The legislative power of the municipality shall be exercised
by the Council.
[Amended 2-23-65 by Ord. No. 65-1-A; 12-28-70 by Ord. No. 70-1-N; 5-29-73 by Ord. No. 73-1-V; 11-26-73
by Ord. No 73-1-V; 3-22-76 by Ord. No. 76-1-OO; 9-14-81 by Ord. No. 81-393; 9-28-87 by Ord. No. 87-868; 3-24-14
by Ord. No. 14-02; amended 1-27-2020 by Ord. No. 20-02]
A biannual meeting of the Council shall be held on a date set by resolution, said meeting to be during the first week in January, and the date shall be published at least three days prior to the meeting following each municipal election. In addition to consideration of all appropriate reorganizational matters, the annual meeting shall in all other respects be deemed to be a public action/agenda meeting of the Council. This meeting shall be in addition to further public action/agenda meetings provided by this subsection. Public action/agenda meetings of the Council shall be held on the second and fourth Mondays of each month at 7:30 p.m. at the place of meeting provided in §
3-6, provided that when any such day falls upon a legal holiday, or the Township Clerk is unavailable to attend such meeting the meeting shall be held on the next succeeding Monday that is not a legal holiday. Should the Council determine that it is impractical or inconvenient to hold the meeting on the next succeeding Monday that is not a legal holiday, the Council may provide by resolution that the meeting may be held at the same whatsoever day is deemed reasonable and convenient by the Council.
[Amended 12-8-75 by Ord. No. 75-1-GG; 3-27-95 by Ord. No. 95-11; 4-22-96 by Ord. No. 96-9]
A. The
Mayor or the President of the Council may, and upon written request
of the majority of the members of the Council shall, call a special
meeting of the Council. The request and call for such special meeting
shall specify the purpose of the meeting, and no other business shall
be transacted at the meeting. The call for a special meeting shall
be filed with the Township Clerk at least 48 hours before the time
for which the meeting is called, and the Clerk shall forthwith give
notice thereof by telephone or telegraph to each Councilman at such
place as the latter shall have previously designated for that purpose,
and, failing to reach the Councilman by such method, the Clerk shall
serve or cause to be served a written copy of the call upon each Councilman
by giving a copy to him personally or by leaving a copy at his usual
place of abode. The Clerk shall also forthwith release copies of the
call to at least two newspapers, one of which shall be the officially
designated newspaper or newspapers, and post at least one copy of
the call in a prominent place in the Municipal Building. Upon the
affirmative vote of at least four members of the Council, the Council
may hold a meeting, notwithstanding the failure to provide adequate
notice, if:
(1) Such meeting is required in order to deal with matters of such urgency
and importance that a delay for the purpose of providing adequate
notice would be likely to result in substantial harm to the public
interest.
(2) The meeting is limited to discussion of and acting with respect to
such matters of urgency and importance.
(3) Notice of such meeting is provided as soon as possible following
the calling of such meeting by posting written notice of the same
in the public place described herein and also by notifying the two
newspapers referred to herein.
(4) Either the Council could not reasonably have foreseen the need for
such meeting at a time when adequate notice could have been provided;
or, although the Council could reasonably have foreseen the need for
such meeting at a time when adequate notice could have been provided,
it nevertheless failed to do so.
(5) This hereby creates a Quality Circle Advisory Committee whose purpose
is to work toward increased productivity and improved budget efficiencies
by having meetings with official representatives of the collective
bargaining groups, administration and at least two members of the
Municipal Council.
B. At
the commencement of every meeting of the Council, the presiding officer
shall announce publicly, and shall cause to be entered in the minutes
of the meeting, an accurate statement to the effect that:
(1) Adequate notice of the meeting has been provided, specifying the
time, place and manner in which such notice was provided; or
(2) Adequate notice was not provided, in which case such announcement
shall state:
(a) The nature of the urgency and importance referred to herein and the
nature of the substantial harm to the public interest likely to result
from a delay in the holding of the meeting.
(b) That the meeting will be limited to discussion of and acting with
respect to such matters of urgency and importance.
(c) The time, place and manner in which notice of the meeting was provided.
(d) Either the need for such meeting could not reasonably have been foreseen
at a time when adequate notice could have been provided, in which
event such announcement shall specify the reason why such need could
not reasonably have been foreseen; or that such need could reasonably
have been foreseen at a time when adequate notice could have been
provided, but such notice was not provided, in which event the announcement
shall specify the reason why adequate notice was not provided.
