[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council of the Borough
of Montvale as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
[Adopted 12-14-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-1336 (Ch. 63 of the 1966
Code)]
A. Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 2B:12-1, there
is hereby created a joint municipal court composed of the Borough
of Montvale, and the Boroughs of Park Ridge and Woodcliff Lake (collectively,
the "municipalities"), all located in Bergen County, New Jersey, to
be known as the "Pascack Joint Municipal Court."
B. The Pascack Joint Municipal Court
will be governed by a shared services agreement among the aforesaid
municipalities and is subject to the terms thereof which will embody
the provisions of this article.
C. Montvale shall provide the Joint
Court facilities, personnel, and resources at the Montvale Municipal
Building located at 12 Mercedes Drive, Montvale, and all Joint Court
sessions shall be held at the Montvale location.
(1) Joint Court facilities will
include the courtroom, office(s) and storage space for Court administration,
Judge's chamber, Prosecutor's office, and archive storage.
(2) Joint Court personnel will
include a Judge, Prosecutor, Public Defender, Court Administrator
and Court staff, as well as standard security personnel.
(3) Joint Court resources will
include, but not be limited to, state-provided computer hardware and
software, audio-visual equipment, appropriate municipal court forms,
and manual and electronic payment processing.
D. The Joint Court operations shall
be managed by Montvale as a joint court pursuant to N.J.S.A. 2B:12-1b,
using one set of books and one court calendar.
E. The municipalities will each receive
and retain all net revenues generated by all cases on their respective
court dockets as is currently provided and in accordance with applicable
statutes.
The effective date for the creation of the Pascack Joint Municipal
Court shall be the later of March 1, 2011, or the date of approval
by the State of New Jersey Administrative Office of Courts and the
Assignment Judge of the Superior Court of New Jersey, Bergen County.
The Court shall remain in effect until December 31, 2018, unless subsequently
extended or renewed by the municipalities.
The jurisdiction of the Pascack Joint Municipal Court shall
be coextensive with the territory of the Boroughs of Montvale, Park
Ridge, and Woodcliff Lake.
A. A Joint Court Advisory Committee
(herein referred to as the "Advisory Committee") is created and shall
consist of two Council members from each municipality together with
the respective Borough Administrators of the municipalities, the Joint
Court Administrator and the Joint Court Judge. The Mayors of the municipalities
shall be ex officio members of the Advisory Committee. The Advisory
Committee shall periodically meet as may be necessary to ensure that
all of the obligations under this agreement are being satisfied.
(1) Each municipality shall have
one vote regardless of the number of Advisory Committee representatives
appointed. The Joint Court Administrator and Joint Court Judge shall
be members of the Advisory Committee but shall not have voting privileges.
(2) The Advisory Committee shall
meet at such times and places as deemed necessary, but in no event
less than annually, and shall be responsible for raising and addressing
questions or concerns related to Joint Court operations and long-term
planning. A meeting of the Advisory Committee may be called by the
Joint Court Judge or by any two municipalities.
(3) The Advisory Committee shall
review the qualifications of all Court professionals being considered
for appointment to the Joint Court. The Court professionals shall
be recommended by the majority vote of the Advisory Committee.
B. Each municipality shall annually
notify the other municipalities of the name(s) of its Advisory Committee
representatives and identify their representative with primary voting
responsibility and their alternate voting member no later than 15
days after its respective municipal reorganization meeting.
C. All Advisory Committee actions
must be approved by a simple majority of the voting members, except
as otherwise provided.
D. Initial Joint Court Administration
personnel shall be selected by the Advisory Committee from among the
current court staff of the municipalities. Thereafter, responsibility
for hiring, administration, oversight, and discipline of all Joint
Court Administration personnel shall be the sole responsibility of
Montvale, except as otherwise provided by law. Montvale shall be responsible
for payment of the salary, wages, and any associated benefits provided
to these employees, subject to contribution as set forth in this article.
The services of these employees will be made available to the municipalities,
as needed.
A. Responsibilities of Montvale.
(1) Montvale shall act as the lead
agency in the delivery of Joint Court facilities, personnel, and resources.
(2) The enforcement officers of
Montvale shall coordinate their court calendar requirements with the
Joint Court, which shall hold regular court sessions as determined
by the Judge.
(3) Montvale shall coordinate the
Joint Court calendar for case hearings with the supported municipalities.
Wherever practical, case hearings requiring prisoner transport for
each municipality will be held together in order to minimize demands
on the local police forces.
(4) Judge and other professional
personnel.
