City of Burlington, NJ Article I Common Council

§ 2-1 Powers and duties.

[Amended 4-1-2008 by Ord. No. 07-2008]

The legislative power of the City shall be exercised by the Common Council. The Common Council has the following responsibilities, as authorized by the Charter:

A. Legislation. Except as may be otherwise provided by general law, the Common Council shall exercise the legislative power of the City.

B. Inquiry. The Common Council, by majority vote of the whole Council, may require any City officer to prepare and submit sworn statements regarding the performance of his/her official duties and may otherwise investigate the conduct of any department, office or agency.

C. Administration. The Common Council shall have the authority to advise and consent to actions of the Mayor and override the Mayor's veto of an ordinance. The Council, and individual members thereof, shall deal with officers and employees of the City through the Mayor, or his/her designee, and, except for inquiries as provided in Subsection B of this section, all communication regarding administration of the City shall be with them.

D. Removals. Common Council, by two-thirds vote of the whole Council and for cause, may remove any City officer, except the Mayor or a Council member, upon notice and an opportunity to be heard in public or executive session. Common Council may also disapprove mayoral removals by a two-thirds vote of the whole Council.

E. Appointments. On request of the Mayor, the Common Council shall receive and consider any nomination for appointment requiring Common Council advice and consent. The Common Council shall appoint the Municipal Clerk and any staff subordinate to the Municipal Clerk.

F. Financial responsibilities. The Common Council shall set the salaries of directors, department heads and the Administrator. It shall approve the budget and expenditures and appoint a registered municipal accountant of New Jersey to prepare the annual audit of the City's accounts and financial records.

§ 2-2 Election of officers; duties of President.

A. Election. Pursuant to the Charter, the Common Council, at its first meeting after each election for Councilpersons, shall elect a President of the Common Council from among its members to serve until the election and qualification of his/her successor. At the same time, the Council may elect a Vice President of the Common Council, to serve until the election and qualification of his/her successor, who shall have all the functions, powers and duties of the President of the Common Council whenever the President may be absent. In the absence of both the President and Vice President of the Common Council, the Council shall elect a temporary presiding officer, who shall have all the functions, powers and duties of the President during his/her absence.

B. Duties. The President shall have the following duties and responsibilities:

(1) Presiding officer. The President of the Common Council shall establish the agenda and preside at all meetings of the Council.

(2) Parliamentary questions. The President of Common Council, as the Council's presiding officer, shall be the Chief parliamentary officer of the Council.

(3) Vote. The President of the Common Council may vote on all questions coming before Council. However, his/her name shall be called last upon a roll call vote.

(4) Execution of documents. The President of Common Council, or Vice President in his/her absence, shall sign all ordinances and resolutions adopted by the Common Council.

(5) Decorum. The President of Common Council shall be responsible for the preservation of order and decorum at all meetings of Council.

(6) Other duties. The President of Common Council shall perform such other duties as Council, by resolution, shall determine.

§ 2-3 Committee of the whole.

There shall be no standing committees of the Common Council other than the committee of the whole. The President of the Common Council shall be the presiding officer of the committee of the whole, and the rules and proceedings in the Council shall be observed in the committee of the whole, as far as the same may be applicable.

§ 2-4 Meetings.

A. Organizational; regular. The Common Council shall meet annually for organization on the first day of January, unless such meeting date is changed by the Council President, however, such new meeting date shall not be more than one week from the first day of January. The time of the organization meeting shall be established by the Council President. The meeting shall be held in the Council chambers of the Municipal Building. At the organization meeting, the Council shall determine, by resolution, the regular meeting schedule for the year. Such resolution shall specify the time and place for all regular meetings to be held. There shall be a minimum of one meeting each month of the year.

B. Special. The Mayor may and, upon written request of a majority of the members of the Common Council, shall call a special meeting of the Common Council. In the call (s)he shall designate the purpose of the special meeting and no other business shall be considered. All meetings of the Common Council shall be open to the public, except for those allowed to be closed provided for under the Open Public Meetings Act, N.J.S.A. 10:4-6 et seq.

§ 2-5 Rules of order; quorum.

A. Rules. Except as may be provided in this Code, questions of order, methods of organization and conduct of business of the Common Council shall be governed by Robert's Rules of Order.

B. Quorum. A majority of the whole number of members of the Common Council shall constitute a quorum at any regular or special meeting of the Council.

§ 2-6 Agendas. [1]

The Mayor shall submit items on behalf of the administration to the Municipal Clerk. The Council President shall then establish the Common Council agenda and submit it to the Municipal Clerk for preparation and distribution to Council members, Mayor, Business Administrator, City Solicitor and other appropriate officials.

[1] Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).

§ 2-7 Order of business. [1]

The order of business shall be determined by the President of the Common Council.

[1] Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).

§ 2-8 Ordinances and resolutions.

A. Preparation. All ordinances shall be drafted by the City Solicitor. All resolutions shall be prepared by the Municipal Clerk and may be reviewed by the City Solicitor as to form and legality.

B. Submission of ordinances to Mayor. All ordinances adopted by the Common Council shall be submitted to the Mayor. Within 10 days after receiving any ordinance, the Mayor shall either approve the ordinance by affixing his/her signature thereto or return it to the Council by delivering it to the Municipal Clerk, together with a statement setting forth his objections thereto, or to any item or part thereof. The Clerk shall immediately notify the members of the Council in writing. No ordinance, or any item or part thereof, shall take effect without the Mayor's approval, unless the Mayor fails to return an ordinance to the Council within 10 days after it has been presented to him/her, at which time the ordinance shall be deemed approved, or unless the Council, upon reconsideration thereof on or after the third day following its return by the Mayor, by a vote of two-thirds of the members, shall resolve to override the Mayor's veto.

C. Effective date of ordinance. No ordinance, other than the local budget ordinance, which is governed by local budget laws, shall take effect less than 20 days after its final passage by the Common Council and approval by the Mayor, unless the Council overrides the Mayor's veto, then it takes effect 20 days after the overriding action. The Council may adopt a resolution declaring an emergency, with at least 2/3 of the Council voting in favor of such resolution, providing for an earlier effective date, provided that nothing herein shall affect the provisions of the local bond law with respect to the effective date of ordinances passed pursuant thereto.

D. Certification of passage over Mayor's veto. Whenever an ordinance has been vetoed by the Mayor and is passed by the Common Council over such veto in the manner provided by law, the Clerk shall append to such ordinance a certificate in substantially the following form:

	I hereby certify that the above ordinance was adopted by Common Council on the ____ day of __________, 20___ and was vetoed by the Mayor by his/her action, whereby (s)he returned said ordinance to the Council by delivering it to the Municipal Clerk, together with a statement setting forth his/her objections thereto; and thereafter, on the ____ day of __________, 20___ the Council (by a vote of 2/3 of the members thereof, did resolve to override the Mayor's veto) or (sustained the Mayor's veto).
	Dated	Signed

E. Ordinances not returned by Mayor. Whenever an ordinance shall take effect without the Mayor's signature by reason of his/her failure to return it to the Common Council by filing it with the Clerk within 10 days after it has been presented to him/her, the Clerk shall append to such ordinance a certificate in substantially the following form:

	I hereby certify that the above ordinance was adopted by Common Council on the ____ day of __________, 20___ and was presented to the Mayor, duly certified, on the ____ day of __________, 20___, and, upon the Mayor's failure to sign it or to return and file it with the Clerk within 10 days thereafter, said ordinance took effect in like manner as if the Mayor had signed it.
	Dated	Signed