The form of government of the Township of Hardyston
shall be known as the "Council Manager Plan" and shall, together with
the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:69A-26 to 40:69A-30 and N.J.S.A. 40:69A-163
to 40:69A-167, govern the Township.
The Township shall be governed by an elected
council and by an appointed municipal manager and by such other officers
and employees as may be duly appointed pursuant to this Charter, general
law or ordinance.
The municipal council shall consist of three
members who shall serve for terms of three years beginning on the
first day of January next following their election.
Members of the municipal council shall be elected
at large by the voters of the municipality at the general election.
Notwithstanding any provision of law to the
contrary, adoption of this Charter shall not affect the terms of office
of incumbent members of the Township Committee. Candidates for election
to the council for a term commencing on January 1 next following the
year in which this Charter is adopted and becomes effective in the
Township, shall run in the general election and shall serve for a
period of three years from said January 1; in each succeeding general
election a member of the council shall be elected for a term of three
years.
On the first day of January of each year the
members of the municipal council shall assemble at the usual place
of meeting of the governing body of the municipality and organize
and elect one of their number as mayor. The mayor shall be chosen
by ballot by majority vote of all members of the municipal council.
The mayor shall preside at all meetings of the
municipal council and shall have a voice and vote in its proceedings.
All bonds, notes, contracts and written obligations of the municipality
shall be executed on its behalf by the mayor or, in the event of his
inability to act, by such councilman as the municipal council shall
designate to act as mayor during his absence or disability. Powers
and duties of the mayor shall be only such as are expressly conferred
upon him by this Charter or by general laws.
All powers of the municipality and the determination
of all matters of policy shall be vested in the municipal council,
except as otherwise provided in this Charter or by general law.
The municipal council shall appoint a municipal
manager and a municipal clerk. Both of such offices may be held by
the same person. The council may provide for the manner of appointment
of a municipal attorney, any planning board, zoning board of adjustment
or personnel board in the municipality and may create commissions
and other bodies with advisory powers.
The municipal council shall continue or create,
and determine and define the powers and duties of such executive and
administrative departments, boards and offices, in addition to those
provided for herein, as it may deem necessary for the proper and efficient
conduct of the affairs of the municipality, including the office of
deputy manager which shall not be included in the classified service
under Title 11 of the Revised Statutes. Any department, board or office
so continued or created may at any time be abolished by the municipal
council.
It is the intention of this Charter that the
municipal council shall act in all matters as a body, and it is contrary
to the spirit of this Charter to influence the official acts of the
municipal manager, or any other officer, or for the council or any
of its members to direct or request the appointment of any person
to, or his removal from, office; or to interfere in any way with the
performance by such officers of their duties. The council and its
members shall deal with the administrative service solely through
the manager and shall not give orders to any subordinates of the manager,
either publicly or privately. Nothing herein contained shall prevent
the municipal council from appointing committees or commissions of
its own members or of citizens to conduct investigations into the
conduct of any officer or department, or any matter relating to the
welfare of the municipality, and delegating to such committees or
commissions such powers of inquiry as the municipal council may deem
necessary. Any councilman violating the provisions of this section
shall, upon conviction thereof in a court of competent jurisdiction,
be disqualified as councilman.
The municipal manager shall be chosen by the
council solely on the basis of his executive and administrative qualifications
with special reference to his actual experience in, or his knowledge
of, accepted practice in respect to the duties of his office as hereinafter
set forth. At the time of his appointment, he need not be a resident
of the municipality or State, but during his tenure of office he may
reside outside the municipality only with the approval of council.
The municipal manager shall hold office for
an indefinite term and may be removed by a majority vote of the council.
At least 30 days before such removal shall become effective, the council
shall by a majority vote of its members adopt a preliminary resolution
stating the reasons for his removal. The manager may reply in writing
and may request a public hearing, which shall be held not earlier
than 20 days nor later than 30 days after the filing of such request.
After such public hearing, if one be requested, and after full consideration,
the council by majority vote of its members may adopt a final resolution
of removal. By the preliminary resolution the council may suspend
the manager from duty, but shall in any case cause to be paid him
forthwith any unpaid balance of his salary and his salary for the
next three calendar months following adoption of the preliminary resolution
unless he is removed for good cause. For the purpose of this section, "good
cause" shall mean conviction of a crime or offense involving moral
turpitude, the violation of the provisions of section 17-14, 17-15,
17-16, 17-17 or 17-18 of P.L. 1950, c. 210 (C. 40:69A-163 through
40:69A-167), or the violation of any code of ethics in effect within
the municipality.
The manager may designate a qualified administrative
officer of the municipality to perform his duties during his temporary
absence or disability. In the event of his failure to make such designation,
the council may by resolution appoint an officer of the municipality
to perform the duties of the manager during such absence or disability
until he shall return or his disability shall cease.
