[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council
of the Borough of Park Ridge 6-9-1992 by Ord. No. 92-16. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Officers and employees — See Ch. 23.
[Amended 6-10-2008 by Ord. No. 2008-09]
Whenever any civil proceeding has been brought
against any official or employee of the Borough for any action or
omission within the scope of the performance of the duties of such
office, position or employment, the Borough, including penalties arising
from the employee's or official's specialized licensing, upon request,
will defray all costs of defending such action, including reasonable
counsel fees and expenses, together with costs of appeal, if any.
The official or employee will be indemnified for all such costs of
defense resulting from the official's or employee's civil violation
of state or federal law if, in the opinion of the governing body,
the acts committed by the official or employee upon which the claims
are based did not constitute actual fraud, actual malice, willful
misconduct or an intentional wrong.
[Amended 6-10-2008 by Ord. No. 2008-09]
A.
The Borough will indemnify and save harmless each
official or employee from financial loss resulting from any action
described above in this section, including claims, losses, expenses,
judgment, attorney's fees, court costs and expert or technical witness
fees, and any amount paid in settlement thereof and actually and reasonably
incurred in connection therewith to the extent reasonably incurred
in connection therewith to the extent permitted by law. Expenses thus
incurred may be paid in advance of final disposition of the action.
B.
In addition to the foregoing, the official or employee
will be indemnified for exemplary or punitive damages resulting from
the official's or employee's civil violation of state or federal law
if, in the opinion of the governing body, the acts committed by the
official or employee upon which such damages are based did not constitute
actual fraud, actual malice, willful misconduct or an intentional
wrong.
This chapter shall apply retroactively to any
and all causes of action accruing prior to this date, including any
pending causes of action.
Every employee or official, in order to make
a request for indemnification as provided in this chapter, shall establish
to the best of his or her abilities that he or she has followed all
required procedures and practices in the Borough and, where applicable,
has followed any legal opinion, court decisions, civil service directives
or other laws and regulations in the performance of his or her duties
which gave rise to the claim which is the basis for the indemnification.
The Mayor and Council may deny any request for indemnification if
it finds that the official or employee has not complied with this
section.
No official or employee shall be indemnified
for failure to comply with the Local Public Contracts Law, N.J.S.A.
40A:11-1 et seq., or the Local Government Ethics Law, N.J.S.A 40A:9-22
et seq.