[Amended 2-23-65 by Ord. No. 65-1-A; 4-25-66 by Ord. No. 66-1-A; 6-27-66 by Ord. No. 66-1-C; 6-28-71
by Ord. No. 71-1-P; 9-27-76 by Ord. No. 76-1-TT; 2-14-77 by Ord. No. 77-1-WW; 5-23-77 by Ord.
No. 77-1-FFF]
All public meetings of the Council, both agenda meetings and
action meetings, shall be held at the East Brunswick Municipal Building,
1 Jean Walling Civic Center, East Brunswick, New Jersey, except that
for special reasons or in case of an emergency making it impractical
to conduct the business of the Council at the Municipal Building,
the Council, upon such reasonable public notice as the circumstances
permit, may meet in or adjourn a meeting to any other public building.
[Amended 3-25-74 by Ord. No. 74-1-DD; 12-8-75 by Ord. No. 75-1-FF]
A. Public
meetings. All meetings of the Council shall be open to the public.
The Council may, however, exclude the public from that portion of
a meeting at which it discusses:
(1) Any matter which by express provisions of federal law or state statute
or rule of court shall be rendered confidential.
(2) Any matter in which the release of information would impair a right
to receive funds from the United States.
(3) Any material the disclosure of which constitutes an unwarranted invasion
of individual privacy as defined in the Open Public Meetings Act.
Editor's Note: See N.J.R.S. 10:4-6 et seq.
(4) Any collective-bargaining agreement, including the negotiation of
the terms and conditions thereof, with employees or representatives
of employees of the Township of East Brunswick.
(5) Any matter involving the purchase, lease or acquisition of real property
with public funds, the setting of banking rates or investment of public
funds, where it could adversely affect the public interest if discussion
of such matters were disclosed.
(6) Any tactics and techniques utilized in protecting the safety and
property of the public, provided that their disclosure could impair
such protection and any investigations of violations or possible violations
of the law.
(7) Any pending or anticipated litigation or contract negotiation in
which the Township may become a party and any matters falling within
the attorney-client privilege to the extent that confidentiality is
required in order for the attorney to exercise his or her ethical
duties as a lawyer.
(8) Any matter involving employment, evaluation of the performance of,
promotion or disciplining of any current or prospective public employee
or officer, unless all the individual employees or appointees whose
rights could be adversely affected request in writing that such matter
or matters be discussed at a public meeting.
(9) Any deliberation after a public hearing that may result in the imposition
of a specific civil penalty or the suspension or loss of a license
or permit.
B. Public
agenda meetings. In public agenda meetings, the public will be permitted
to participate in the proceedings, at the discretion of the Chair.
Such a meeting shall be held preceding each regular meeting at the
Municipal Building for the purpose of reviewing the agenda. All reports,
communications, ordinances, resolutions, contract documents or other
matters to be submitted to the Council shall be delivered to the Clerk
at a reasonable time in advance of a public agenda conference meeting,
whereupon the Clerk shall, as far in advance of such meeting as circumstances
will permit, furnish a copy thereof to each member of the Council,
the Mayor, the Business Administrator and the Township Attorney.
[Amended 3-22-76 by Ord. No. 76-1-OO; 3-23-87 by Ord. No. 87-827]
C. Procedure.
The Council shall not exclude the public from any meeting to discuss
any matter described in this section until the Council shall first
adopt a resolution, at a meeting to which the public shall be admitted,
stating the general nature of the subject to be discussed and stating,
as precisely as possible, the time when and the circumstances under
which the discussion conducted in closed session can be disclosed
to the public.
D. Notice of meetings. All municipal agencies required to comply with the Open Public Meetings Act of 1975 (Sunshine Laws), as set forth in §
3-52, shall furnish the Township Clerk with an annual schedule, or any revision thereof, of regular meetings to be held during the year and shall furnish the Township Clerk with notice of the time, date, location and, to the extent known, the agenda, at least 48 hours in advance of any meeting not referred to in the annual schedule or revision. The Clerk shall post all such schedules and notices in the main lobby of the Municipal Building, shall provide notice to the newspapers, shall maintain a copy in his office and shall certify to the foregoing in writing. The Clerk's written certification shall be delivered to the presiding officer of the municipal agency, who shall state at a public meeting that adequate notice of the meeting has been given. Any person may request the Clerk to mail him copies of any regular meeting schedule or revision and any advance written notice of any regular, special or rescheduled meeting of a municipal agency upon payment of a fee of $25 which will entitle such person to receive notice until December 31 of the year in question. The payment of $25 shall cover all municipal agencies or any lesser number referred to in §
3-52.
