The Council shall elect one of its members to
serve as Mayor, pursuant to the Charter, for a term of one year, and
such person may succeed himself. The Council may designate a Deputy
Mayor from among its members to serve in the event of the temporary
absence or disability of the Mayor and shall fill any vacancy in that
office in accordance with the Charter.
The Mayor shall have only such functions, powers
and duties as are prescribed by the Charter, as follows:
A. He shall preside at all meetings of the Council and
shall have a voice and vote in its proceedings.
B. He shall execute on behalf of the township all authorized
bonds, notes, contracts and written obligations of the township.
Any provision of a statute conferring the appointing
power or other power upon the Mayor or other executive head of the
municipality shall be construed as meaning the Township Manager, except
as otherwise provided by the Charter.
Members of the Council shall be paid such sum
as shall be provided by ordinance, in the same manner as other township
salaries are paid, in full compensation for their services and expenses,
except as may be otherwise provided by resolution with respect to
occasional and specific expenses.
The Council shall, by resolution, determine
its regular meeting time and provide for special meetings, rules of
procedure, its standing order of business and agenda for each meeting.
As to any matter not covered by the rules of procedure, Robert's Rules
of Order shall apply.
[Added 2-6-2023 by Ord.
No. 2023-3]
A. When it is necessary to conduct an online public meeting, the Township
Clerk shall cause the link to be published on the Township's
website and posted at the municipal building to encourage public participation
in such meetings.
B. The meeting will be recorded and retained as required by the state's
document retention guidelines. Failure to record all or a portion
of the meeting will not void or nullify any action taken during the
meeting.
C. To avoid interference with the meeting, when members of the public
enter a public meeting, each person should do so with their microphone
muted to avoid disturbance with the conduct of the meeting.
D. Members of the public wishing to use their camera should choose a
background that is appropriate for a public meeting.
E. At appropriate times of the meeting, members of the public may use the raise-hand feature to be called on to allow public comment. See §
4-8.2 for procedures for public comment.
F. The Township will not use the chat feature during the meeting and
it will be disabled.
G. Any member of the public that refuses to follow the above procedure
will be asked by the presiding officer to conform to the rules. After
the second warning, the individual may be removed from the meeting
by the municipal official serving as the meeting host.
[Added 2-6-2023 by Ord.
No. 2023-3]
The Chair will receive and direct all questions from and answers
to the public using the following guidelines:
A. Public wishing to make comment shall start by stating the person's
name and home address.
B. While there is a presumption that a person speaks in an individual
capacity, if the member of the public is a member of another body
(for example, the school board or homeowners' association), the
speaker shall acknowledge whether the comments are made as an individual
or a member of that body.
C. Speakers are encouraged to limit discussions to matters directly
impacting Mount Laurel Township.
D. Speakers providing materials for consideration shall submit the materials
to the Clerk or Secretary of the Board for dissemination to the body.
E. Comments including answers from the body shall be limited to three
minutes to ensure that all members of the public have an opportunity
to speak. Speakers may not yield time to other speakers. The Chair
may waive the three-minute requirement. The three-minute requirement
shall not apply to public hearings on ordinances or objection to land
use applications.
F. In response to comments or questions, the Board may respond (or ask
the Manager or Solicitor to do so), or may also opt to take the matter
up at a future meeting so that the matter is researched by the Township
administration.
G. No board or body will discuss matters of personnel, litigation or
negotiations in public.
H. The presiding officer may interrupt, warn, or terminate a participant's
statement when the statement is too lengthy, abusive, obscene, repetitive,
or irrelevant.
The Manager shall be responsible to the Council
for proper administration of the affairs of the township. He shall
attend all Council meetings and may participate in Council discussions.