(a) Montvale shall discontinue
the use of its current professionals upon commencement of the Joint
Court and shall appoint and/or employ the professionals selected by
the Advisory Committee.
(b) Montvale shall be responsible
for payment of the salary, wages, and any associated benefits that
may be provided to these Court professionals for the term of the agreement,
subject to contribution as set forth in this article.
(c) The services of all appointed Court professionals
will be made available to all municipalities per the Joint Court calendar.
(5) Montvale shall provide standard
courtroom security for all court sessions. Prisoner transport shall
be the responsibility of the municipality requiring such prisoner
transport. Extraordinary security measures requiring additional security
personnel shall be determined by the Judge. The cost of providing
extraordinary security will be shared equally by the municipalities.
(6) Montvale will be responsible
for arranging the repairs, maintenance, or replacement of any damaged
or unusable facilities, furniture and/or resources in the Joint Court
facilities and the public municipal hall. Montvale and the supported
municipalities will share equally the cost of all such repairs, maintenance
and replacement. It is understood and agreed that the Joint Court
is responsible for a pro rata share of repairs, maintenance and/or
replacement of facilities, furniture and resources that are utilized
by the Joint Court and other entities in Montvale, such as the Planning
Board and governing body, and that the Joint Court's pro rata share
of such costs are properly attributable to the Joint Court for purposes
of this agreement.
B. Responsibilities of Woodcliff Lake
and Park Ridge.
(1) The municipalities of Woodcliff
Lake and Park Ridge shall be deemed the "supported municipalities"
under the terms of this article.
(2) The enforcement officers of
the supported municipalities shall coordinate their court calendar
requirements with the Court Administrator of the Joint Court.
(3) Each municipality shall retain
the right to hire its own Court professionals if desired, as provided
by the New Jersey Statues, under separately negotiated employment
contracts and at its sole cost.
(4) The supported municipalities
shall discontinue use of their current Court Administration personnel
upon commencement of the Joint Court and shall appoint and/or employ
the Court Administration employees selected by the Advisory Committee.
(5) The supported municipalities
shall provide for their own prisoner transport.
A. There shall be one Joint Municipal
Court Judge. Pursuant to Article VI, Section VI of the New Jersey
Constitution, the Judge of the Joint Court shall be nominated and
appointed by the Governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate.
Any and all recommendations made to the Governor for such nomination
and appointment shall be made by the Advisory Committee in consultation
with the Vicinage Assignment Judge. During any vacancy in the office
of Judge of the Joint Court, the Acting Judge shall be appointed by
the Vicinage Assignment Judge, in accordance with N.J.S.A. 2B:12-6.
B. The Municipal Court Judge shall
have and possess the qualifications and shall have, possess and exercise
all the functions, duties, powers and jurisdiction conferred by law
or ordinance. The Judge shall be an attorney-at-law of the State of
New Jersey. Whenever the Municipal Court Judge is unable to sit as
such, he may designate any other judge of any municipal court to sit
for him/her temporarily and hold the Municipal Court. Any such judge
shall possess all of the powers of the Municipal Court Judge.
C. The Municipal Court Judge shall
faithfully carry out all of the duties and responsibilities of a Municipal
Court Judge and shall abide by all rules and regulations established
for municipal courts and Municipal Court Judges by the Administrative
Office of the Courts.
D. The Municipal Court Judge shall
have full management authority of judicial operations of the Court.
Administrative operations shall be under the control of the Advisory
Committee to the extent permitted by law and authorized by agreement
of the municipalities.
E. The compensation of the Municipal
Court Judge shall be determined by the Advisory Committee, and such
compensation shall be allocated and billed to each municipality as
set forth herein.
There shall be one Prosecutor of the Municipal Court who shall
prosecute all cases in the Municipal Court. The Prosecutor shall be
appointed for a one-year term by the Advisory Committee and the municipalities
in accordance with the procedures set forth in this article. The compensation
of the Prosecutor shall be determined by the Advisory Committee, and
such compensation shall be allocated and billed to each municipality
as set forth herein.
There shall be one Public Defender of the Municipal Court who
shall represent those defendants assigned by the Municipal Court Judge.
The Public Defender shall be appointed for a one-year term by the
Advisory Committee and the municipalities in accordance with the procedures
set forth in this article. The compensation of the Public Defender
shall be determined by the Advisory Committee, and such compensation
shall be allocated and billed to each municipality as set forth herein.
