There shall be established a Municipal Government Transparency
Committee to consult and coordinate with the Township Council, Township
Chief Financial Officer and the Chief Information Technology Officer
regarding the scope, content, and format of the public finance website,
or any current website, developed to comply with the provisions of
this chapter.
A. Composition; compensation; residency requirement. The Municipal Government
Transparency Committee shall consist of nine voting members, five
of whom shall be appointed by the Township Council and four of whom
shall be appointed by the Mayor. Further, there will be two nonvoting
members from the Administration, and one nonvoting member from the
Council to serve as a liaison, all as enumerated below. Committee
members shall not be compensated. Voting Committee members shall be
Township residents who believe in the taxpayers' right to access
how their money is being utilized and who possess an interest in ensuring
a user-friendly vehicle through which Township residents can access
the Township's financial records.
B. Members and terms. The terms of the Committee members shall be as
follows:
[Amended 10-19-2010 by Ord. No. 2010:24]
(1) Four voting members shall be appointed by the Mayor and five voting
members shall be appointed by the Township Council. The terms of each
voting Committee member shall be for one year. This length of term
shall apply retroactively to all current members.
(2) A member of the Township Council shall be designated annually to
serve as a nonvoting liaison between the Council and the Municipal
Government Transparency Committee.
(3) The Township Chief Financial Officer or the Officer's designee shall
serve as a nonvoting member.
(4) The Township Chief Information Technology Officer or the Officer's
designee shall serve as a nonvoting member.
C. Purpose. The Committee shall serve in an advisory capacity to the
Township Council and, in consultation with the Township Chief Financial
Officer and Chief Information Technology Officer, make recommendations
on matters related to:
(1) The use of the Township's existing website or the development and expansion of a new website for the purpose of providing ready access by the public to the the Township's financial records identified in §
65-2, below.
(2) Incorporating additional financial data and information contemplated
by this chapter, after implementation of a new website or use of the
Township's existing website, from any other source of data or
information available to the Township Chief Financial Officer or Township
Chief Information Technology Officer.
D. Duties. In consultation with the Township Chief Financial Officer
and Chief Information Technology Officer, the Committee shall:
(1) Seek input from the general public, professional associations, state,
county and local agencies, academic groups and institutions, and individuals
with knowledge of and interest in areas of public information access,
gateway services, add-on services, and electronic information for
the general improvement of the public finance website; and
(2) Issue an annual report to the Council and the administration regarding
the progress in developing and implementing the public finance website;
public input and feedback concerning the utility of the website and
recommendations for its improvement; and proposed enhancements to
the website in terms of content, format, policies, procedures, reports,
and other matters.
E. Notwithstanding any provisions of this section of the chapter to the contrary, any appointees to the Municipal Government Transparency Committee shall serve at the pleasure of their respective appointing authority. Thus, the Mayor and Council, respectively, shall be entitled to replace any members which it previously appointed to the Municipal Government Transparency Committee at any time before the expiration of the terms set forth in Subsection
B above and shall be permitted to remove and replace existing members without cause at any time.
[Added 4-13-2010 by Ord.
No. 2010:08]
Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, the Township
Chief Financial Officer shall not be required to provide data and
information on the website that is not available in the Township's
central accounting system and payroll system and shall have no obligation
to create a record that does not exist.
All of the information to be placed on the website under §
65-2B will be posted no later than 30 days following the close of each preceding fiscal year, except that, at the discretion of the Township's Chief Financial Officer, financial information for the current year may be posted sooner than the 30 days following the close of the preceding fiscal year, as it becomes available. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, however, the annual budget, annual financial statements and annual audit will be posted no later than 10 days after filing with the local finance board and/or the Division of Local Government Services, as applicable.
Nothing in this chapter shall require the disclosure of information
deemed private, personal, or confidential or otherwise exempted from
disclosure by applicable law.