Pursuant to the Charter, the legislative power of the municipality
will be exercised by the Council.
A.
The
Council shall meet annually for organization on the first day of January,
unless such meeting date is changed by the Council President. However,
a new meeting date shall not be done 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.
B.
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. Should the regular
meeting of the Council fall on a legal holiday, then the Council likewise,
by resolution, shall set the time and place of the regular scheduled
meeting.
C.
The
Mayor or Council President may, and upon written request of a majority
of the members of the Council shall, call a special meeting of the
Council.
(1)
The request and call for such a special meeting shall specify the
purpose of the meeting.
(2)
No other business shall be considered at such meeting.
(3)
The call for a special meeting shall be filed with the Municipal
Clerk, who shall notify the Mayor and each of the Councilmen at least
48 hours prior to the meeting time. Notification shall be made either
by telephone or by leaving a notice of the call at the respective
Councilman's and Mayor's place of residence.
(4)
If 48 hours' notice cannot be given, then the special meeting can
only be held if the Mayor and each Councilman signs a waiver of the
48 hours' notice.
Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:69A-41(b), the Mayor may attend all
meetings of the Council and may take part in discussion of the Council
but shall have no vote, except in the case of a tie on the question
of filling a vacancy on the Council, in which case he may cast the
deciding vote.
[Amended 9-20-2010 by Ord. No. 18-10, effective 10-10-2010]
The Council shall hold an agenda conference on the first Monday
of each month, unless there is a holiday, then the agenda meeting
will be held on the following Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. prevailing time
at the Municipal Building. All reports, communications, ordinances,
resolutions, contract documents or other matters to be submitted to
the Council shall be delivered to the Clerk no later than 12:00 noon
on Thursday preceding the agenda conference, whereupon the Clerk shall
immediately furnish a copy thereof to each member of the Council,
the Mayor, the Borough Administrator and the Borough Attorney as far
in advance of the meeting as time for preparation shall permit. Except
for emergency matters which may be added to the agenda at any time
with the approval of the President of the Council, 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 Mayor or a Councilman not later than 12:00 noon as previously
stated. As soon as the agenda for each meeting has been prepared,
the Clerk shall deliver a copy to each Councilman, the Mayor, the
Borough Administrator and Borough Attorney.
The Municipal Clerk shall serve as Clerk of the Council. The
Clerk shall keep a journal of its proceedings and record the minutes
of every meeting and shall have such other functions, powers and duties
as are provided by this Code. The Municipal Clerk shall be appointed
by the Council.
The presiding officer of the Council shall be the President,
who shall be chosen by the Council from among the members thereof
at the annual organization meeting after each annual general election.
Upon election as President, he shall assume the Chair immediately.
In the absence of the President, the Council shall elect a temporary
presiding officer.
A.
The
President shall preserve strict order and decorum at all meetings
of the Council.
B.
A
majority vote of those Councilmen present shall govern and determine
all questions of order not otherwise herein covered.
C.
The
President shall vote on all questions, his name being called last.
D.
The
President shall sign all ordinances and resolutions adopted by the
Council during his presence.
E.
The
President shall appoint, with the consent of the Council, all special
committees of the Council.
Except as may be provided in this chapter, questions of order,
methods of organization and conduct of business of the Municipal Council
shall be governed by Robert's Rules of Order.
The President shall take the Chair for the meeting and shall
immediately call the Council to order. In the absence of the President,
a majority of the Council present shall elect an Acting Council President
to serve during the absence of the President. Following such election,
the Acting President shall call the Council to order.
Before proceeding with the business of the Council, the Clerk
shall take the roll of members, and the names of those present shall
be entered in the minutes. Whenever a roll call is necessary, the
Council shall vote alphabetically, with the presiding officer voting
last.
A majority of the whole number of members of the Council shall
constitute a quorum at any regular or special meeting of the Council.
No ordinance shall be adopted by the Council without the affirmative
vote of a majority of all the members of the Council. On all business
other than adoption of ordinances, a majority of Council present shall
determine decision. If a quorum does not exist, the Clerk or his designee
shall publicly declare no quorum exists after calling the meeting
to order and taking roll call.
[Amended 9-20-2010 by Ord. No. 18-10, effective 10-10-2010]
A.
The business of the Council at regular meetings and, so far as practicable,
at special meetings shall be taken up for consideration and disposed
of in the following order, after the pledge of allegiance to the flag:
(1)
Roll call taken by Clerk.
(2)
Approval of minutes of previous meetings.
(3)
Introduction or final adoption of ordinances.
(4)
Resolutions, including resolution on payment of bills.
(5)
Council committee reports.