[Added 2-9-76 by Ord. No. 76-1-MM]
Editor's Note: See N.J.R.S. 104-6 et seq.
|
[Amended 11-12-79 by Ord. No. 79-197]
The Council, at its first meeting on or after January 1 of any
year, shall elect a President of the Council from among its members,
to serve for a term of one year or until the election and qualification
of his/her successor. At the same time the Council may elect a Vice
President of the Council, to serve for a period of one year or until
the election and qualification of his/her successor, who shall have
all of the functions, powers and duties of the President of the Council
whenever the President may be absent. In the absence of both the President
and Vice President of the Council, the Council shall elect a temporary
presiding officer who shall have the functions, powers and duties
of the President during his/her absence. Upon the arrival of the President
or the Vice President, as the case may be, the officer presiding shall
relinquish the Chair immediately upon the conclusion of the particular
item of business before the Council. The President of the Council
shall preside at its meetings. He/she shall preserve order and decorum
at all meetings of the Council. He/she shall state every question
coming before the Council, announce the decisions of the Council and
decide all questions of order, subject to appeal to the Council. He/she
shall appoint all special committees with the advice and consent of
the Council and shall sign all ordinances and resolutions adopted
by the Council during his/her presence.
As soon as a meeting is called to order, the Clerk or his Deputy
shall alphabetically call the roll of the members, and the names of
those present shall be entered in the minutes.
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 may adjourn any meeting from time to time.
[Amended 4-23-73 by Ord. No. 73-1-U; 2-14-77 by Ord. No. 77-1-XX; 3-11-85 by Ord. No. 85-643; 2-28-94
by Ord. No. 94-10]
A. The business of the Council at each action meeting shall be taken
up for consideration and disposition in the following order:
[Amended 2-28-94 by Ord. No. 94-10]
(2) Scheduling public hearings.
(3) Reports of Mayor, administrative officers, boards and committees.
(4) General public discussions.
(8) Petitions and communications.
B. Those items on the council agenda which are considered routine by
the Municipal Council shall be marked with an asterisk. Prior to voting
upon any item on the consent agenda, the Chair shall open the meeting
to the public and Council to entertain requests for removal from the
consent agenda. There will be no separate discussion of items on the
consent agenda unless a Council member or citizen so request, in which
event the item will be removed from the consent agenda and considered
in its normal sequence on the agenda. Items to be included in the
consent agenda may include, but are not limited to, the following:
approval of minutes, payment of bill list, conveyances, easements,
leases and agreements previously approved in principle and award of
bids. Those items which appear on the consent agenda are not required
to be read at the public meeting in their entirety but may be read
by description only. If a Council member requests the removal of an
item from the consent agenda, the Clerk shall read that item by title
only, unless the Council member requests that the item be read in
its entirety. Once a matter is placed on the consent agenda, there
will be no separate discussion of that item. Those items so approved
under the consent agenda will appear in the Council minutes in their
complete and proper form.
[Amended 3-13-78 by Ord. No. 78-3-A; 4-8-85 by Ord. No. 85-654]
Unless a reading of the minutes of the previous meeting is requested
by a member of the Council, such minutes may be approved without a
reading if the Clerk has previously furnished each member with a copy
thereof.
A. Presiding officer may debate and vote. 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 on all members, and shall not be deprived of any of
the rights and privileges of a Councilman by reason of his acting
as the presiding officer.
B. Obtaining the floor, improper references to be avoided. Every member
desiring to speak shall address the Chair and, upon recognition by
the presiding officer, shall confine himself to the question under
debate, avoiding all personalities and indecorous language.
C. Interruptions. A member, once recognized, shall not be interrupted
when speaking unless it is to call him to order or as herein otherwise
provided. If a member, while speaking, is called to order, he shall
cease speaking until the question of order is determined, and, if
in order, he shall be permitted to proceed.
D. Privilege of closing debate. The Councilman moving the adoption of
an ordinance or resolution shall have the privilege of closing the
debate.
E. Motion to reconsider. A motion to reconsider any action taken by
the Council may be made only on the day such action was taken. It
may be made either immediately during the same session or at a recessed
or adjourned session and may be seconded by any member. It may be
made at any time and have precedence over all other motions, and it
shall be debatable. Nothing herein shall be construed to prevent any
member of the Council from making or remaking the same or any other
motion at a subsequent meeting of the Council.
