The Township Council shall consist of three
members who shall be elected at large and by the voters of the Township
at the regular municipal election and who shall serve for terms of
three years on a staggered basis, pursuant to the Charter, on the
first day of January next following their election. Council members
shall receive such compensation as may be provided by ordinance and
shall be entitled to any expenses of office which they incur.
All vacancies occurring in the membership of
the governing body shall be filled in accordance with the provisions
of the Municipal Vacancy Law, N.J.S.A. 40A:16-1 et seq.
All powers of the Township and the determination
of all matters of policy shall be vested in the Township Council pursuant
to the Charter.
[Added 2-23-2022 by Ord. No. 2022-02]
The Township of Hardyston provides for dental insurance coverage
for its employees. Any member of the Township Council wishing to enroll
in the Township’s dental coverage plan may do so by submitting
a request to the Township Manager and such coverage will apply to
only active members of the Township Council.
At the annual organization meeting of the Council,
the Council shall elect one of their number as Mayor. The Mayor shall
be chosen by ballot by majority vote of the members of the Council
pursuant to the Charter.
The Mayor shall have only such powers and duties
as are expressly vested in him or her by this chapter and the rules
of procedure. The Mayor shall preside at all meetings of the Township
Council and shall have voice and vote in its proceedings. All bonds,
notes, deeds, contracts and written obligations of the Township shall
be executed on its behalf by the Mayor or, in the event of his or
her inability to act, by such Council member as the Township Council
shall designate to act as Mayor during the absence or disability.
The Mayor shall exercise ceremonial powers of the Township and shall
also exercise every other power conferred upon him or her by law of
the Township Charter.
A.
Regular meetings. The Council shall meet for organization
on the first day of January of each year or as otherwise provided
by law. The Council shall hold such other meetings or adjourned meetings
at such time and place as it may direct by resolution. All regular
meetings shall be held within the Township.
B.
Special meetings. A special meeting of the Council
may be called either by the Mayor or by any two Council members. The
call for a special meeting shall specify the purpose of the meeting
and no business shall be transacted at any special meeting other than
that specified. The call for a special meeting shall be filed with
the Clerk and served upon each Council member as hereinafter provided
at least 24 hours prior to the time for which the meeting is called.
The Police Department shall cooperate with the Clerk in effectuating
service of notices. Upon waiver of notice by all members of the Township
Council, a special meeting may be held without prior notice notwithstanding
the provisions of this subsection.
The Township Council shall act in all matters
as a body and shall deal with the administrative services of the Township
solely through the Township Manager. No Council member shall seek
individually to influence the official acts of the Township Manager,
or any other officer; nor shall the Council or any of its members
direct or request the appointment of any person to or his or her removal
from office or interfere in any way with the performance by such officers
of their duties. Nothing contained herein shall prevent the Township
Council from appointing committees or commissions of its own members
or of citizens to conduct investigations into the conduct of any officer
or department, or any other matter relating to the welfare of the
Township. The Township may delegate to such committees or commissions
such powers of inquiry as it may deem necessary. Pursuant to the Charter,
any Council member violating the provision of this section shall,
upon conviction thereof in a court of competent jurisdiction, be disqualified
as Council member.
All regular and special meetings of the Township
Council shall be open to the public. The rules of procedure to be
followed for the conduct of business of the Council shall be provided
by resolution. Where not otherwise provided, "Roberts Rules of Order,
Revised" shall govern, and the Township Attorney shall be parliamentarian
ex officio. Executive or closed sessions of the Township Council shall
be held only in strict compliance with the provisions of the Open
Public Meetings Act.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See N.J.S.A. 10:4-6 et seq.
A majority of the whole number of members of
the Township Council shall constitute a quorum and no ordinance shall
be adopted by the Township Council without the affirmative vote of
a majority of the quorum of the Council. If a quorum is not present
one hour after the appointed time for any meeting, those members present
may declare the meeting adjourned.
The vote upon every resolution or ordinance
shall be taken by roll call and the ayes and nays shall be entered
on the minutes. All ordinances shall be introduced, considered, published,
reconsidered and enacted in the manner provided by general law.
[Added 9-10-2014 by Ord. No. 2014-11]
A.
It is an offense for any person to carry or possess a weapon or imitation
weapon at a public meeting of a governmental body which is being held
at the Township Municipal Complex, 149 Wheatsworth Road, Hardyston,
New Jersey 07419, or in the building during Municipal Court sessions.
B.
This section does not apply to any members of Hardyston Township
that have been assigned by the Hardyston Township Police Department
to provide security at the public meeting, or Municipal Court, who
possess a firearm in connection with that duty as permitted by state
or federal law.
C.
The Chief of Police shall establish a procedure with regard to the
enforcement of this section.
D.
FIREARM
IMITATION WEAPON
WEAPON
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
For the purposes of this section, the following definitions shall
apply:
Any handgun, rifle, shotgun, machine gun, automatic or semiautomatic
rifle, or any gun, device or instrument in the nature of a weapon
from which may be fired or ejected any solid projectable ball, slug,
pellet, missile or bullet, or any gas, vapor or other noxious thing,
by means of a cartridge or shell or by the action of an explosive
or the igniting of flammable or explosive substances. It shall also
include, without limitation, any firearm which is in the nature of
an air gun, spring gun or pistol or other weapon of a similar nature
in which the propelling force is a spring, elastic band, carbon dioxide,
compressed or other gas or vapor, air or compressed air, or is ignited
by compressed air, and ejecting a bullet or missile smaller than 3/8
of an inch in diameter, with sufficient force to injure a person.
An object or device reasonably capable of being mistaken
for a weapon.
Anything readily capable of lethal use or of inflicting serious
bodily injury. The term includes, but is not limited to, all:
Firearms, even though not loaded or lacking a clip or other
component to render them immediately operable;
Components which can be readily assembled into a weapon;
Gravity knives, switchblade knives, daggers, dirks, stilettos,
or other dangerous knives, billies, blackjacks, bludgeons, metal knuckles,
sandclubs, slingshots, cesti or similar leather bands studded with
metal filings or razor blades imbedded in wood; and
Stun guns; and any weapon or other device which projects, releases,
or emits tear gas or any other substance intended to produce temporary
physical discomfort or permanent injury through being vaporized or
otherwise dispensed in the air.
