Borough of South River, NJ Article III Municipal Court Administrator; Deputy Municipal Court Administrator; Violations Clerk

[Adopted 6-13-1985 by Ord. No. 1985-13; amended in its entirety 9-21-1994 by Ord. No. 1994-33 (Ch. 19, Art. III, of the 1977 Code)]

§ 36-13 Positions created.

The positions of Municipal Court Administrator, Deputy Municipal Court Administrator and Violations Clerk of the Borough of South River are hereby created and the employment of the persons trained, educated and qualified in accordance with the duties and qualifications hereafter set forth and who shall qualify to fill such position is hereby authorized. The Municipal Court Administrator position shall be full-time, the position of the Deputy Municipal Court Administrator shall be full-time and the position of Violations Clerk shall be part-time in accordance with the terms of employment set forth herein.

§ 36-14 Municipal Court Administrator.

[Amended 2-23-2004 by Ord. No. 2004-7]

A. Terms of employment. The Municipal Court Administrator shall be employed on a full-time basis.

B. General statement of duties. The Municipal Court Administrator performs work of a highly confidential and responsible nature, a working position responsible for accounting/bookkeeping duties, planning, organizing and directing all phases of the Municipal Court.

C. The Municipal Court Administrator works under the general supervision of the Municipal Court Judge for Court matters and administrative, clerical and budgetary matters; has additional limited responsibility to the Administrative Office of the Courts in both Middlesex County and the State of New Jersey.

D. Major job duties of the Municipal Court Administrator are as follows:

(1) Responsible for all aspects and administration of the South River Municipal Court.

(2) Supervises, evaluates, and schedules all employees assigned to the Municipal Court.

(3) Performs traffic and criminal system work involving all aspects of case processing, scheduling, preparation and caseload management.

(4) Prepares, certifies and delivers the Municipal Court payroll to the Finance Department.

(5) Prepared and presents the annual Municipal Court budget to the Borough Administrator, Finance Committee and Mayor and Council.

(6) Accepts and follows up on complaints from citizens, coordinates interdepartmental issues, and administers oaths of office.

(7) Reviews probable cause affidavits to determine issuance of process of summons/complaints.

(8) Serves as the primary on-call employee for all after-hours Municipal Court duties.

(9) Prepares, accounts for, collects and reports all matters related to bail bonds and forfeiture of the same.

(10) Assures that the Municipal Court is at all times in compliance with all Borough, state and federal rules, regulations and statutes.

(11) Maintains, collects, and reports all monies received by the Municipal Court in the appropriate format as designated by the Chief Financial Officer and the Borough Auditor.

(12) Supports and interacts with judges, prosecutors, staff, lawyers, complainants and defendants through a thorough knowledge of state statutes and criminal codes, including Division of Motor Vehicles.

(13) Other duties as assigned.

E. Qualifications shall be as follows:

(1) Associate's degree in accounting or business administration. Graduation from high school and full-time working experience in the New Jersey Municipal Court may be substituted for the associate's degree.

(2) Must be a New Jersey Certified Municipal Court Administrator or able to obtain certification within six months of hire.

(3) Ability to compose, transcribe, and proofread correspondence, format finance reports and set up and maintain various filing systems; have knowledge of office procedures, computer and computer software and peripheral equipment.

(4) Demonstrated skill in business, grammars, punctuation, spelling and written and oral communications.

(5) Ability to prioritize duties and to work harmoniously with other Borough personnel and citizens.

(6) Must be able to lift 25 pounds on intermittent occasions.

§ 36-15 Deputy Municipal Court Administrator.

[Amended 2-23-2004 by Ord. No. 2004-7]

A. Terms of employment. The Deputy Municipal Court Administrator shall be employed on a full-time basis.

B. General statement of duties. The Deputy Municipal Court Administrator performs work of a highly confidential and responsible nature, a working position, responsible for assisting the Court Administrator in accounting/bookkeeping duties, planning, organizing and directly all phases of the Municipal Court.

C. Supervision received. The Deputy Municipal Court Administrator works under the general supervision of the Municipal Court Administrator.

D. The duties shall be as follows:

(1) Assist the Municipal Court Administrator in all aspects and operations of the South River Municipal Court.

