A. 
All powers of the municipality and the determination of all matters of policy shall be vested in the Council except as otherwise provide by law.
B. 
Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 26:3-1 et seq., Township Council shall be the duly constituted Board of Health.
[Added at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
A. 
The compensation of each member of the Council shall be $2,069 per annum, to be paid as all other salaries are paid.
B. 
The Mayor, by reason of his/her additional duties, shall receive an additional $2,893 annually, to be paid as all other salaries are paid.
[Amended 7-24-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-35; 2-3-2025 by Ord. No. 2025-02]
A. 
At 12:00 noon on January 1, or at some other hour on any day during the first week in January following each election of Council, the Council shall assemble at the Municipal Building of the Township, the Verona Community Center Ballroom or another appropriate location to organize and elect one of the Councilpersons as Mayor. The Mayor shall be chosen by ballot by majority vote of all members of the Council. If the members shall be unable, within five ballots to be taken within two days of the organization meeting, to elect a Mayor, then the member who in the last election for members of the Council received the greatest number of votes shall be the Mayor. Should such person decline to accept the office, then the person receiving the next highest vote shall be the Mayor, and so on until the office is filled.
B. 
At the same time as a Mayor is elected, the Council shall elect one of its members as Deputy Mayor. The Deputy Mayor shall serve in place of the Mayor in the event of the temporary absence or disability of the Mayor.
C. 
The Mayor and the Deputy Mayor shall serve a term of two years beginning on the day of the annual organization meeting following each election of Council.
D. 
Vacancies in the Office of Mayor or Deputy Mayor shall be filled by the Council for the remainder of the unexpired term.
A. 
Regular meetings.
(1) 
The Council shall meet regularly on the first and third Mondays of each month at 7:00 p.m., except that the Council may, by resolution, cancel one or more meetings in addition to those meetings listed as canceled in the Official Annual Notice of Meetings.
(2) 
In the event the first or third Monday is a legal holiday, the meeting scheduled for that date shall either be canceled or rescheduled.
(3) 
Regular meetings of the Council shall be held in accord with the Open Public Meetings Act, N.J.S.A. 10:4-6 et seq., as the same may hereafter be amended.
B. 
Special meetings.
(1) 
The Mayor, at any time, and upon written request of a majority of the Councilpersons, 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 considered at any special meeting than that specified.
(2) 
Any call for a special meeting shall be filed with the Township Clerk, and upon filing he/she shall serve notice of same on each Councilperson and officers and department directors required to attend meetings of the Council, at least 48 hours prior to the time the meeting is held. Upon the filing of any call for a special meeting, the Township Clerk shall forthwith give notice thereof by telephone, facsimile or e-mail to each Councilperson at such place as the latter shall have previously designated for that purpose and pursuant to N.J.S.A. 10:4-8.
(3) 
Special meetings shall be conducted in accord with the Open Public Meetings Act.
(4) 
The Township may provide electronic notices pursuant to N.J.S.A. 10:4-9.1.
C. 
Adjourned meetings. A meeting adjourned to a fixed time shall be considered a continuation of the preceding meeting, and the business of the Council shall be resumed where it was left at the last adjournment.
D. 
Location of meetings. All regular meetings shall be held in the Municipal Building of the Township unless otherwise decided by the Council. Attendance by public and Township personnel:
(1) 
All regular and special meetings of the Council shall be open to the public.
(2) 
The Township Manager, Township Attorney, Township Clerk and such other Township officers or employees as required by the Township Manager shall be required to attend regular or special meetings of the Council.
[Amended 2-3-2025 by Ord. No. 2025-02]
On January 1, or at some other hour on any day during the first week in January set by resolution of the governing body in the annual notice of meetings, the Council shall organize and elect one of their members as Mayor and adopt such resolutions as may be required.
Subject to the provisions of the Open Public Meetings Act, N.J.S.A. 10:4-6 et seq., the Council may meet at any time in informal conference for the consideration of any Township business.
A. 
Preparation of ordinances and resolutions. Ordinances and resolutions shall be prepared for the consideration of the Council by the Township Attorney upon written request of a majority of the Council or of the Township Manager.
