[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Health of the Borough of Old Tappan
5-26-1975 as Ch. BH-II of the 1975 Code. Amendments noted where applicable.]
A.
Organization. The Board shall organize annually on January
1 in each year, or as soon thereafter as may be feasible, at which time it
shall elect, by a majority vote of all of the members of the Board and from
its members, a President and a Vice President.
B.
Meetings; conduct of business; quorum.
(1)
Regular meetings. Regular meetings shall be held each
and every month on such dates as may be decided upon at the organization meeting.
(2)
Special meetings. The President shall have the power
to call special meetings of the Board when necessary, and, in case of his
neglect or refusal to do so, it shall be lawful for any three members of the
Board to call any special meeting by written or printed notice to each member,
served personally or left at their places of residence at least 24 hours prior
to the time appointed for such meeting.
(3)
Conduct of business. The Board shall determine
and establish the rules for its own proceedings.
(4)
Quorum. A majority of the whole number of members of
the Board shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business, but a
smaller number may meet and adjourn from time to time.
C.
Board officers; powers and duties.
(1)
President. The President shall be the chief executive
officer of the Board. He shall preside at all meetings of the Board and shall
appoint all committees and have all such other powers as may, by law or by
the provisions of this Code, be vested in him. During the intervals between
regular meetings, the President shall represent the Board in all executive
and judicial matters. He shall have the power to appoint committees from among
the members of the Board and, with the consent of the Board, such other officers
as may from time to time be required to be appointed and provision for whose
appointment is not otherwise made in this Code.
(2)
Vice President. The Vice President shall assist the President
in the performance of his duties. In the absence, disability or disqualification
of the President, he shall serve in the place of the President, with all of
his powers and duties.
D.
Board appointments. The President shall appoint, subject
to confirmation by a majority of the members of the Board, a Board Secretary,
a Health Officer, a Sanitary Inspector, a Registrar of Vital Statistics, and
such other officers and employees as he may from time to time deem necessary.
All such Board appointees shall hold their respective offices until December
31 of the calendar year of their appointment and until their respective successors
are appointed and shall qualify, except that the Registrar of Vital Statistics
shall be appointed in accordance with the provisions of N.J.S.A. 26:8-13.
E.
Board Secretary. The Board Secretary, who shall be responsible
to the Board, shall keep the minutes of all the proceedings of the Board,
conduct all the official correspondence of the Board, maintain proper copies
of the same, tabulate and complete all reports required by any superior authority,
local, state or national, and make such other reports as may be required or
directed by the Board. He shall procure all books, stationery and other supplies
as may be required by the Board and shall keep adequate records of all applications
for permits and the action of the Board, if any, thereon and all such other
pertinent information as may be necessary for a complete record of each such
matter.
F.
Board Attorney. The Board may appoint a Board Attorney
to serve for a term of one year. If appointed, he shall be the legal adviser
of the Board and shall, when required, attend its meetings. He shall, when
ordered to do so by the Board, represent it in all litigation to which it
may be a party and perform all such other legal services as may from time
to time be required of him by the Board.
G.
Compensation. The salaries or other forms of compensation
of the above officers and employees shall be such as are fixed at the time
of their appointment, by resolution passed by a majority of all the members
of the Board.
A.
Health Officer. The Health Officer, appointed as set forth in § 262-1D, shall hold the necessary license and shall be responsible to the Board. The Health Officer shall be the general agent of the Board for the enforcement of its ordinances and the sanitary laws of the state.
B.
Registrar of Vital Statistics. The Registrar of Vital Statistics, appointed as set forth in § 262-1D, shall keep all the records of that office, as required by the Bureau of Vital Statistics of the State of New Jersey. He shall perform such other duties as may be required.
C.
Sanitary Inspector. The Sanitary Inspector may be appointed in accordance with § 262-1D. If appointed, he shall assist the Health Officer and perform the duties of the Health Officer in his absence or at his direction. He shall perform such other duties as may from time to time be required.
D.
