[Adopted 12-27-1981 by Ord. No. 20-1981; amended in its entirety 2-18-2015 by Ord. No. 3-2015]
Unless otherwise provided by law, and subject to the provisions
of N.J.S.A. 40A:9-1.3 et seq., and this article, all officers and
employees employed by the Township of Pemberton shall be bona fide
residents of the Township of Pemberton.
All nonresidents hereafter employed by the Township of Pemberton,
except as otherwise provided herein, shall become bona fide residents
of the Township of Pemberton within one year from the date of hire.
A.
Every employee, other than sworn police officers, shall be a bona
fide resident of the Township of Pemberton continuously during the
first 10 years of employment as a condition of continued employment. Notwithstanding
this requirement, the Township will permit an employee with five years
of creditable service to the Township to relocate within 10 miles
of the Township upon receipt of a written request to the Business
Administrator, approval of which shall not be unreasonably withheld.
In the event, that an employee fails to maintain such residency, such
failure shall be cause for termination from employment. In the event
that any such employee does not maintain a bona fide residence within
the Township of Pemberton, the Business Administrator shall first
notify the employee that failure to take up bona fide residency within
six months of such notification will result in termination from employment.
Such removal or discharge shall take effect on the date specified
in such notice, but any employee so removed or discharged shall have
the right to such appeals as are available pursuant to law.
[Amended 3-15-2023 by Ord. No. 7-2023]
B.
Upon the completion of 10 years of employment, residency thereafter
shall no longer be a condition of continued employment.
In the event that the hiring authority determines that there
cannot be recruited a sufficient number of qualified residents for
available specific positions or employments within the Township of
Pemberton, the hiring authority shall advertise for other qualified
applicants.
A.
The hiring authority shall thereupon classify all qualified applicants
for such positions or employments so determined in the following manner:
B.
The hiring authority shall first appoint all those in Subsection A and then those in each succeeding class in the order above listed and shall appoint a person or persons in any such class only to a position or positions or employment or employments remaining after all qualified applicants in the preceding class or classes have been appointed or have declined an offer of appointment. The preference established herein shall in no way diminish, reduce or affect the preferences granted pursuant to any other provisions of law. The hiring authority which has hired officers and employees under the provisions of this section may, in its discretion, require such officers and employees, as a condition of their continued employment, to become bona fide residents of the Township within one year of the date of hire. Such requirement shall be specified at the time of appointment.
Whenever the hiring authority shall determine that there are
certain specific positions and employments requiring special talents
or skills which are necessary for the operation of the Township and
which are not likely to be found among the residents of the Township
of Pemberton, such positions or employments so determined shall be
filled without reference to residency. In making such determination,
the hiring authority shall be guided by the following criteria, which,
however, shall not be considered to be all-inclusive:
As used in this article, the following term shall have the meaning
indicated:
A person having a permanent domicile within the Township
of Pemberton which domicile has not been adopted with the intention
of again taking up or claiming a previous residence acquired outside
of the boundaries of the Township of Pemberton.
As used under Chapter 38, the term “hiring authority” shall mean the Appointing Authority under Title 11A of the New Jersey Statutes and the Appropriate Authority under Title 40A of the New Jersey Statutes.
[Added 3-15-2023 by Ord. No. 7-2023]
[Amended 11-6-2019 by Ord. No. 33-2019]
This article shall not affect or be made mandatory upon any officer or employee not required to be a resident of the Township of Pemberton where the residency requirements are set out or provided for by any ordinance or statutory provision presently in effect in the Township of Pemberton. Current employees of the Pemberton Township Municipal Utilities Authority, who accept employment with the Township upon dissolution of the PTMUA, shall be exempt from the Township’s residency requirement embodied in §§ 38-6 through 38-7, inclusively, provided they do not have a break in service between employers.
