[Ord. No. 2010-28]
All legislative power of the City will be exercised by the City
Council pursuant to the Charter. The City 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.
[Ord. No. 2010-28]
The Council will organize annually during the first seven days
of January, at which time it will 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 Council shall select
a temporary presiding officer from among its members.
[Ord. No. 2010-28]
The absence at three sequential regularly scheduled sessions
of an elected or appointed official may constitute grounds for removal
by the Governing Body requiring a roll call vote of 2/3 of the majority
of the members present.
[Ord. No. 2010-28]
The City 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 Municipal Council,
the City Clerk shall, in the proper order of business, announce the
subject and author of all correspondence on the agenda. At the request
of any member, any item of correspondence shall be read in full.
[Ord. No. 2010-28]
The agenda for each regular meeting of the Council shall be
prepared by the Clerk and made available to the Councilmen 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, posted on the bulletin board at City Hall
and on the website.
[Ord. No. 2010-28]
Vacancies in the Council shall be filled by election for the
remainder of the unexpired term at the next general election to be
held not less than 60 days after the occurrence of the vacancy. Council
shall fill the vacancy temporarily by appointment to serve until the
qualification of a person so elected. Any person appointed to fill
a vacancy shall be a member of the same political party as the prior
incumbent.
[Ord. No. 2010-28]
a.
Regular Meetings. The Council shall hold its reorganization meeting annually as set forth in subsection 2-3.2. The Council shall meet regularly thereafter on the third Monday of each month at 7:30 which will be set at the annual reorganizational meeting of Mayor and Council and shall be held at the Justice Center located at 25 South Union Street in the City of Lambertville. 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.
b.
Special Meetings. 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.).
[Ord. No. 2010-28]
The vote upon every motion, resolution or ordinance shall be
taken at the direction of the officer presiding by either voice vote
or roll call vote. The vote shall be "aye" or "nay" or words to the
effect of affirmative or negative by each member. There shall be no
further discussion once the question has been called. Any member of
the Council may abstain from voting at any time. When a roll is called
on any question, the silence of a Council member 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
City Clerk.
[Ord. No. 2010-28]
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.
b.
Except as may be otherwise provided in the Optional Municipal Charter
Law, all ordinances and resolutions shall be prepared by the City
Attorney, the City Clerk or the Mayor's designee 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 City 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. Prior to its introduction before the Council, the City Clerk
shall give each Council member a copy of each ordinance. After first
reading and approval of any ordinance, said ordinance shall be published
as required by law in at least one newspaper having circulation within
the City. Such publication of the ordinances 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.
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 City Clerk shall record all ordinances and resolutions adopted
by the Council and, at the close of each year, shall compile or codify
all the ordinances and resolutions, or true copies thereof, of the
City which then remain in effect. The City Clerk shall also properly
index the records books, compilation or codification of ordinances
and resolutions.
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 City Clerk shall forthwith provide each member of the
Council with a copy thereof and shall provide the City Attorney with
a copy. Each ordinance and resolution shall be limited to a single
subject (object), which shall be clearly expressed in its title.
g.
Except as may otherwise be provided by the Charter, all ordinances
shall be adopted and published in the manner required by general law.
h.
The ordinance providing compensation for the Mayor, Councilmembers
and department heads shall be adopted by Mayor and Council every three
years. A resolution of salaries and benefits shall be adopted immediately
after the adoption of the budget and shall take effect immediately
as provided by law.
[Ord. No. 2010-28]
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:
[Amended 5-16-2019 by Ord. No. 10-2019]
|
Statement of Compliance with the Open Public Meetings Act
|
|
Roll Call
|
|
Pledge of Allegiance
|
|
Moment of Silence
|
|
Approval of Minutes
|
|
Administrative Reports
|
|
Approval of the Bills List
|
|
Resolutions
|
|
Ordinances - First reading
|
|
Ordinances - Final reading
|
|
Correspondence
|
|
Ongoing Projects
|
|
Constituent Concerns
|
|
Announcements
|
|
Public Participation
|
|
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 10 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
shall 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 shall 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 has
taken 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 Councilmember 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 the 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
three 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.
[Amended 3-17-2022 by Ord. No. 03-2022]
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 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.
