[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council of the Borough of Hillsdale 2-25-1986 as Ord. No. 86-5 (Ch. 2, Art. 16, of the Revised Ordinances of 1972). Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Officers and employees — See Ch. 51.
A. 
A Committee to be known as the "Our Town Committee of the Borough of Hillsdale" is hereby established.
B. 
The purpose of the Committee is to provide to new residents of the Borough noncommercial, nonpartisan and nonpolitical information about the Borough in general plus its structure, the agencies, facilities and services available to Borough residents, as well as programs and events held in the Borough, adjoining communities and elsewhere in Bergen County.
A. 
The Committee shall consist of six (6) members, each of whom shall be appointed by the Mayor, by and with the consent of the Council. All of the members shall be residents of the Borough and shall serve without compensation.
B. 
One (1) of the members of the Committee shall, concurrently with his or her appointment, be designated Chairperson by the Mayor for a period of one (1) year. The individual selected may be reappointed each year by the Mayor. The Chairperson may, with the concurrence of a majority of Committee members, and subject to ratification by the Mayor, designate a Vice Chairperson to assist on reports and correspondence, and to act as Chairperson as needed.
C. 
At his or her discretion, the Mayor may, by and with the consent of the Council, appoint alternate members to serve during the disability or prolonged absence of a regular member.
D. 
While desirable that appointed members be representative of all geographic sections of the Borough, they shall be primarily selected on the basis of individual qualifications, without regard to area of residence.
A. 
The full term of each regular member shall be two (2) years. The term of each alternate member shall be one (1) year.
B. 
A vacancy occurring otherwise than by an expiration of a term shall be filled for the unexpired term only.
C. 
The Borough Council may remove any member of the Committee for violation of the Committee's noncommercial, nonpartisan and nonpolitical purpose or for inability or unwillingness to accept assignments from the Chairperson for a period of ninety (90) days or more. Written charges are to be served upon the member who shall be entitled to a hearing in person before the Mayor and Council.
One (1) Councilmember shall annually be appointed by the Mayor, by and with the consent of the Council, as Council liaison to the Our Town Committee.
A. 
Name assignments may be made by the Chairperson without convening a meeting. Meetings will be convened as deemed necessary by the Chairperson or as requested by a majority of members of the Committee, the Mayor or by a majority of the Borough Council. Advance notice of such meetings will be posted on the Borough Hall bulletin board and published for record in local newspapers as required by statute. Said meetings shall be open to the public.
B. 
The Chairperson or Vice Chairperson shall keep and maintain minutes of such meetings and records of its activities. Copies of said minutes and records shall be provided to the Council liaison, who in turn shall report thereon to the Council and file said minutes and reports with the Borough Clerk.
The Our Town Committee shall have the following duties:
A. 
To ascertain on a regular basis, not to exceed thirty (30) days, the addresses of new homeowners and tenants from Borough records and other available sources.
B. 
To visit new residents no later than sixty (60) days after arrival and to present them with a current directory, revised as necessary by the Committee, containing such information as would generally, and in a noncommercial, nonpartisan and nonpolitical manner, inform new residents about activities, government, schools and services within the Borough. Supplementary information as to activities and services elsewhere within Bergen County is to be included in a welcoming packet of literature.
C. 
When directed by resolution of Mayor and Council, to schedule, advertise and conduct public orientation programs and meetings at which representatives of municipal, school, health, social and other bodies, boards and agencies may describe their respective roles to Hillsdale residents.
D. 
In serving the overall interest and well-being of the Borough, to relay to the Mayor and Council complaints, suggestions and advisable future actions based upon the Committee's contacts with old and new residents.
E. 
To control the use of the town bulletin board, including placement of messages thereon, and to maintain a calendar of future events and establish standards and guidelines so that all persons and organizations seeking to use this facility shall be treated in an equal and evenhanded manner.
A. 
All purchases of materials, supplies and services by the Committee in connection with the performance of its duties shall be made through the Borough Purchasing Agent.
B. 
No expenditure by or on behalf of the Committee shall exceed the amount previously appropriated therefor by the Borough Council.
Neither the Committee nor any of its individual members shall, in the performance of their function and duties hereunder, act directly or indirectly in any commercial, partisan or politically-related manner.