
(3)
All ordinances shall be prepared, adopted and published in the manner
required by law. Following the second reading and public hearing,
an ordinance passed by the Council shall, within three days, be delivered
by the Clerk to the Mayor for approval or veto, and the Mayor shall,
within 10 days after receiving any ordinance, either approve the ordinance
by signing it or return it to the Council by delivering it to the
Clerk, together with a statement setting forth the Mayor's objections
thereto or to any part thereof. Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:69A-41, 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 the Mayor
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)
Passage over veto. Whenever an ordinance has been reconsidered by
the Council following a veto by the Mayor, the Clerk shall append
to such ordinance a certification of the action of the Council upon
such reconsideration in substantially the following form:
I HEREBY CERTIFY that the above ordinance adopted by the Council
on the _____day of _____, _____, was delivered to the Mayor on the
_____ day of _____, _____ and was returned to me on the _____ day
of _____, _____, together with the Mayor's statement of the reasons
for which the Mayor was constrained to withhold approval of such ordinance,
item or part thereof. On reconsideration thereof on the _____ day
of _____, _____, (the Council duly resolved by the affirmative vote
of 2/3 of its members to enact such ordinance, item or part thereof
notwithstanding the Mayor's veto.) or (the Mayor's veto was sustained.)
Clerk
(5)
Ordinances not returned by Mayor. Whenever an ordinance shall take
effect without the Mayor's signature by reason of the Mayor's failure
to return it to the Council by filing it with the Clerk within 10
days after it has been presented to the Mayor, the Clerk shall append
to such ordinance a certificate in substantially the following form:
I HEREBY CERTIFY that the above ordinance was adopted by the
Council on the _____ day of _____, _____, and was presented to the
Mayor duly certified on the _____ day of _____, _____, and upon the
Mayor's failure to sign it or return and file it with the Clerk within
10 days thereafter, said ordinance took effect in like manner as if
the Mayor had signed it.
| |
Clerk
|
Dated:
|
(6)
All ordinances shall be sent to the codifier for inclusion in the
codification.
C.
Effective date. No rule or regulation made by a department, officer,
agency or authority of the Township, except such as relates to the
organization or internal management of the government or a part thereof,
shall take effect until it is filed either with the Township Clerk
or in such other manner as may be provided by ordinance.
A member who has a personal or private interest in any question
or measure proposed or pending before the Council which might constitute
a conflict contrary to the Local Government Ethics Law, N.J.S.A. 40A:9-22.1,
shall disclose such interest and either refrain from voting or shall
request a ruling from the Attorney as to whether a member should vote
thereon or take any part in the discussion of the same.
A.
Appointments to citizens' groups, boards, committees and other. According
to the Administrative Code, responsibility for the appointment of
various boards, committees and commissions shall be as noted below:
[Amended 1-2-2020 by Res. No. 2020-R003; 1-4-2021 by Res. No. 2021-R003; 1-9-2023 by Res. No. 2023-R003]
Board, Committee or Commission
|
Appointing Authority
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---|---|---|
Affordable Housing Committee
|
Mayor, with advice and consent of Township Council
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Township Council member
|
Township Council
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Agricultural Advisory Committee
|
Mayor, with advice and consent of Township Council
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Board of Recreation Commissioners
|
Mayor
| |
Alternate 1 and 2
|
Mayor, with advice and consent of Township Council
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Township Council Liaison
|
Township Council
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Cable TV Advisory Board
| ||
Mayor, or Mayor's designee
|
Mayor
| |
Two Township Council members
|
Township Council
| |
Member of public
|
Mayor
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Member of public
|
Township Council
| |
Emergency Management Council
|
Mayor
| |
Township Council Member
|
Township Council
| |
Environmental Commission
|
Mayor
| |
Township Council Liaison
|
Township Council
| |
Human Relations Council
|
Mayor, with advice and consent of Township Council
| |
Township Council Liaison
|
Township Council
| |
Parking Authority
|
Township Council
| |
Township Council Liaison
|
Township Council
| |
Planning Board
|
Mayor
| |
Planning Board Class III member
|
Township Council
| |
Shade Tree Commission
|
Mayor, with advice and consent of Township Council
| |
Township Council Liaison
|
Township Council
| |
Stony Brook Regional Sewerage Authority representative
|
Mayor, with advice and consent of Township Council
| |
Zoning Board of Adjustment
|
Township Council
|
A.
Written minutes. Written minutes approved by Council shall be the
official record of all meetings of the Council.
B.
Draft minutes. Minutes which have been prepared but which have not
been approved by the Council shall be considered draft minutes, subject
to correction by the Council. The draft minutes of each meeting shall
be submitted to the Council for approval.
C.
Open session minutes. Once open session minutes have been approved
by the Council, they shall be signed by the Clerk and presiding officer
at such meeting (N.J.S.A. 40:69A-180), and certified duplicate copies
of the same shall be available to the public at the rates fixed by
law.
D.
Closed session minutes. Closed session minutes shall be made available
at such time as the issues discussed therein are resolved and their
disclosure would not subvert any particular exception for convening
a closed session.
A.
All open public meetings of the Township Council shall be broadcast
for public view as noted on the Township Council Agenda page on the
Township website. The Township Council will continue to use Zoom for
public interaction at Council meetings in 2023. This is for the convenience
of the public and is not a legal requirement under the Open Public
Meetings Act at this time. If technical difficulties occur during
a meeting, the Township Clerk or designee will make the decision as
to whether the meeting will continue on Zoom. If it is decided that
Zoom must be discontinued, this will not affect the Council meeting
from continuing under the Open Public Meetings Act because the use
of Zoom is for the convenience of the public and not a legal requirement.
