[New]
The Township of Fairfield is governed by the Small Municipality
Plan of the Optional Municipal Charter Law, Chapter 210 of New Jersey
Laws of 1950, as amended and supplemented, N.J.S.A. 40:69A-115 et
seq., and any and all general laws as therein defined which are or
may be applicable to the Township. As provided in its Charter, the
Councilmembers shall be elected by the voters of the Township.
At the general election held on the first Tuesday after the
first Monday in November or at such other time as may be provided
by law for holding general elections, in which case the term of office
of the Councilmembers shall begin on January 1 next following their
election.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See N.J.S.A. 40:69A-117.1. For Statutes concerning
continuance of Charter adopted in 1978, see N.J.S.A. 40:69A-208.3.
General authority to regulate the internal affairs of the Township
derives from N.J.S.A. 40:69A-29.
[New]
All legislative power of the Township will be exercised by the
Township Council pursuant to the Charter. The Township Council, in
addition to such other powers and duties as may be conferred upon
it by the Charter or otherwise by general law, may require any municipal
officer to prepare and submit sworn statements regarding his official
duties and the performance thereof, and may investigate the conduct
of any department, office or agency of the municipal government.
[New; Ord. No. 2009-33 § 1]
The Council shall organize annually during the first week of
January, at which time it shall select a President of the Council
from among its members. The Mayor shall preside over all meetings
of the Council. In the absence of the Mayor, the President shall preside.
In the absence of the Mayor and the President, the Councilmember having
the most seniority on the Council shall be the next presiding officer.
[New]
Vacancies in the Council shall be filled in the manner provided
by Statutes. Any person appointed to fill a vacancy shall be a member
of the same political party as the prior incumbent.
[New]
The Township Clerk, appointed by the Mayor with the advice and
consent of the Council, shall maintain, prepare and sign the minutes
of the Council, maintain the records of the Council and perform such
other duties as shall be assigned. At public meetings of the Council,
the Township Clerk shall, in the proper order of business, announce
the subject and author of all correspondence received. At the request
of any member, any item of correspondence shall be read in full.
[New]
The agenda for each regular meeting of the Council shall be
prepared by the Clerk and made available to the Councilmember 24 hours
prior to the opening of the meeting. Written notice of changes in
the agenda shall be made available to each Councilmember prior to
the convening of a meeting. Additional copies of the agenda shall
be available to the public.
[New]
The Council shall hold its reorganization meeting annually as set forth in Subsection 2-1.3. The Council shall meet regularly thereafter in the Municipal Building for regular Council meetings as established by Resolution of the Council. When the time for any regular meeting of the Council falls on a legal holiday, as prescribed by law, such meeting shall be rescheduled, if necessary.
[New]
Special meetings, emergency meetings, executive sessions and
special public hearings, when necessary, will be held in accordance
with the provisions of the Open Public Meetings Act (N.J.S.A. 10:4-6,
et seq.).
[New]
The vote upon every motion, resolution or ordinance shall be
taken by roll call. The vote shall be "aye" or "nay" or word to effect
of affirmative or negative by each member, and there shall be no further
discussion following the commencement of the roll call. The vote of
each member shall be entered on the minutes. Any member of the Council
may abstain from voting at any time. When the roll is called on any
question, the silence of a Councilmember present shall constitute
an affirmative vote unless he states that he abstains. The question
shall be determined by a majority of those members voting unless otherwise
provided by law. The minutes of each meeting shall be signed by the
officer presiding and by the Township Clerk.
[New]
a.
Each ordinance or resolution shall be introduced in written or typewritten
form and shall be read and considered as provided by general law.
The vote upon every motion, resolution or ordinance shall be taken
by roll call and the "ayes" and "nays" shall be entered into the minutes.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See N.J.S.A. 40:69A-180.
b.
Except as may be otherwise provided in the Optional Municipal Charter
Law, all ordinances and resolutions shall be prepared by the Township
Attorney and shall only then be adopted and published in the manner
required by general law. However, any ordinance may incorporate by
reference any standard technical regulations or code official or unofficial,
which need not be so published whenever three copies of such regulations
or code have been placed on file in the office of the Township Clerk
and in the office of the body or department charged with the enforcement
of said ordinance for the examination of the public so long as said
ordinance is in effect.[2] Prior to its introduction before the Council, the Township
Clerk shall give each Councilmember a copy of each ordinance. After
first reading and adoption of any ordinance, said ordinances shall
be published in full in at least one newspaper having circulation
within the Township. Such publication of the ordinance shall be at
least 10 days prior to the time of final reading. The public shall
have the opportunity to speak on the ordinance at the time of final
reading prior to its adoption.
[2]
Editor's Note: See N.J.S.A. 40:69A-181.
c.
Unless otherwise provided by law, ordinances shall take effect not
less than 20 days after final passage by Council. All ordinances and
resolutions shall require an affirmative vote from a majority of the
Council for adoption unless specified otherwise.
d.
The Township Clerk shall record all ordinances and resolutions adopted
by the Council[3] and, at the close of each year, with the advice and assistance
of the Township Attorney, shall bind, compile or codify all the ordinances
and resolutions, or true copies thereof, of the municipality which
then remain in effect. The Township Clerk shall also properly index
the record books, compilation or codification of ordinances and resolutions.
[3]
Editor's Note: See N.J.S.A. 40:69A-182.
e.
Prior to introduction, any proposed ordinances permitting or requiring
administrative action shall be submitted to the Mayor and to the department
head concerned.
f.
An ordinance or resolution may be introduced by any member of the
Council. The Clerk shall forthwith provide each member of the Council
with a copy thereof and shall provide the Municipal Attorney with
a copy. Each ordinance and resolution shall be limited to a single
subject (object), which shall be clearly expressed in its title.
h.