(6)
Report of Mayor (can be presented by Borough Administrator or presented
in writing).
(7)
Report of Attorney, Engineer and Administrator.
(8)
Public hearing.
(9)
Miscellaneous.
(10)
Adjournment.
B.
The Council may, by affirmative vote of a majority of its members,
approve a consent agenda consisting of those items which are considered
routine by the Council President and marked with an asterisk. Prior
to voting upon the consent agenda, the Council President shall entertain
requests for removal of any item, and such item shall be removed,
without necessity of second or vote, upon such request. Consent agenda
items shall not be subject to discussion or separate vote. The consent
agenda shall be deemed to have been adopted upon the affirmative vote
of a majority of all members of the Council, and those items approved
under the consent agenda will appear in the Council minutes in the
complete text thereof.
C.
Ordinances, the budget resolution or resolutions appropriating money
shall not be the subject of consent agenda action.
D.
The President of the Council may change the order of business as
he deems necessary in order to expedite the completion of business
to be considered.
Unless a reading of the minutes at a Council meeting is requested
by a majority of the Council, such minutes, when approved by the majority
on roll call vote, will be considered approved without reading, provided
that the Clerk shall have furnished to each member of the Council
a copy of the minutes to be acted upon at least 48 hours prior to
the meeting.
A.
Participation by President. The President or such other member of
the Council as may be presiding may move, second and debate from the
Chair, subject to such limitations of debate as are, by these rules,
imposed upon all members and shall not be deprived of any of the rights
and privileges of a Councilman by reason of his being the presiding
officer.
B.
Debate. Every member desiring to speak shall address the presiding
officer and, upon recognition, shall confine himself to the question
under debate, avoiding all personalities and indecorous language.
A member, once recognized, shall not be interrupted when speaking,
unless it is to call him to order as herein otherwise provided. If
a member, while speaking, is called to order, he shall cease speaking
until the question of order is determined by the presiding officer,
and, if in order, he shall be permitted to proceed. Any member may
appeal to the Council from the decision of the Chair upon a question
of order when, without debate, the Chair shall submit to the Council
the question, "shall the decision of the Chair be sustained?" and
the Council shall decide by a majority vote.
C.
Closing debate. The Councilman moving the adoption of an ordinance
or resolution shall have the privilege of closing the debate.
D.
Voting on roll call. Upon any roll call, there shall be no discussion
or explanation given by any member voting, and he shall vote yes or
no. A member of the Council may abstain from voting on any matter.
E.
Synopsis of debate. The Clerk shall enter in the minutes a synopsis
of the discussion on any question coming before the Council, provided
that a transcript is available.
F.
Remarks of Council. A Councilman may request, through the presiding
officer, the privilege of having an abstract of his statement on any
subject under consideration by the Council entered in the minutes,
provided that a transcript is available.
G.
Adjourn and recess. A motion to adjourn or recess shall always be
in order and shall be decided without debate. A motion to adjourn
or recess shall take precedence over any other motion.
H.
Table motion. A motion to table any action on a question before the
Council shall take precedence over all other motions, except the motion
to adjourn or recess.
I.
Addressing the Council. Any person desiring to address the Council
shall first seek recognition by the presiding officer. Upon recognition
by the Chair, the person shall give his name and address in an audible
tone of voice for the records. Unless further time is granted by the
Council, he shall limit his statement to five minutes. Statements
shall be addressed to the Council as a body and not any member thereof.
A Councilman shall not direct any question to a speaker addressing
the Council, except through the presiding officer.
J.
Decorum. The Council President shall be responsible for maintaining
order and decorum at Council meetings.
Nominations to any office or position by the Mayor shall be
considered by the Council during the Mayor's report section of the
agenda. When taken up for action, the President shall put the question
on each nomination as follows: "will the Council confirm the nomination?"
On that motion, a vote shall be ordered, and if four or more members
vote to confirm, the President shall announce "the nomination is confirmed."
If fewer than four members vote to confirm, the President shall announce
"the nomination is rejected." Action of confirmation or rejection
upon a nomination made by the Mayor shall not be postponed or delayed
longer than for one regular meeting. Within two days after confirmation
or rejection of nomination, the Clerk shall, in writing, notify the
Mayor of the fact.
A.
Preparation. All ordinances and resolutions shall be drafted by or
receive the approval of the Borough Attorney as to form and legality.
He shall prepare such ordinances and resolutions as the Council may
request. A copy of each ordinance, which shall be submitted to the
Council for introduction at a regular or special meeting of the Council,
shall be delivered to the Mayor and each Councilman on Monday prior
to the time of the meeting or as soon thereafter as practicable; provided,
however, that the Council, by unanimous consent, may waive this requirement.