All Council meetings will continue to be live streamed on YouTube.
The use of YouTube is not a legal requirement under the Open Public
Meetings Act and will not constitute the need to stop the Township
Council meeting if technical difficulties occur.
[Amended 1-4-2021 by Res. No. 2021-R003; 1-9-2023 by Res. No. 2023-R003]
B.
All open public meetings of the Township Council shall be recorded.
C.
Recordings of meetings. The recordings of open meetings of the Township
Council are maintained for 10 years in the Clerk's Office.
[Amended 1-3-2022 by Res. No. 2022-R003a]
E.
Reproduction of open meeting recordings. Reproduction of digital
recordings, tapes or CDs of open sessions may be arranged, with the
requesting party paying a fee for this service.
Robert's Rules of Order shall be the prevailing authority in
matters of parliamentary procedure, except to the extent of anything
herein to the contrary.
A.
If the vacancy occurs in the office of Mayor or Council after September
1 of the next-to-the-last year and up to the expiration of the term
of the officer whose office has become vacant, the office may be filled
for its unexpired term by a vote of the governing body as hereinafter
provided.
B.
If the vacancy in the office of Mayor or Council occurs at any other
time, the vacancy shall be filled for its unexpired term at the next
general election, to be held not less than 60 days following the occurrence
of the vacancy. The Township Council may fill the vacancy in the interim
until such general election, by appointment as hereinafter provided.
C.
If the Mayor or a Council member is elected to another position that
would preclude them from finishing their term as either Mayor or a
Council Member in the November General Election and their term does
not expire at the end of that year, the process shall be as follows:
applications for the position shall be submitted no later than 30
days from the date of the election of that year and each candidate
may be interviewed in the same process as for any other vacancy at
the first Business Meeting held in January of the next year, or at
another meeting within 30 days of the office becoming vacant.
D.
If the governing body elects to fill a vacancy in the office of Mayor
or Council, the vacancy shall be filled by Council within 30 calendar
days following its occurrence, without regard to political party.
If the vacancy is not filled within 30 days, then the office shall
remain vacant for the remainder of the term or until the election
and qualification of a successor, as the case may be.
E.
While a member of the governing body is free to advocate the candidacy
of an applicant to fill a vacancy, that member must disclose any affiliation
with that applicant and must treat all other applicants in a fair,
equal and ethical manner. Township Council members will consider all
applications for a vacant position and will be free to talk to all
applicants about their candidacy on an individual basis. No third-party
investigation of an applicant shall be conducted without the knowledge
of every member of Council and the applicant and with the approval
of the majority of the Council, in which case the inquiry shall be
conducted by the Township Clerk.
F.
Determination of eligibility and application process.
(1)
Any citizen of the United States who is 18 years of age or older
and who has been a resident of the Township for at least one year
and has not been convicted of a crime of the third degree, or touching
upon a public office or an indictable offense involving dishonesty,
as provided by N.J.S.A. 2C:51-2, and who desires to be considered
for appointment to the vacancy, shall be provided an informational
package, copies of which can be obtained at the Township Clerk's office,
and shall complete an application provided therein.
(2)
All potential applicants must submit an application to the Clerk's
Office within 10 days following the date on which the vacancy occurs.
(3)
The application and any supporting documents that are furnished by
an applicant will be considered a public record and available for
public inspection.
G.
Selection of a replacement for a vacancy not caused by an election.
(1)
At a public meeting, which shall occur between 10 and 30 days after
the vacancy, each candidate will be permitted to provide a public
presentation for up to five minutes and respond to any questions by
members of Council.
(2)
Public comment period. Public comments will be permitted at this
public meeting only after the applicants have made their presentations
and answered questions from Council. The public comment period conducted
at this public meeting shall be limited to three minutes per person.
(3)
After public presentations are provided by the candidates, but
within 30 calendar days following the occurrence of the vacancy, each
remaining member of Council will be permitted to nominate one of the
candidates. No second is necessary for any nomination. After the nominations
are made, then the Council will be free to deliberate about the nominees.
After deliberations in public are concluded, then each remaining member
of Council may submit a ballot to the Clerk selecting one of the nominees
to fill the vacant position.
H.
Appointment process.
I.
Tie votes. A tie vote will occur when there are two votes for each
of two separate candidates. If there are fewer than four remaining
members of Council, a tie vote will occur when there is one vote for
each of two separate candidates. Following a tie vote, Council may
further deliberate and revote. In the event a tie vote still exists,
the Mayor may exercise the right to vote to fill a vacancy, without
further voting. An abstention shall not count as a vote either for
or against any particular candidate.
J.
The candidate appointed by Council to fill a vacancy pursuant to
this procedure shall be sworn in and be seated after the vote is taken
but within 30 days following the occurrence of the vacancy.
Council members should use only Township-issued e-mail addresses
for Township business.
[Amended 1-3-2022 by Res. No. 2022-R003a]
Council members are required to attend on an annual basis at
least one instructional course covering the responsibilities and obligations
of elected officials (for example: ethics, municipal finance, labor
relations, risk management, shared services, purchasing, land use
administration, personnel, technology, etc.) through a course approved
for continuing education credit by the New Jersey Division of Local
Government Services, or an in-house education provided by a professional,
vendor, or staff member (provided they have significant expertise
in their profession and routinely prepare public presentations). A
copy of the certificate received for any class attended should be
provided to the Township Clerk as proof of attendance. If a Council
Member is unable to attend a conference or training, they must notify
the Clerk so a refund or credit can be requested.