Special health reporting officers. When appointed by
the Board, there shall be special health reporting officers of the Board who
shall promptly report to the Board every violation of health ordinances, rules
and regulations which may come within their observation or knowledge. "Special
health reporting officers" shall mean and include regular and special patrolmen
and superior officers of the Police Department of the borough, the building
subcode official, the plumbing subcode official, the Health Officer, the Secretary
of the Board, or any other official authorized by the Board to enforce this
Code.
Whenever the Health Officer finds that the public safety will not permit
delay, he may exercise one or more of the following powers without having
to resort to legal proceedings and without the necessity of giving notice
or holding any hearing which would otherwise be required under any provision
of this revision.
A.
Power to prevent the sale of food. The Health Officer
may prohibit the importation into the borough or the sale of any food, drink
or other item intended for human consumption or use from a source suspected
of being infected, contaminated, unsanitary, unhealthy or dangerous.
B.
Power to seize and destroy unwholesome food. The Health
Officer may order the seizure and destruction of any food, drink or other
item intended for human consumption which is unwholesome or dangerous or likely
to cause sickness or injury to the persons who consume it.
The Health Officer and Registrar of Vital Statistics shall make a written
report at each regular meeting of the Board. All of the above-named appointees
shall perform such duties as may be directed by the statutes of the State
of New Jersey, the provisions of this Code or as they may be directed, from
time to time, by their superior or the Board.
A.
Inspection of premises. The Board of Health, its agents
and employees shall have the right to inspect any premises in the borough
if they have reason to believe that any provision of this revision is being
violated or as part of a regular program of inspection.
B.
Search warrant. If the owner or occupant of any premises
refuses to permit entry for the purpose of inspection, the Board or its agent
may apply to the Municipal Judge for a search warrant. The application shall
be based upon an affidavit setting forth that the inspection is part of a
regular program of inspection or that conditions and circumstances provide
a reasonable basis for believing that a nuisance or unsanitary or unhealthy
condition exists on the premises. If the judge is satisfied as to the matters
set forth in the affidavit, he shall authorize the issuance of a search warrant
permitting access to and inspection of the premises.
A.
Notice to abate nuisance.
(1)
Whenever anything declared by this chapter to be a nuisance
or any unsanitary or unhealthy condition is found on any premises within the
borough, notice shall be given to the owner or person in control of the premises
to remove or abate it within the time specified, but not less than five days
from the date of service in the notice.
(2)
Whenever anything declared by this chapter to be a nuisance
or any unsanitary or unhealthy condition is found on any public property,
highway or other public premises or place, notice shall be given to the person
in charge to remove or abate the same within the time specified. If that person
fails to comply with the notice within the time specified, the Health Officer
may remove or abate such nuisance or condition in the manner provided for
a like condition existing on private premises or places.
B.
Abatement by Health Officer. If the owner or person in control of the premises, upon being notified as provided by Subsection A, does not comply with the notice within the time specified and fails to remove or abate the nuisance or condition, the Health Officer shall proceed to abate the nuisance or condition or may cause it to be removed or abated in a summary manner by such means as shall be deemed proper.
C.
Recovery of costs.
(1)
Whenever any cost or expense is incurred by the borough
as a result of the Health Officer abating or removing or causing to be abated
or removed any nuisance or unsanitary or unhealthy condition, such costs and
expense may be recovered in the following manner:
(a)
In all cases where practical and permitted by law, such
costs shall be certified to the tax assessment authority and shall be a part
of the taxes next assessed against the premises upon which the nuisance or
unsanitary or unhealthy condition was located.
(2)
Regardless of how costs are actually recovered, they
shall be in addition to, and shall not affect the imposition of, any penalties
for the violation of this section.
The Board may, by resolution, make rules and regulations which interpret
or amplify any provision of this chapter or for the purpose of making the
provisions of this chapter more effective. No regulation, however, shall be
inconsistent with, alter or amend any provision of this chapter, and no regulation
shall impose any requirement which is in addition to or greater than the requirements
that are expressly or by implication imposed by any provision of this chapter.