(2) In the absence of the Municipal Court Administrator, supervises employees assigned to the Municipal Court.

(3) Performs traffic and criminal system work involving all aspects of case processing, scheduling, preparation and cash flow management, from issuance through disposition as assigned by the Municipal Court Administrator.

(4) In the absence of the Municipal Court Administrator, prepares, certifies and delivers the Municipal Court payroll to the Finance Department.

(5) Issuance of criminal or motor vehicle summons/complaints from private citizens.

(6) Serves as the secondary on-call employee for all after-hours Municipal Court duties.

(7) May be assigned by the Municipal Court Administrator to prepare, account for, collect and report all matters related to bail bonds and forfeiture of same.

(8) In the absence of the Municipal Court Administrator, is responsible to assure that the Municipal Court is at all times in compliance with all Borough, state and federal rules, regulations and statutes.

(9) As assigned by the Municipal Court Administrator, maintains, collects, and reports all monies received by the Municipal Court in appropriate format as designated by the Chief Financial Officer and the Borough Auditor.

(10) Supports and interacts with judges, prosecutors, staff, lawyers, complainants and defendants through a thorough knowledge of state statutes and criminal codes, including Division of Motor Vehicles.

(11) Receives money from fines, fees and bails.

(12) Any and all other duties as assigned.

E. Qualifications shall be as follows:

(1) Associate's degree in legal studies, criminal justice, accounting or business administration. Graduation from high school and full-time working experience in a professional office or related field may be substituted for the associate's degree.

(2) Must be a New Jersey Certified Municipal Court Administrator or obtain certification within three years of hire.

(3) Ability to compose, transcribe and proofread correspondence, to format financial records and to set up and maintain various filing systems.

(4) Knowledge of office procedures, computer, computer software and peripheral equipment.

(5) Demonstrated skill in business, grammars, punctuation, spelling and written and oral communication.

(6) Ability to prioritize duties and to work harmoniously with other Borough personnel and citizens.

(7) Must be able to lift 25 pounds on an intermittent occasion.

§ 36-16 Violations Clerk.

A. Terms of employment. The Violations Clerk shall be employed on a part-time basis with no more than 25 hours per week.

B. General statement of duties. The Violations Clerk performs clerical work which includes receiving and receipting payment of fines and costs; deals with the public in answering inquiries regarding court matters; prepares court schedules; prepares and sends out notices and other court correspondence.

C. Supervision received. The Violations Clerk works under the general supervision of the Municipal Court Administrator and the Deputy Municipal Court Administrator.

D. Examples of duties. The Violations Clerk:

(1) Answers telephone and correspondence as necessary.

(2) Opens and routes incoming mail and prepares outgoing mail.

(3) Receives and records fees for traffic violations.

(4) Types a variety of material, including letters, notices, orders and dispositions.

(5) Maintains records and files as necessary.

(6) Occasionally acts as backup for operating the tape recorder.

(7) Issues summons books to police officers.

(8) Prepares the court schedule and forwards notices to litigants.

(9) Performs other related work as required or assigned.

E. Qualifications shall be as follows:

(1) Education: Possession of a high school diploma or equivalency certificate.

(2) Experience: Two years' clerical experience desirable.

(3) Knowledge and abilities: Knowledge of general office procedures, ability to deal with the public, ability to type 40 words per minute. Successful completion of the course given by the Administrative Office of the Courts within one year is a condition of continued employment.

§ 36-17 Compensation.

The Municipal Court Administrator, Deputy Municipal Court Administrator and Violations Clerk shall receive as compensation for their services annual salaries which shall be fixed in accordance with the provisions of an ordinance governing salaries.[1]

[1] Editor's Note: The Salary Ordinance is on file in the office of the Borough Clerk.

§ 36-18 Appointment.

Said Municipal Court Administrator, Deputy Municipal Court Administrator and Violations Clerk shall be appointed by the Mayor with the advice and consent of the Borough Council for the terms of one year or for such time and term as the statute in such case made and provided shall permit.

§ 36-19 Administration.

The Deputy Municipal Court Administrator and Violations Clerk shall report to the Municipal Court Administrator administratively.

§ 36-20 Political activity. [1]

Political activity shall be controlled by Article X of Chapter 68, Personnel Regulations.

[1] Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II).