There shall be an Administrator of the Municipal Court who shall
perform the functions and duties prescribed for the Administrator
by law, by the rules applicable to municipal courts and by the Municipal
Court Judge. The Administrator shall be appointed in accordance with
the procedures set forth in this article. The compensation of the
Administrator shall be determined by the Advisory Committee, and such
compensation shall be allocated and billed to each municipality as
set forth herein. The Administrator's duties shall include, but not
be limited to:
A. Carrying out the rules, regulations,
policies and procedures relating to the operations of the Municipal
Court.
B. Interviewing and speaking to persons
wishing to file criminal complaints or quasi-criminal complaints or
wishing information in this regard.
C. Receiving complaints and dispensing
information relating to Municipal Court matters.
D. Maintaining the financial records
of the Municipal Court, including receiving and accounting for fines
and costs.
E. Attending Municipal Court; recording
pleas, judgments and dispositions; arranging trial calendars; signing
Municipal Court documents; preparing and issuing warrants and commitments
and other Municipal Court-related documents.
F. Maintaining and classifying records
and files of the Municipal Court.
G. Maintaining, forwarding, receiving
and reporting such records, reports and files as required by the appropriate
agencies.
H. Carrying out such additional duties
as may be required in order to fulfill the duties of Administrator.
There may be one or more Deputy Court Administrators of the Municipal Court who shall be appointed in accordance with the procedures set forth in §
20-4, provided that funds are provided for such purpose in the Municipal Court budget. Deputy Municipal Court Administrators shall perform the functions assigned to them by the Municipal Court Judge and the Administrator. The compensation of the Deputy Administrator shall be determined by the Advisory Committee, and such compensation shall be allocated and billed to each municipality as set forth herein.
There may be appointed such other necessary clerical and other
assistant staff for the Municipal Court as is necessary for the efficient
operation of the Municipal Court, who shall be appointed in accordance
with the procedures set forth in this article for administrative personnel.
The compensation of these employees shall be determined by the Advisory
Committee, and such compensation shall be allocated and billed to
each municipality as set forth herein.
A municipality may withdraw from participation in the Joint
Municipal Court by delivering written notice to the Joint Court and
all municipalities of its intentions to withdraw no less than one
full year prior to the date of withdrawal. All withdrawals shall be
effective January 1, no earlier than one full year subsequent to the
date of notice of withdrawal. Withdrawal of one or more municipalities
from the Joint Court shall not preclude the other municipalities from
forming or continuing a joint municipal court on terms acceptable
to them.
Montvale may solicit other municipalities to the Joint Court.
In the event that a contract with an additional municipality is pending
or contemplated, Montvale will present the anticipated impacts on
staffing and operating expenses to the Advisory Committee and recommend
adjustments to the annual base fee associated with providing Joint
Court facilities, personnel, and resources, as appropriate. Notwithstanding
the foregoing, any amendment to include an additional municipality
shall require approval by all municipalities as required by law and
the agreement authorized by this article.
A. The Administrator shall prepare
or have prepared a budget for the Municipal Court which shall be submitted
to the governing body of each municipality no later than October 1
of each year. The budget shall set forth an estimate of all expenses
and projected revenues for the upcoming calendar year and shall be
in a form that is consistent with municipal budgets. By November 15
of each year, the Advisory Committee members shall adopt a budget
in accordance with the procedures set forth in this article. If a
budget and appointments are not approved by that date, then one or
more meetings shall be held among the Advisory Committee, the Administrator
and the Municipal Court Judge until such time as a budget and appointments
agreeable to all members are agreed upon by December 31. Any irreconcilable
differences shall be decided by the Vicinage Assignment Judge.
B. Accounting records for the expenses
associated with Joint Court operations will be maintained by Montvale
and shall be available for inspection by municipalities upon request.
Review of actual expenses associated with the delivery of Joint Court
services will be done at least annually by the Advisory Committee.
C. Full accounting records of each
calendar year's Joint Court operations will be available no later
than the statutory municipal audit filing date of June 30 of the following
year.
A. Each of the supported municipalities
will keep in force, at their respective sole expenses, comprehensive
general liability insurance with insurance companies licensed in the
State of New Jersey or with the Bergen County Municipal Joint Insurance
Fund, which insurance shall be evidenced by certificates and/or policies
as determined by Montvale.
B. Each of the supported municipalities
shall respectively provide this comprehensive general liability insurance
with a combined single limit of $1,000,000/$3,000,000 aggregate for
bodily injury and property damage. A claims made policy is not acceptable.
This insurance shall indicate on the certificate of insurance the
following coverages:
(2) Use of independent contractors
and/or subcontractors;
(3) Products and completed operations;
(5) Broad form property endorsement.
C. Each certificate or policy shall
require that a thirty-day notice shall be given to Montvale by registered
mail, return receipt requested, if any policy or any individual coverage
is altered or canceled. All such notices shall name the municipality
and identify the agreement or municipal contract number if applicable.