F. Synopsis of debate; when entered in minutes. The Clerk shall enter
in the minutes a synopsis of the discussion on any question coming
before the Council.
G. Remarks of councilman; when entered in minutes. 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.
H. Motion to adjourn. A motion to adjourn shall always be in order and
shall be decided without debate.
I. Other matters. Any matter not covered by these rules shall be governed
by Robert's Rules of Order (Revised).
Whenever a roll call vote is necessary, the Council shall vote
alphabetically, with the presiding officer voting last.
Voting silence or an abstention shall be construed as a vote
with the majority, except where a member disqualifies himself, in
which case he shall be considered as absent.
There shall be no standing committees of the Council other than
the committee of the whole. The President of the Council shall be
the presiding officer of the committee of the whole, and the rules
of procedure of the Council shall be observed in the committee of
the whole as far as the same may be applicable.
Upon recognition by the Chair, the person shall proceed to the
floor and 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 to any member thereof. A Councilman
shall not direct any question to a speaker addressing the Council,
except through the presiding officer.
The President of the Council may request the Division of Police
to designate a police officer to serve as Sergeant-at-Arms at Council
meetings. He shall carry out all orders and instructions given by
the presiding officer for the purpose of maintaining order and decorum
at Council meetings, and it shall be his duty to place any person
under arrest who violates the order and decorum of a meeting and to
cause him to be prosecuted under the provisions of this Code upon
a complaint signed by the presiding officer.
A. All ordinances shall be prepared by the Township Attorney upon direction
of the Council or the Mayor. Prior to introduction, each proposed
ordinance requiring or permitting administrative action may be submitted
to the Administrator and the department head concerned, each of whom
shall submit to the Council an opinion as to the administrative implications
of the proposed ordinance or resolution.
B. An ordinance or resolution may be introduced by any member of the
Council. Each ordinance and resolution shall be limited to a single
object which shall be expressed in its title.
C. All ordinances shall be introduced, read, heard and enacted in the
manner provided by general law. Each ordinance passed by the Council
shall be promptly delivered by the Clerk 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 Clerk, together with a statement setting forth his objections
thereto or to any item or part thereof. 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 or unless the Council, upon reconsideration
thereof on or after the third day following its return by the Mayor,
shall, by a vote of two thirds (2/3) of the members, resolve to override
the Mayor's veto.
D. No ordinance other than the local Budget Ordinance shall take effect
less than twenty (20) days after its final passage by Council and
approval by the Mayor, where such approval is required, unless the
Council shall adopt a resolution declaring an emergency and at least
two-thirds (2/3) of all members of the Council vote in favor of such
resolution.
Whenever an ordinance has been reconsidered by the Council following
a veto by the Mayor, the Clerk shall append to such ordinance a certification
of the action of the Council upon such reconsideration in substantially
the following form:
"I HEREBY CERTIFY that the above ordinance adopted by the Council
on the _____day of __________, 20_____, was delivered to the Mayor
on the _____day of __________, 20____, and was returned to me on the
_____day of ___________, 20 _____, together with the Mayor's statement
of the reasons for which he was constrained to withhold his approval
of such ordinance, item or part thereof. On reconsideration thereof
on the _____day of __________, 20_____(the Council duly resolved by
the affirmative vote of two-thirds of its members to enact such ordinance,
item or part thereof notwithstanding the Mayor's veto), or (the Mayor's
veto was sustained)."
Dated: __________
Clerk: __________
Whenever an ordinance shall take effect without the Mayor's
signature by reason of his failure to return it to the 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 __________, 20_____, and was presented
to the Mayor duly certified on the _____day of __________, 20_____,
and upon his failure to sign it or to return and file it with the
Clerk within ten days thereafter, the said ordinance took effect in
like manner as if the Mayor had signed it."
Dated: __________
Clerk: __________
The Council shall file with the Clerk all petitions, resolutions
or other papers considered by it on each matter. All reports to the
Council and all resolutions shall be filed with the Clerk.
With respect to appointments to be made by the Council, any
member of the Council may nominate as many candidates as there are
offices to be filled. Where there is a single office to be filled,
the sense of the Council on the appointment shall be taken as to each
nominee, and the nominee receiving a majority shall be deemed appointed.