The municipal manager shall:
a. Be the chief executive and administrative official
of the municipality;
b. Execute all laws and ordinances of the municipality;
c. Appoint and remove a deputy manager if one be authorized
by the council, all department heads and all other officers, subordinates,
and assistants, except municipal tax assessor, for whose selection
or removal no other method is provided in this Charter, except that
he may authorize the head of a department to appoint and remove subordinates
in such department, supervise and control his appointees, and report
all appointments or removals at the next meeting thereafter of the
municipal council;
d. Negotiate contracts for the municipality subject to
the approval of the municipal council, make recommendations concerning
the nature and location of municipal improvements, and execute municipal
improvements as determined by the municipal council;
e. See that all terms and conditions imposed in favor
of the municipality or its inhabitants in any statute, public utility
franchise or other contract are faithfully kept and performed, and
upon knowledge of any violation call the same to the attention of
the municipal council;
f. Attend all meetings of the municipal council with
the right to take part in the discussion, but without the right to
vote;
g. Recommend to the municipal council for adoption such
measures as he may deem necessary or expedient, keep the council advised
of the financial condition of the municipality, make reports to the
council as requested by it, and at least once a year make an annual
report of his work for the benefit of the council and the public;
h. Investigate at any time the affairs of any officer
or department of the municipality,
i. Perform such other duties as may be required of the
municipal manager by ordinance or resolution of the municipal council.
|
The municipal manager shall be responsible to
the council for carrying out all policies established by it and for
the proper administration of all affairs of the municipality within
the jurisdiction of the council.
|
The municipal budget shall be prepared by the
municipal manager. During the month of November in each year, the
municipal manager shall require all department heads to submit requests
for appropriations for the ensuing budget year, and to appear before
him at public hearings, which shall be held during that month, on
the various requests.
On or before the fifteenth day of January the
municipal manager shall submit to council his recommended budget together
with such explanatory comment or statement as he may deem desirable.
The budget shall be in such form as is required by law for municipal
budgets, and shall in addition have appended thereto detailed analysis
of the various items of expenditure and revenue.
The council shall, where practicable, provide
by ordinance for the operation of a system of work programs and quarterly
allotments for operation of the budget, and for development and reporting
of appropriate unit costs of budgeted expenditures.
Any provision of general law conferring the
appointing power or other power upon the mayor or other executive
head of the municipality shall be construed as meaning the municipal
manager, and the appointments or the power exercised by the municipal
manager in accordance with such provision shall be classified and
given the same force and effect as if executed by the official named
therein.
Any appropriations made in any year for the
purpose of providing for costs of the election for submission of this
Charter to the voters or costs directly attributable to the adoption
of this Charter, including, but not by way of limitation, the salary
of the municipal manager shall be considered a mandated expenditure
within the meaning of N.J.S.A. 40A:4-45.3(g).
a. Committee and Committeemen. The Township committeemen
in office upon the effective date of the Charter shall continue, each
for the remainder of his unexpired term, and shall constitute the
committee under this chapter for all purposes.
b. Ordinances and Resolutions. All ordinances and resolutions
of the Township adopted prior to the effective date of the Charter
shall remain in full force and effect, except to the extent that they
are inconsistent with the provisions of the Charter, until altered,
amended or repealed pursuant to law.
c. Officers and Employees. The adoption of the Charter
shall not affect the term, tenure, pension rights, civil service rights
or compensation of any person in office or employment upon the effective
date of the Charter.
d. Volunteer fire Companies. The adoption of the Charter
shall not in any way adversely affect the status, rights, privileges
or immunities of the volunteer fire companies or their individual
members.
e. Administrative Code. Within 30 days after the effective
date of the Charter, the committee shall provide by ordinance for
the organization and administration of the Township government in
accordance with the requirements of the Charter. Pending enactment
of such an ordinance or ordinances, the Township government may be
organized and administered as heretofore.
f. Pending Actions and Proceedings. No action or proceedings,
civil or criminal, pending at the time when this Charter shall take
effect, brought by or against the Township or any agency or officer,
shall be affected or abated by the adoption of the Charter or administrative
code. All such actions or proceedings may be continued notwithstanding
that functions, powers and duties of any agency or officer, party
thereto, may be assigned or transferred to another agency or officer.
In that event, the action or proceeding may be prosecuted or defended
by the head of the agency or the officer to which such functions,
powers and duties are assigned or transferred.
If any section, subsection, sentence, clause,
phrase or portion of this Charter is for any reason held invalid or
unconstitutional, such portion shall be deemed a separate, distinct
and independent provision and the invalidity thereof shall not affect
the validity of the remaining portions thereof.