[Adopted as Sec. 2:3 of the 1975 General
Ordinances]
The position of Mayor within the governmental
framework of the Township of Burlington is a position possessing great
duties and responsibilities for the proper, efficient operation of
the government of Burlington. The party holding the position of Mayor
must exercise all powers and duties with a sense of responsibility
and purpose. As the chief executive and administrative officer of
the community, the Mayor is directly responsible for the orderly provision
of governmental services to each individual within the municipality.
In general, it is the duty of the Mayor to establish programs designed
to provide government services in an efficient and appropriate manner.
The Mayor shall be elected by the voters of
the municipality at a regular municipal election and shall serve for
a term of four years beginning on the first day of January next following
his election.
Any person who shall be elected to the position
of Mayor as an elected official within the Township of Burlington
shall reside within the Township, and removal from the Township shall
constitute grounds for vacation of this office.
The Mayor shall receive such compensation as
the Township Council, in accordance with the provisions of law and
ordinance, shall provide.
A.
Executive power. The executive power of the municipality
shall be exercised by the Mayor.
B.
Enforcement of ordinances and Charter. The Mayor shall
enforce the Charter, the ordinances of the municipality and all general
laws applicable thereto.
C.
Annual report. The Mayor shall annually, and at such
other times as Council shall request, report to the Council and the
public on the work of the previous year and on the conditions and
requirements of the municipal government and shall, from time to time,
make such recommendations for action by the Council as he may deem
in the public interest.
D.
Departmental supervision. The Mayor shall supervise
all the departments of the municipal government and shall require
each department head to make annual and such other reports of his
work as the Mayor or the Council may deem desirable.
E.
Approval or veto of ordinances. Ordinances adopted
by the Council shall be submitted to the Mayor by the Township Clerk,
and he shall, within 10 days after receiving any ordinance, either
approve the ordinance by affixing his signature thereto or return
it to the Council by delivering it to the Municipal Clerk together
with a statement setting forth his 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 or unless Council, upon reconsideration thereof, on or after
the third day following its return by the Mayor, shall by vote of
2/3 of the members resolve to override the Mayor's veto.
F.
Attendance at meetings. The Mayor may attend meetings
of Council and may take part in discussions of Council, at the appropriate
"Mayor's announcements" portion of the agenda or as is required by
Council, but shall have no vote except in the case of a tie on the
question of filling a vacancy in the Council, in which case he may
cast the deciding vote.
G.
Appointments. The Mayor shall appoint all officers
and employees for whose election or appointment no other provisions
is made by the Charter, ordinance or statute, and in addition, shall
make the following specific appointments:
(1)
Department directors. The Mayor shall appoint, with
the advice and consent of Council, each department director.
(2)
Planning Board. The Mayor shall appoint Class II and
Class IV appointees to the Planning Board upon the expiration or termination
of the terms of these members in accordance with the provisions of
N.J.S.A. 40:55D-23.[1]
(3)
Recreation Commission. The Mayor shall appoint at
his discretion all members of the Recreation Commission, pursuant
to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:12-1.
(4)
Commission on Aging. The Mayor shall appoint all members
of the Commission on Aging.
(6)
Board of Assessors. Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:56-21,
the Mayor shall appoint all members of the Board of Assessors. [3]
(7)
Shade Tree Commission. Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:64-3,
the Mayor shall make all appointments to the Shade Tree Commission.
(8)
Environmental Commission. Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:56A-1,
the Mayor shall appoint all members of the Environmental Commission.
(9)
Fire Prevention Committee. The Mayor shall appoint
all members of the Fire Prevention Committee.
(10)
Township Improvement Committee. The Mayor shall appoint
all members of the Township Improvement Committee.
(12)
Board of Fire Engineers. The Mayor shall appoint all
members of the Board of Fire Engineers.
H.
Recommendation of a budget. The Mayor on or before
the 15th day of January of each year shall submit to the Council his
recommended budget, together with such explanatory comments or statement
as he may deem appropriate. Said budget shall conform with the requirements
of law and shall be prepared by the Mayor with the assistance of the
Business Administrator. In this connection, during the month of November
the Mayor shall require all department heads and all independent boards,
commissions or bodies to submit requests for appropriations for the
ensuing budget year and to appear before the Mayor or the Business
Administrator for a public hearing, which shall be held during that
month on the various requests involved. The budget in question shall
additionally have appended thereto a detailed analysis of the various
items of expenditure and revenue. Council, in reviewing this budget,
may reduce any item or items by vote of the majority of Council, but
any increase in any item or items therein shall become effective only
upon the vote of 2/3 of the members of Council, pursuant to the requirements
of N.J.S.A. 40:69A-46.
I.
Removal from office. The Mayor may, in his discretion,
remove any department head after notice and the opportunity to be
heard. Prior to removing a department head, the Mayor shall first
file written notice of his intention with Council. Such removal shall
become effective on the 20th day after the filing of such notice,
unless Council shall, prior thereto, adopt a resolution by two-thirds
vote of the whole membership of the Council to disapprove the removal.
Pursuant to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:69A-42,
the Mayor shall designate the Business Administrator, any other department
head, or the Township Clerk to act as the Mayor whenever the Mayor
shall be prevented by absence from his municipality, disability or
other cause from attending to the duties of his office. During such
time, the person so designated by the Mayor shall possess all of the
rights, powers and duties of Mayor. Whenever the Mayor shall have
been unable to attend to the duties of his office for a period of
60 consecutive days for any of the above-stated reasons, Council shall
act to appoint an Acting Mayor, who shall succeed to all of the rights,
power and duties of the Mayor or the previous Acting Mayor.
Whenever a vacancy in any office is required
by the Charter or Code to be filled by the Mayor with the advice and
consent of Council, and there is no holdover incumbent, the Mayor
may temporarily fill such a vacancy for a period of six months. In
the event that the Mayor and the Council cannot at the end of six
months fill the appointment through appointment by the Mayor with
the granting of Council's advice and consent, either party shall be
free to seek a determination from a court of competent jurisdiction.
Such an appointee shall have all of the functions, powers and duties
of the office until it shall be filled permanently.
Except for the violation of N.J.S.A. 40:69A-163
through 40:69A-165, the Mayor may be removed from office only under
the recall provisions particularly established under N.J.S.A. 40:69A-168
et seq.