D. Certificates of insurance shall
be delivered to the Borough of Montvale, prior to the commencement
of the agreement authorized by this article, and all certificates
of insurance shall name the Borough of Montvale, its officers, employees
and agents as additional insured thereon.
E. The insurance required under this
section shall protect each of the supported municipalities and all
subcontractors, respectively, against damage claims which may arise
from operations under this article whether such operations are by
the insured or by anyone directly or indirectly employed by the supported
municipalities and also against any of the special hazards which may
be encountered in the performance of the Joint Court agreement authorized
by this article.
F. All policies and certificates
of insurance shall be approved by each of the municipalities prior
to the inception of any work done under the Joint Court agreement
authorized by this article.
A. Contribution.
(1) The supported municipalities
shall each pay a percentage of the total costs incurred annually for
the use of the Joint Court facilities, personnel, and resources ("operational
costs"). This percentage will be equal to the ratio of court revenue
realized by each municipality to total court revenue for all municipalities.
The Advisory Committee shall review the cost allocator percentage
on an annual basis. The percentage used to allocate responsibility
for operational costs shall not be revised more than once per year.
(2) Each supported municipality
shall pay its share of the operational costs quarterly, no later than
the 15th day of April, July, October, and January, directly to the
Borough of Montvale. This payment entitles each of the supported municipalities
to the full use of the Joint Court facilities, personnel, and resources.
(3) The municipalities recognize
that Montvale will incur some implementation expenses associated with
the establishment of the Joint Court, including those specifically
and uniquely required by the State of New Jersey Administrative Office
of Courts and the Assignment Judge of the Superior Court of New Jersey,
Bergen County. Proposed implementation expenses will be reviewed by
the Advisory Committee and, if deemed reasonable by a majority of
the Advisory Committee, will be apportioned equally among each of
the municipalities to this agreement for payment. The supported municipalities
each agree to pay Montvale their equal share of implementation expenses
within 60 days after submission of the bill and invoice.
(4) Municipal checks for payment
shall be made out to the Borough of Montvale, reference the invoice
number on the memo line, and be returned to the Municipal Treasurer,
Borough of Montvale, 12 Mercedes Drive, Montvale, New Jersey 07645.
B. Revenue.
(1) All municipal revenue accounts
will be reconciled on or before the 15th day of each month per New
Jersey Court Rule 7:14-4, Financial Control. Supporting financial
data by municipality from the Joint Court information system will
be used to establish the accurate amounts to be transferred to each
party to the Joint Court agreement.
(2) Checks for monthly revenue
will be made out to the municipalities within three business days
of municipal revenue account reconciliation and mailed to the appropriate
municipal building address.
(3) Municipality income accounting
will be done monthly to track and report on the monthly revenue transfer
from Joint Court to each municipality; and a quarterly municipal income
summary will be generated showing all income by municipality by month
and for the quarter.
As provided in the Uniform Shared Services and Consolidation
Act, P.L. 2007, c. 63 (N.J.S.A. 40A:65-1 et seq.), in the event of
any dispute as to the amount to be paid under the terms of the Joint
Court agreement, the full amount shall be paid without prejudice to
the disputing parties. If through subsequent negotiation, litigation,
or settlement, the amount due shall be determined, agreed to, or adjudicated
to be less than was actually so paid, Montvale shall promptly pay
the excess owed.
The governing body of the Borough of Montvale is hereby authorized
to enter into a shared services agreement embodying the provisions
of this article pursuant to the Uniform Shared Services and Consolidation
Act, N.J.S.A. 40A:65-1 et seq. (the "Act") in accordance with the
terms thereof. In the event of a discrepancy between this article
and the Uniform Shared Services and Consolidation Act and any amendments
thereto, the Act shall take precedence.
[Adopted 4-12-2005 by Ord. No. 2005-1232 (Ch. 38, Art. IV, of the 1966 Code)]
All requests for discovery in matters pending
in the Borough of Montvale Municipal Court shall be submitted through
the Municipal Prosecutor.
[Amended 3-26-2013 by Ord. No. 2013-1372]
The fees payable by the requestor to the Borough of Montvale for the discovery provided shall be as set forth in §
97-7 of this Code. Notwithstanding the foregoing, to the extent said fees conflict with the fee schedule promulgated by the Administrative Director of the Courts, the latter shall control.
Where the discovery must be obtained from an
entity other than the Borough of Montvale, e.g., another police department,
the actual costs paid to the other entity shall be paid by the requestor.