The ordinance providing compensation for the Mayor, Councilmen and
department heads shall be adopted by the Council immediately after
its organization and shall take effect immediately as provided by
law.
[New]
a.
Order of Business. Promptly at the hour designated, all regular and
special meetings of the Council shall commence. Unless otherwise authorized
by resolution of Council, all business coming before the Council shall
be heard and voted on in the following order:
1.
Roll call.
2.
Approval of minutes of previous meeting.
3.
Reports of elected officials, department heads, Township officers
and official correspondence.
4.
Resolutions.
5.
Ordinances - first reading.
6.
Ordinances - final reading.
7.
Written communications.
8.
Old business.
9.
New business.
10.
Petition of citizens and public discussion.
11.
Adjournment.
b.
Call to Order. The Mayor shall call each meeting to order. In his
absence, the President of the Council shall call the meeting to order
and shall preside during the absence of the Mayor. The Mayor shall
assume the chair as soon as he is in attendance at any meeting which
may have been called to order in his absence and the President of
the Council shall thereupon relinquish the chair.
d.
Quorum Call. At the opening of each meeting of the Council, the Clerk
shall call the roll and the names of those present shall be recorded
in the minutes. Three members of the Council shall constitute a quorum
for the conduct of business, but no ordinance shall be adopted except
by affirmative vote of three members of the Council. If a quorum is
not present 1/2 hour after the appointed time for any meeting, the
meeting shall be deemed adjourned.
e.
Distribution and Reading of Minutes. The Clerk shall, insofar as
is practicable, prepare and distribute to the Council the minutes
of each meeting within seven days of the meeting. The minutes of any
meeting may be approved without reading whenever they have been distributed
at least 24 hours prior to the time of approval. The Clerk shall promptly
post a copy of the approved minutes in a public place in the Municipal
Building and leave such copy posted for 30 days.
f.
Committees. The rules of the Council shall, insofar as applicable,
govern meetings of the committee of the whole and other committees
of Council which may be appointed from time to time. Special committees
of Council for legislative purposes may be appointed by the Mayor
pursuant to resolution. No special committee shall proceed to the
consideration of any matter referred to it unless a majority of the
members of that committee shall be present. No special committee shall
report on a matter referred to it at the same meeting at which reference
is made, except by unanimous consent of the members of that committee.
g.
Nominations and Appointments. Nominations submitted by the Mayor
will be considered and may be confirmed at the regular meeting at
which they are submitted or may be acted upon at the next regular
meeting. Any member of the Council may move a nomination. 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.
The Council will consider such nominations. Where there is a single
office to be filled, the sense of the Council on the appointment shall
be taken as to each nominee in alphabetical order, and the first nominee
to receive a majority shall be deemed appointed. Where there is more
than one office to be filled, such as a board, commission 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.
h.
Rules of Debate.
1.
Except as otherwise specifically provided in these rules, the proceedings
of Council shall be governed by Robert's Rules of Order.
2.
The presiding officer shall have all of the rights, powers and duties
of a Councilmember, as elsewhere provided within this Code.
3.
A member of the Council shall be entitled to the floor only upon
recognition by the chair. Once a member has been recognized and taken
to the floor, he shall not be interrupted for any reason other than
a call to order, and in such case the chair shall promptly rule on
the point of order and the speaker shall be allowed to continue if
he is in order.
4.
A motion to reconsider may be made by a Council-member on the prevailing
side. Such motion may be made only at the same meeting or at an adjournment
thereof at which the action was taken.
5.
A Councilmember shall be entitled to have his remarks included in
the minutes, with the consent of Council.
6.
The Mayor, with the consent of Council, may direct a synopsis of
the debate on any question to be included in the minutes.
i.
Addressing the Council.
1.
Persons other than Councilmembers may be permitted to address the
Council in the proper order of business. A person present may, upon
recognition by the chair, be heard in order of petitions of citizenry
and public discussion. A person present may, upon recognition by the
chair and with the consent of a majority of the Councilmembers present,
be heard at any other time. No person shall address any remark or
question to any specific Councilmember nor to any other person present
except by permission of the majority of the Council. A Councilmember
may, through the chair, respond to any communication or address received
pursuant to this section.
2.
Except upon consent of the Council, each person addressing the Council
pursuant to this section shall be required to limit his remarks to
five minutes and shall at no time engage in any personally offensive
or abusive remarks. The chair shall call any speaker to order who
violates any provision of this rule.
j.
Decorum.
1.
Each member of the Council shall cooperate with the chair in preserving
order and decorum, and no member shall, by conversation or otherwise,
delay or interrupt the proceedings of the Council nor disturb any
member while speaking or fail to abide by the orders of the Council
or its presiding officer, except as specifically permitted by these
rules.
2.
Any person who shall disturb the peace of the Council, make impertinent
or slanderous remarks or conduct himself in a boisterous manner while
addressing the Council shall be forthwith barred by the presiding
officer from further audience before the Council, except that if the
speaker shall submit to proper order under these rules, permission
for him to continue may be granted by a majority vote of Council.
3.
The Police Department shall designate a member of the Department
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 such meetings. He shall
not be required to be in attendance at the meeting, provided that
he is present in the Municipal Building during the time of the meeting
whenever possible.
k.
Filing of Reports, Petitions and Resolutions. All reports to the
Council and all resolutions and all petitions shall be filed with
the Clerk and referenced in the minutes of the Council.
l.
Adjournment. A motion to adjourn shall always be in order and shall
be decided without debate.
[1]
Editor's Note: N.J.S.A. 40:69A-10 states that Council shall
determine its own rules of procedure, not inconsistent with ordinance
or Statute.
