Pursuant to the Charter, the legislative power
of the municipality will be exercised by the Council.
Pursuant to the Charter, the Council, at its
first meeting after each election for Councilmen, shall elect a President
of the Council from among its members to serve until the election
and qualification of his successor. At the same time, the Council
may elect a Vice President of the Council to serve until the election
and qualification of his successor, who shall have all of the functions,
powers and duties of the President of the Council whenever the President
may be absent. In the absence of both the President and Vice President
of the Council, the Council shall elect a temporary presiding officer,
who shall have all of the functions, powers and duties of the President
during his absence. The President of the Council shall preside at
its meetings. He shall preserve order and decorum at all meetings
of Council. He shall state every question coming before the Council,
announce the decisions of the Council and decide all questions of
order subject to appeal to the Council. He may vote on all questions,
his name being called last. He shall appoint all special committees
of the Council and shall sign all ordinances and resolutions adopted
by the Council during his presence.
[Amended 12-1-1993 by Ord. No. 1993-32]
The Township Clerk shall keep a journal of Council
proceedings and record the minutes of every meeting and shall have
such other functions, powers and duties as are provided by the code.
On the Wednesday preceding each regular meeting,
the Council will hold an agenda conference at 8:00 p.m. at the municipal
building. All reports, communications, ordinances, resolutions, contract
documents or other matters to be submitted to the Council shall be
delivered to the Clerk, whereupon the Clerk shall immediately furnish
a copy thereof to each member of the Council, the Mayor, the Business
Administrator and the Director of the Division of Law as far in advance
of the meeting as time for preparation will permit.
The President of the Council may request the
Police Department to designate a police officer to serve as Sergeant
at Arms at Council meetings. He shall carry out all orders and instructions
given by the presiding officer for the purpose of maintaining order
and decorum at Council meetings, and it shall be his duty to place
any person under arrest who violates the order and decorum of a meeting
and to cause him to be prosecuted under the provisions of this Code
upon a complaint signed by the presiding officer.
[Amended 12-1-1993 by Ord. No. 1993-32]
Unless a member of the Council states, upon
the call of the roll, that he is abstaining, his silence shall be
recorded as an affirmative vote. A member of Council may abstain from
voting on any matter. An abstention, for all purposes, shall not be
counted as an "aye" or "nay" vote nor as a vote either for or against
the particular matter in which the abstention is given. The Council
member abstaining from the vote shall be deemed to have taken a strict
neutral position on the matter.
There shall be no standing committee of the
Council other than the Committee of the Whole. The President of the
Council shall be the presiding officer of the Committee of the Whole,
and the rules of proceeding in the Council shall be observed in the
Committee of the Whole as far as the same may be applicable.
Pursuant to the Charter (N.J.S.A. 40:69A-37),
the Council may, in its discretion, require any municipal officer
to prepare and submit sworn statements regarding his official duties
and performance thereof, and the Council may otherwise investigate
the conduct of any department, office or agency of the municipal government.
The Council shall cause to be made an annual
audit of the municipality's accounts and financial actions as required
by law. Such annual audit shall be made by a registered municipal
accountant of New Jersey selected by the Council.