There shall be a Department of Law, the head
of which shall be the Borough Attorney. He/she shall be appointed
by the Council and shall serve at its pleasure, receiving therefor
remuneration as established by the Council pursuant to law. He/she
may be an individual attorney or a member of a law firm; however,
he/she must have been admitted to practice as an attorney at law in
the State of New Jersey for a period of five years or more.
The Borough Attorney, in addition to such other
duties, functions and powers as may be otherwise delegated to him/her,
shall:
A. Be the chief legal advisor to the Council and Manager
and shall give all necessary legal advice and counsel as required
by the Council and Manager, for the Borough, its department heads
and employees.
B. Prepare all ordinances, regulations, resolutions,
contracts and other legal documents and papers not otherwise prepared.
C. Appear as attorney of record for the Borough in all
actions or proceedings in which it may be or become involved.
D. Attend all regular and special meetings and such other
meetings as requested by the Council or Manager.
E. Supervise the administration of the Law Department,
the maintenance of its offices at the municipal building, its budget
and expenditures, make annual budget recommendations to the Manager,
allocate duties and responsibilities to Law Department personnel.
As may be required from time to time to meet
the workload of the Department of Law, legal assistants may be appointed
by the Manager, after consultation with the Borough Attorney as to
need in such number as may be required. Said legal assistants shall
be attorneys at law of the State of New Jersey, admitted to practice
in this state for not less than one year. A legal assistant may be
appointed for a term of one year or for a part of a year, as circumstances
require, and shall receive a salary as established pursuant to law.
The legal assistants shall perform such duties
as may be required by the Borough Attorney and specifically as follows:
A. One legal assistant shall be designated as Borough
Prosecutor in the Municipal Court of the Borough and in any appeals
from the decisions of that Court. Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 2B:25-4, the
Mayor and Council shall, by resolution, adopt a list of a pool of
attorneys as "Alternate Borough Prosecutors" who shall appear in the
place and stead of the Borough Prosecutor when the Borough Prosecutor
is either incapacitated or unable to appear in Municipal Court due
to any conflict in scheduling or conflict of interest. The Alternate
Borough Prosecutors, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 2B:25-4d, shall be compensated
on a per diem basis for services rendered.
[Amended 7-23-2002 by Ord. No. 1920-2002]
B. One legal assistant may be delegated to assist and
advise the Rent Leveling Board in its functions and duties and in
any appeals from the decisions of that Board.
C. Aid and assist the Borough Attorney in the operation
of the Department of Law in any litigation by or against the Borough
or any of its departments, agencies, boards or employees, agents,
officers, officials or servants arising in the course of and in the
scope of their employment, prepare ordinances, contracts, resolutions,
other legal documents and review such documents, provide research,
correspondence and maintain proper files, all as directed by the Borough
Attorney.
Both the Zoning Board and Planning Board shall
appoint attorneys who shall act on behalf of those boards, respectively,
as provided by law. These attorneys shall be independent of the Borough
Attorney in the performance of their legal duties; however, administratively
they are deemed as legal assistants for the purpose of submitting
vouchers, if any, for review by the Borough Attorney, for all administrative
assistance, budgetary allowances and planning and shall maintain in
the municipal building or the office of the respective boards all
permanent files, including litigation files.
In the event that the Borough Attorney is a
member of a law firm, the name of that firm may appear as attorney
of record for the Borough in all actions or proceedings. In a specific
case and without regularity, any member of the firm may appear on
behalf of the Borough; however, no additional compensation will be
paid relative to such appearances.
In the event that any attorney employed by the
Borough disqualifies him/herself because of a conflict of interest
arising out of a particular proceeding, the Borough Attorney, with
the consent of the Council or Manager shall make the appropriate arrangements
for representation by the Borough.