Where there is more than one office to be filled, such as on a board
or authority, the same procedure shall be followed with respect to
each office separately until the total number of appointments to be
made has been completed. In the discretion of the Chair, a group of
nominations may be considered at once where there is no apparent division
in the Council as to the nominees included in the group.
[Added 10-9-78 by Ord. No. 78-70]
The East Brunswick Township Council shall have the authority
to appoint one person to serve as a trustee on the East Brunswick
Community Housing Corporation for a period of two years. The appointee
may be a member of the Township Council or a member of the general
public.
[Added 6-11-18 by Ord. No. 18-10]
The East Brunswick Arts Coalition Board shall consist of 12
members, of which seven will be appointed by the Mayor, with the advice
and consent of council.
The seven voting members, to be appointed by the Mayor with
the advice and consent of Council shall be allocated as follows:
Four (4) members will be residents of the Township.
Three (3) members will be selected using the Creative Arts Inventory
and are not required to be residents of the Township.
Each of following Organizations, the Township Arts Commission,
Museum Corporation, Human Relations Commission, Historical Society,
and Playhouse 22 shall appoint one member to represent their Organization
on the Board, for a total five members.
A. The Council may for cause remove any municipal officer or member of a board or commission for which the Council is required by statute to hold removal hearings, including the Zoning Board of Adjustment, Planning Board, Environmental Commission and Library Board, but the Council shall not have the power to remove the Mayor or a member of Council. Members of all other boards and commissions for which the Council is not required by statute to hold removal hearings shall be notified by the chairpersons of the board or commission, if such member misses two consecutive official meetings without good cause, that such member shall be removed from the board or commission if he or she misses a third meeting without good cause. The member shall have a right to appeal and request a hearing before the entire board or commission, which hearing and general proceedings shall be conducted under the same terms and provisions governing Council hearings under §
3-24B and
C of the Code of the Township of East Brunswick, and such board or commission shall conduct all other hearings on removal of a member for cause.
[Amended 9-27-76 by Ord. No. 76-1-QQ]
B. The Council shall consider a motion to remove for cause only after
removal has been duly proposed and considered at an agenda conference.
C. A motion for removal shall set forth the alleged cause for removal,
making specific charges, and provide for notice and an opportunity
to be heard to the affected officer. The Clerk shall forthwith cause
a copy of the motion for removal, together with a statement of the
causes and charges involved and notice of the time and place fixed
for the hearing, to be served personally or by certified mail upon
the officer affected. The hearing 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 hearings 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.
The Council may, in its discretion, require any municipal officer
to prepare and submit sworn statements regarding his official duties
and the performance thereof, and the Council may otherwise investigate
the conduct of any department, officer or agency of the municipal
government.
The Council shall cause to be made an annual audit of the municipality's
accounts and financial transactions, as required by law. Such annual
audit shall be made by a registered municipal accountant of New Jersey
selected by the Council.
[Amended 12-9-68 by Ord. No. 68-1-G]
Notwithstanding the provisions of Article
XI, the Township Council, by resolution, may from time to time appoint or retain an attorney, other than the Township Attorney, to advise and represent the Council in its capacity as the legislative body and governing body of the Township. No appointment or retainer shall extend beyond the calendar year in which it is made, except that the Council may permit an attorney to continue to represent it in any litigation which continues beyond the end of the calendar year. Whenever the Council directs the attorney appointed or retained under this section to represent it in any administrative proceedings or litigation, the Attorney to the Township Council shall be the official representative of the Council, and the Township Attorney's position shall be limited to representing the executive branch of the government.
[Amended 4-14-75 by Ord. No. 75-1-CC]
A. The Council may from time to time elect Municipal Constables as provided
for by law (N.J.R.S. 40:41-34 et seq.).
B. The total number of Constables elected shall not exceed five, and
each shall hold office for a term of three years from the date of
their appointment.
C. The Constables shall have the powers and duties prescribed by law
and, before entering upon the execution of their duties, shall furnish
bonds to the municipality in such sums as the Council may deem sufficient.
[Added 1-10-77 by Ord. No. 76-1-UU]
Due to the fact that smoking is a major cause of disease, disability,
public nuisance and irritation to smokers and nonsmokers alike, it
is hereby provided that smoking shall be prohibited at all meetings
of the Township Council and all joint meetings in which the Township
Council takes part. Notices shall be posted at all Council meetings
and on all Council meeting announcements indicating as follows: "Smoking
Not Permitted During Meetings of Township Council." Any violation
of this section shall result in a fine of not more than $25.