Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:72-11 and 40:72-12, the Mayor
of the Township of Haddon shall be President of the Board of Commissioners,
and shall preside as Chair of its meetings. The Director of the Department
of Revenue and Finance shall be Vice President of the Board of Commissioners
and, in case of the absence of the Mayor, and shall preside as Chair of its
meetings in his stead.
The members of the Board of Commissioners should refer
to one another formally during public meetings as Mayor or Commissioner followed
by the individual's last name.
Each Commissioner shall cooperate with the Chair in preserving
order and decorum, and no Commissioner shall, by conversation or otherwise,
delay or interrupt the proceedings of the Board of Commissioners, nor disturb
any Commissioner while speaking, or fail to abide by the orders of the Board
of Commissioners or the Chair.
Any person who shall disturb the peace of the Board of
Commissioners, make impertinent or slanderous remarks or conduct himself in
a boisterous manner while addressing the Board of Commissioners shall be forthwith
barred by the Chair from further audience before the Board of Commissioners,
except that if the speaker shall submit to proper order under these rules,
permission for him to continue may be granted by a majority vote of the Board
of Commissioners.
The Haddon Township Police Department shall, upon request
of the Chair, designate a member of the Police Department of to serve as Sergeant
at Arms at the Board of Commissioners meetings. The designated police officer
shall carry out all orders and instructions given by the Chair or any Commissioner
for the purpose of maintaining order and decorum of the meeting. Furthermore,
the Township Clerk is directed to contact the Chief of Police to inform the
Police Department of the time and date of the meeting to be held. The Police
Department shall take any and all appropriate steps within the parameters
of law, including the use of electronic equipment, to secure the Board of
Commissioners Meeting Room and provide adequate protection for the citizens
and Commissioners attending said meetings.
Any person wishing to address the Board of Commissioners
shall be given one three-minute time period per meeting to comment in public
session. Time cannot be shared with or allotted to other speakers. The allotted
time of three minutes shall include and commence from the beginning of the
speaker's remarks, and includes any time that passes during questioning
or colloquy between the speaker and the Board of Commissioners. In the event
a person representing a class or group seeks to speak on behalf of that class,
group or organization, additional time may be granted to that person by the
Board of Commissioners. Any person who continues beyond his/her three-minute
time limit will be asked to cease his/her comments and return to his/her seats.
If a speaker refuses to conclude his/her comments at that time, Haddon Township
police officers will escort the person from the podium. If the individual
still refuses to leave the podium, he or she will be arrested and charged
as a disorderly person.
Board of Commissioners meetings shall be conducted in
a courteous manner. Citizens and Commissioners will be allowed to state their
positions in an atmosphere free of slander, threats of violence or the use
of Board of Commissioners as a forum for politics. Sufficient warnings may
be given by the Chair at any time during the remarks and, in the event that
any individual shall violate the rules of decorum heretofore set forth, the
Chair may then cut off comment or debate.
Each Commissioner and every member of the public shall
be required to utilize a silent alert mode on or to mute the sound emitted
from all electronic devices in their possession (including but not limited
to cellular telephones, pagers, radios, personal data assistants, and hand-held
or portable computers), during all Board of Commissioners meetings subject
to the Open Public Meetings Act, N.J.S.A. 10:4-6 et seq. Law enforcement and
emergency services personnel acting in their official capacity shall be exempt
from the provisions described herein.