The Town Attorney shall be appointed by the Mayor for a term
of office coinciding with that of the Mayor.
The Town Attorney shall be a counselor at law duly admitted
to the practice of the law in this state.
The Town Attorney shall receive such compensation as shall be
provided by ordinance.
The Town Attorney shall be the legal advisor to the Mayor and
all departments of the Town except as may be otherwise provided by
the Charter. He shall prosecute and defend actions and proceedings
by and against the Town and every department thereof. In furtherance
of these general powers and without limitation thereto, he shall:
A.
Advise the Council and its members, the Mayor and the other officers
of the Town in all matters which may be submitted to him for his opinion.
B.
Review and approve all contracts, deeds, documents and instruments
prior to the execution thereof by or on behalf of the Town.
C.
Conduct appeals from orders, decisions or judgments affecting any
interest of the Town as he may in his discretion determine to be necessary
or desirable or as directed by the Mayor or Council.
D.
Subject to the approval of Council, have power to enter into any
agreement, compromise or settlement of any litigation in which the
Town is involved.
E.
Render opinions in writing upon any question of law submitted to
him by the Mayor, the Council, the Business Administrator or the head
of any department.
F.
Maintain a record of all actions, suits, proceedings and matters
which relate to the Town's interest and report thereon from time to
time as the Mayor or Council may require.
G.
Conduct prosecutions for crimes and offenses cognizable by the Municipal
Court of the Town, except such crimes and offenses as it may be the
duty of the County Prosecutor to prosecute, including violations of
this Code, other ordinances of the Town, complaints of any department
under the state law and violations of rules or regulations duly promulgated
by any department.
H.
Have such other and different functions, powers and duties as may
be provided by the Charter, this Code or other ordinance.
I.
Provide for the defense of criminal, quasi-criminal and motor vehicle
matters in Municipal Court and, where appropriate, on appeal.
[Added 7-14-1987 by Ord.
No. MC 2832]
A.
The Township Attorney shall appoint in the Office of the Township
Attorney a First Assistant Township Attorney and two Second Assistant
Township Attorneys, who shall serve at the pleasure of the Township
Attorney during the term of office of the Township Attorney appointing
him or her.
B.
Prior to said appointment, he or she shall have been duly admitted
to the practices of law in this state.
C.
The salaries of the aforesaid appointees shall be such sums as shall
be fixed by ordinance. Such compensation shall be in lieu of all other
fees or compensation for the official services of said appointees.
D.
All employees of the Office of Township Attorney shall perform such
duties as may from time to time be assigned to them by the Township
Attorney.
E.
The Township Attorney shall designate one Second Assistant Township
Attorney to be Prosecutor and the other Second Assistant Township
Attorney to be Assistant Prosecutor.
[1]
Editor's Note: Section 4 of this ordinance provided that the
positions of the First Assistant Township Attorney and Second Assistant
Township Attorney shall be in the unclassified service pursuant to
N.J.S.A. 11:22-2.
The Assistant Town Attorney shall, during the absence or disability
of the Town Attorney, possess all the powers and perform all the duties
of the Town Attorney, and in the event of the death or resignation
of the Town Attorney or of the occurrence of a vacancy in such office
for any other reason, the Assistant Town Attorney shall act as Town
Attorney until the office is duly filled pursuant to the Charter.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Former § 5-53 of the 1981 Revised
Code, Legal Assistant-Prosecutors, which previously followed this
section, added 9-9-1969 by Ord. No. MC 2238, amended 9-26-1978 by
Ord. No. MC 2544, was repealed 3-26-1985 by Ord. No. MC 2776.
Editor's Note: Former § 5-54 of the 1981 Revised
Code, Powers and duties of Legal Assistant-Prosecutors, which previously
followed this section, added 9-9-1969 by Ord. No. MC 2238, amended
9-26-1978 by Ord. No. MC 2544, was repealed 3-26-1985 by Ord. No.
MC 2776.
[Added 7-14-1987 by Ord.
No. MC 2832; amended 3-11-1997 by Ord. No. MC 3059; amended 11-25-1997 by Ord. No. MC 3085; 3-24-2015 by Ord. No. MC 3528; 9-11-2018 by Ord. No.
MC 3662; 1-28-2019 by Ord. No. MC 3684]
A.
The Business Administrator shall appoint in the Office of the Business
Administrator one or more Municipal Public Defenders who shall, prior
to their appointment, have been duly admitted to the practice of law
in this state. There shall be a Chief Public Defender who shall be
paid $30,000 per year. There also may be subordinate Public Defenders
who shall be per diem. The rate per session for per diem Public Defenders
shall be $225 for the year 2018 and $250 per session for the year
2019 and beyond. All Municipal Public Defenders' days and hours of
assignment shall be as designated by the Business Administrator.
B.
Any person applying for representation by the Municipal Public Defender
must pay a fee of $250. The application fee can only be waived after
a review and determination of the Municipal Court Judge that such
person cannot afford to pay the same and thus may be deprived of the
right to counsel.
Whenever the Council deems the interests of the Town to so require,
it may appoint special counsel.
All papers, documents, memoranda, reports and other materials
relating to the administration of the Office of Town Attorney shall
be and remain the property of the Town. Upon the termination of his
service with the Town, the Town Attorney shall forthwith surrender
to his successor all such property, together with a written consent
to substitution of his successor in all legal actions and proceedings
then pending to which the Town is a party. The Assistant Town Attorney
shall have a like duty and obligation upon the termination of his
service with the Town.
