[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council of the Borough
of Waldwick 12-22-92 as Ord. No. 16-92]
[Amended 3-25-08 by Ord. No. 5-08]
A present or former municipal employee, appointee, official,
elected official or member of the various boards, agencies, commissions
of the Borough of Waldwick and members of WALVAC.
A.
The Borough of Waldwick is hereby authorized to provide for the necessary
means for the defense of any action or legal proceeding brought against
its municipal officials and to indemnify such municipal officials
to the extent hereinafter set forth and shall save harmless and protect
such persons from any financial loss resulting from litigation.
B.
The Borough of Waldwick is authorized to indemnify a municipal official
for exemplary or punitive damages if the governing body determines
that the acts committed by the official upon which the damages are
based did not constitute actual fraud, actual malice, willful misconduct
or an intentional wrong.
C.
The obligation of the Borough of Waldwick to defend and indemnify
its officials shall be limited to actions or legal proceedings arising
out of and directly related to the lawful performance of the municipal
official's duties, and shall be limited to those circumstances
under which the Borough itself would be liable for the acts of its
municipal officials under the doctrine of respondent superior.
A.
The Borough of Waldwick is authorized to provide for the defense
of a criminal action brought against a municipal official, provided
that such a defense is authorized by statute, municipal ordinance
or by resolution and provided further that the criminal action was
not instituted as a result of a complaint on behalf of the Borough.
A defense shall only be provided for criminal charges arising out
of and directly related to the lawful performance of the municipal
official's duties.
B.
The Borough of Waldwick shall reimburse a municipal officer the reasonable
costs of defending a criminal action arising out of or directly related
to the lawful performance of the duties of the municipal official,
provided that:
1.
It is authorized by State statute, municipal ordinance or by resolution,
and provided that the criminal proceedings have been dismissed or
result in a final disposition in favor of the municipal official.
2.
The Mayor and Council determines that there is no good cause to dismiss
the municipal official because of the incident or related incidents
forming the basis of the criminal proceedings.
The Mayor and Council shall not provide indemnification or the
defense of any claim or action if:
A.
The act or omission complained of was not within the scope of the
municipal official's employment or authority.
B.
The act or omission complained of was because of actual fraud, willful
misconduct or actual malice.
C.
The defense of the action or proceeding would create a conflict of
interest between the Borough and the official involved.
D.
There exist policies of insurance, either obtained by the Borough
or by another by virtue of which the municipal official is entitled
to a defense of the action in question from the insurer.
E.
The municipal official has failed to deliver to the Mayor and Council,
within fifteen (15) days of the time he or she is served with any
summons, complaints, process, notice, demand or pleading, the original
or copy of such document or thereafter fails to cooperate with the
Borough in the defense or the matter.
F.
The official fails to request the defense of any action.
G.
The action was brought by the Borough.
If the Mayor and Council determines to provide a defense as
authorized in this chapter, it may do so by:
In addition to the provisions hereof, all officials of the Borough
shall be entitled to indemnification as provided in all applicable
State legislation.
This ordinance shall take effect upon passage and publication
as required by law.
