All powers of the municipality and the determination of all
matters of policy shall be vested in the Township Council, except
as otherwise provided by the Charter, general law or the Administrative
Code.
Compensation of each member of the Township Council and compensation
for the Mayor shall be determined by the Salary Ordinance.
The Mayor shall be elected by a majority vote of all members
of the Township Council. The selection of the Mayor and Deputy Mayor
shall be made at the annual reorganization meeting of the Township
Council.
The Mayor shall have only such powers and duties as Mayor as
are expressly vested in the Mayor by this chapter and by general law.
The Mayor shall preside at all meetings of the Township Council and
shall have a voice and vote in its proceedings. In the absence of
the Mayor, the Deputy Mayor shall preside. Upon the arrival of the
Mayor, the Deputy Mayor shall immediately relinquish the chair upon
the conclusion of the business immediately before the Council. The
Mayor shall fill vacancies occurring in the Board of Trustees of the
Public Library for such terms of office as are provided by law. All
bonds, notes, deeds, contracts and written obligations of the Township
shall be executed on its behalf by the Mayor or, in the event of the
Mayor's inability to act, by the Deputy Mayor.
A.
Regular
meetings. The Council shall meet annually for organization on a date
and hour fixed according to law by the Council. The exact date and
hour for the annual reorganization shall be determined and fixed by
the Council at a regular or special meeting of the Council during
the month of December next preceding the organization meeting. If
the Council shall fail to fix a date for the next organization meeting,
it shall meet for organization on the first day of January at 10:00
a.m., prevailing time, unless the day is Sunday, in which case it
shall meet at the same hour on the succeeding day. At the reorganization
meeting, the Council shall fix the date and hour for regular Council
meetings to be conducted during the calendar year.
B.
Special
meetings. The Mayor may at any time and shall upon written request
of any three members of the Council call a special meeting. The call
for a special meeting shall specify the purpose of the meeting, and
no business shall be transacted at any special meeting other than
that specified. The Mayor's call for a special meeting shall be filed
with the Clerk at least 24 hours prior to the time for which the meeting
is called. The Clerk shall forthwith give notice thereof to each Council
member, at such place and in such manner as the member shall have
previously designated for that purpose. The Police Department shall
cooperate with the Clerk in effectuating service of notice. Upon written
waiver of notice executed by all of the members of the Council, a
special meeting may be held, without prior notice, notwithstanding
the above provisions of this subsection.[1]
C.
Rules
of conduct; attendance by officers. All regular and special meetings
of the Council shall be conducted in accordance with the Open Public
Meetings Act, N.J.S.A. 10:4-6. The Manager, Solicitor, Clerk and Engineer,
and such other municipal officers and employees as may be required
by general or special order of the Council, shall attend regular and
special meetings of the Council.
The Council may convene at any time in informal conference for
the study of municipal business or to plan for the agendas of its
future meetings. Members of the public shall be permitted to attend
these conferences, except where the Council shall determine, in accordance
with the Open Public Meetings Act, that the meeting shall be closed
to the public for discussion of certain specific matters which, by
their nature, are permitted to be discussed in private.
A majority of all the members elected to the Council shall constitute
a quorum at any regular or special meeting of the Council, but a lesser
number than a quorum may adjourn any meeting. If no member of the
Council is present 1/2 hour after the appointed time for any meeting,
the Clerk shall adjourn the meeting.
The order of business, agenda, conduct of meetings, procedure,
decorum, and any and all matters pertaining to the functions of the
Council and the carrying out of Township business at regular and special
meetings may be determined and prescribed by resolution of the Council
annually at its organization meeting.
Except as may be provided in the Charter and the Administrative
Code, questions of order, methods of organization and the conduct
of business of the Council shall be governed by the latest revised
edition of Robert's Rules of Order.
The agenda for each regular and special meeting of the Council
shall be prepared by the Clerk. Except for emergency matters which
may be added to the agenda at any time with the approval of the Manager,
the agenda for each regular meeting of the Council shall include only
such matters of Council business as have been presented or delivered
to the Clerk by the Manager or a Council member not later than 24
hours preceding the meeting. As soon as the agenda for each meeting
has been prepared, the Clerk shall deliver a copy to each Council
member, the Manager, and each department head. The Clerk shall also
promptly distribute copies to the press and to interested citizens
upon request.
