Borough of Edgewater, NJ Article III Meetings

[Amended 11-17-1997 by Ord. No. 1113-97; 12-15-2003 by Ord. No. 1292-2003]

§ A551-5 Annual, regular and special meetings.

The Mayor and Council shall hold an annual meeting on the first Monday after January 1 at 7:00 p.m. and such other meetings, or adjourned meetings, at such time and place as they may by resolution direct, but all regular meetings shall be held within the Borough. The Mayor shall, when necessary, call special meetings of the Council; in case of his/her neglect or refusal, any four members of the Council may call such meeting at such time and place in the Borough as they may direct, and in all cases of special meetings, notice shall be given to all members of the Council or left at their place of residence.

§ A551-6 Order of business. [1]

The order of business for regular meetings shall be as follows:

A. Roll call.

B. Open Public Meetings Act (N.J.S.A. 10:4-6 et seq.) statement.

C. Moment of silence.

D. Salute to flag.

E. Conference.

F. Open meeting to public.

G. Approval of minutes.

H. Receipt of bids.

I. Adoption/public hearing of ordinances.

J. Communications/petitions.

K. Introduction of ordinances.

L. Committee reports.

M. Resolutions.

N. Old/unfinished business.

O. New business.

P. Attorney reports.

Q. Administrator reports.

R. Borough Clerk.

S. Closed session items.

T. Adjournment.

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

§ A551-7 Rules of order.

A. Meetings of the Mayor and Council shall be governed by Robert's Rules of Order, Revised Edition.

B. The Mayor shall preside at all meetings. In the absence of the Mayor, the Council President shall preside at the meeting. In the absence of the Council President, the most senior Council member shall preside at the meeting, unless a specific Council member was appointed to chair the meeting.

C. While the meeting is in session, each member of the governing body shall cooperate with the presiding officer to preserve order and decorum, and no member shall, by conversation, by leaving their seat without advising the presiding officer, or otherwise delay or interrupt the proceedings of the governing body, nor shall they disturb any member while that member is speaking, or fail to abide by the orders of the presiding officer, except as otherwise provided for in Robert's Rules of Order.

D. The presiding officer shall:

(1) Recognize members of the governing body that wish to comment on a subject or address the members of the governing body;

(2) Rule on all questions of order with advice from the Attorney and Borough Clerk;

(3) Set time limits for discussion on an issue by the governing body and/or the public;

(4) Change the order of business with consent of the Council in order to expedite the completion of business on the agenda;

(5) Move an issue for further discussion, information or additional data to a committee of the members to investigate and report back to the full governing body; and

(6) Have all questions and comments from the public addressed to the chair, and the presiding officer will respond to the public or authorize a response to be provided.

E. While citizens are addressing the chair during the period the meeting is open to the public, members of the governing body shall be attentive and courteous and hold their comments until the close of the public session or until authorized to respond by the presiding officer.

F. Members of the public wishing to address the governing body must be recognized by the presiding officer. All questions, comments or remarks are to be addressed to the presiding officer. Members of the public who shall disturb the peace of the meeting, make offensive or abusive remarks or conduct his or herself in a boisterous manner while addressing the governing body shall be forthwith barred by the presiding officer from further audience before the governing body, except that if the speaker shall submit to proper order under these rules.

G. Meetings of the governing body shall be conducted in a courteous manner. Citizens and members of the governing body will be allowed to state their positions in an atmosphere free of slander and threats of violence.

(1) In order that all citizens have a reasonable opportunity to speak, all speakers will limit their remarks to a five-minute duration.

(2) Only one member of the public shall be allowed to speak at one time. All statements shall be addressed to the chair and not to any one Council member.