B.
Introduction. Any Councilman may introduce a resolution or ordinance.
C.
Adoption of ordinance.
(1)
Procedure as required by general law. All ordinances shall be adopted
and published in the manner required by general law, provided that
any ordinance may incorporate by reference any standard technical
regulations or code, official or unofficial, which need not be so
published whenever 10 copies of the regulations or code have been
placed on file in the office of the body or department charged with
the enforcement of the ordinance for the examination of the public
so long as the ordinance is in effect.
(2)
Submission of ordinance to Mayor. All ordinances adopted by the Council
shall be submitted to the Mayor and he shall, within 10 days after
receiving any ordinance, either approve the ordinance by affixing
his 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. In the event the
Mayor files a statement setting forth an objection, the Clerk shall
notify the members of the Council in writing within one business day
of the objection. 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, 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, shall, by a vote of 2/3 of the
members, resolve to override the Mayor's veto.[1]
(3)
Effective date of ordinance. No ordinance other than the local budget
ordinance, which is governed by the Local Budget Law,[2] shall take effect less than 20 days after its final passage
by the Council and approval by the Mayor, unless the Council overrides
the Mayor's veto, then it takes effect 20 days after the overriding
action, unless the Council shall adopt a resolution declaring an emergency
and at least 2/3 of the Council shall vote in favor of such resolution,
provided that nothing herein shall affect the provisions of the Local
Bond Law[3] with respect to the effective date of ordinances passed
pursuant thereto.
(4)
Certification of passage of ordinance over Mayor's veto. Whenever
an ordinance has been vetoed by the Mayor and is passed by the 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 the
Council on _____ day of ___________ ____ and was vetoed by the Mayor
by his action whereby he returned said ordinance to the Council by
delivering it to the Municipal Clerk, together with a statement setting
forth his objections thereto, and thereafter, on the _____ day of
___________ ____ the Council (did by a vote of 2/3 of the members
thereof resolve to override the Mayor's veto) or (sustained the Mayor's
veto).
| ||
|
Dated
|
Signed
| |
(5)
Ordinances not returned by the Mayor. Whenever an ordinance shall
take effect without the Mayor's signature by reason of his failure
to return it to Council by filing it with the Clerk within 10 days
after it has been presented to him, the Clerk shall append to such
ordinance a certificate in substantially the following form:
|
I hereby certify that the above ordinance was adopted by the
Council on the _____ day of ___________ ____ and was presented to
the Mayor duly certified on the _____ day of ___________ ____, and
upon failure to sign it or 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
| |
The Council, in addition to such other powers and duties as
may be conferred upon it by the Code or otherwise by general law,
may:
A.
By majority vote, require any municipal officer, in its discretion,
to prepare and submit sworn statements regarding his official duties
in the performance thereof and otherwise to investigate the conduct
of any department, office or agency of the municipal government.
B.
Remove, by at least a two-thirds vote of the whole number of the
Council, any municipal officer, other than the Mayor or a member of
Council, for cause, upon notice and an opportunity to be heard. The
Council will consider a motion to remove an officer for cause only
after removal has been duly proposed and considered at an agenda conference.
C.
The hearing required by Subsection B above shall be held not less than 10 days nor more than 15 days after the date of such service and may be adjourned from time to time. Such hearing shall be open to the public, and the officer charged shall be entitled to be represented by his own counsel. Following the conclusion of the hearing, the presiding officer shall call for a vote on the motion, which shall be determined by a majority vote of the Council.
D.
Inquire into any act or problem of the administration of the municipality.
Any Council member may, at any time, require a report on any aspect
of the government of the municipality by making a written request
to the Mayor. The Council may, by a majority vote of the whole number
of its members, require the Mayor or his designee to appear before
the Council sitting as a committee of the whole and to bring before
the Council those records and reports and officials and employees
of the municipality as the Council may determine necessary to ensure
clarification of the matter under study. The Council may further,
by a majority of the whole number of its members, designate any number
of its members as an ad hoc committee to consult with the Mayor or
his designee to study any matter and to report to the Council thereon.
It is the intent of the Mayor-Council plan of government to confer
upon the Council general legislative powers, and such investigative
powers as are germane to the exercise of its legislative powers, but
to retain for the Mayor full control over the municipal administration
and over the administration of municipal services.
[Amended 9-20-2010 by Ord. No. 18-10, effective 10-10-2010[1]]
The compensation range of the Mayor and Council members and
department heads shall be set forth by ordinance. The specific compensation
of the Mayor and Council members and department heads for any given
year shall be set forth by resolution of the Council.
