" Official," "officer" or "employee" shall mean
any person presently or formerly elected or appointed to public office,
board or commission of the Borough of Longport, or employed or retained
by the Borough for any office, commission or board thereof, whether
such person serves in a paid or unpaid capacity; provided, however,
that these terms do not include independent contractors employed by
the Borough.
Whenever an official, officer or employee of
the Borough of Longport is a defendant in any civil action or legal
proceedings, including the employee's civil violation of state or
federal law, arising out of or incidental to the performance or nonperformance
of his or her duties, the Borough of Longport shall provide the official,
officer or employee with the necessary defense, or, at the Borough's
option, a means for defense of such action or proceeding, up, through
and including any appeal, and shall hold such officer or employee
harmless and indemnify him or her from the payment of any settlement,
judgment and exemplary or punitive damages resulting from the proceeding,
even if it is later decided by a judge or jury to have been unlawful
or improper as to the plaintiff, except in the following situations:
A. Where the action has been brought by the municipality
itself against said official, officer or employee.
B. Where the officer or employee has been specifically
found by the court in the proceedings to have acted with actual fraud,
actual malice or willful misconduct.
Whenever an official, officer or employee of
the Borough of Longport is a defendant in any criminal action or legal
proceeding arising out of or incidental to the performance of his
or her duties and in the event said action or legal proceeding is
dismissed or finally determined in favor of the official, officer
or employee, he or she shall be reimbursed for the expense of defense.
The Borough of Longport reserves the option
to defend an employee of the Borough of Longport or provide the employee
with the means for a defense or indemnify the employee for his or
her defense.
Whenever the Borough provides the defense of
a municipal official, officer or employee pursuant to this chapter,
the Borough may assume exclusive control of the representation of
such official, officer or employee, and such official, officer or
employee shall cooperate fully with the Borough's defense.
In the event that it is ultimately determined
that the public official, officer or employee of the Borough of Longport
cannot be indemnified under the terms and conditions of this chapter,
then the official, officer or employee agrees to reimburse the Borough
of Longport for monetary amounts, fees and costs, including attorneys'
fees which have been advanced or provided by the Borough of Longport
to him or her or on his or her behalf.