B. 
Prior review by administrative staff. All ordinances and Township contractual authorizations, before presentation to the Council, shall have been approved as to form and legality by the Township Attorney or his/her authorized representative and shall have been examined as to administrative considerations by the Township Manager or his/her authorized representative whenever administrative responsibilities may be affected thereby. The Township Manager shall submit to the Council a written memorandum concerning the administrative aspects of each such ordinance and contractual authorization unless he/she shall advise the Council that no administrative problems are involved. Each administrative memorandum may include the specific comments and recommendations of the Director concerned with the subject of the memorandum.
C. 
Introduction for passage or approval.
(1) 
Ordinances, resolutions and other matters or subjects requiring action by the Council shall be introduced and sponsored by a member of the Council, except that the Township Manager or Township Attorney may present ordinances, resolutions and other matters or subjects to the Council and any Councilperson may assume sponsorship thereof by moving that such ordinances, resolutions, matters or subjects be adopted; otherwise, they shall not be considered.
(2) 
Resolutions, unless laid over by a majority vote of the Council, may be acted upon the day of introduction or presentation.
(3) 
Ordinances and resolutions shall be called up for action on motion of a member of the Council.
D. 
Ordinances and resolutions. Resolutions determined to be routine and which do not require discussion shall be included under a single section of the order of business known as the "consent agenda." Such resolutions may be adopted upon motion and approval thereof by vote of a majority of the Council.
E. 
Adoption of ordinances. No ordinance may be adopted without the affirmative vote of a majority of all the members of the Council or such greater number of affirmative votes as the Charter may require.
F. 
Advertisement of ordinances. After introduction, all ordinances shall be advertised by the Township Clerk in accordance with the applicable provisions of law for public hearing at the next succeeding regular meeting of the Council unless otherwise directed by the affirmative vote of the majority of all members of the Council. After adoption, all ordinances shall be advertised by the Township Clerk in accordance with the applicable provisions of law therefor.
A. 
An agenda shall be prepared by the Township Clerk for each regular meeting of the Council.
B. 
The regular agenda for each regular meeting of the Council shall include only such matters of routine Council business and/or items which have been presented or delivered to the Township Clerk by a Councilperson not later than 3:00 p.m. on the Wednesday preceding the meeting.
C. 
The Township Clerk shall cause a copy of the final Council agendas to be delivered electronically to each Councilperson, the Township Manager and the Township Attorney and shall be posted and advertised in accordance with the law.
D. 
All items on the Council agenda must be delivered to each Councilperson at the same time that the agendas are delivered.
E. 
Each agenda may have no more than one addendum, which must be delivered electronically to each Councilperson and Township Manager along with the appropriate backup by 12:00 noon on the day of the meeting, with the exception of emergency matters, which can be added to the agenda at the meeting with the approval of the majority of the Council present.
F. 
Any Councilperson shall have the right to present any new matter under "new business" with the exception of ordinances and resolutions which must be in accordance with above.
The Mayor or, in his/her absence, the Deputy Mayor shall call each meeting to order. In the absence of both the Mayor and the Deputy Mayor, the Township Clerk shall call the meeting to order, and those present shall select a President Pro Tempore who shall preside during the absence of the Mayor. The Mayor or the Deputy Mayor shall assume the Chair as soon as he/she is in attendance at any meeting which may have been called to order in his/her absence, and the President Pro Tempore shall thereupon relinquish the Chair.
A. 
Before proceeding with the business of the Council, the Township Clerk shall call the roll of members in alphabetical order with the presiding officer called last, and the names of those present and absent shall be entered in the minutes.
B. 
A majority of all the members of the Council shall constitute a quorum. If a quorum is not present 1/2 hour after the appointed time for any meeting, those present may adjourn the meeting.
[Amended 1-27-2020 by Ord. No. 2020-02; 2-3-2025 by Ord. No. 2025-02]
A. 
The order of business at each regular public meeting of the Council shall be as follows:
(1) 
Roll call.
(2) 
Report of the Mayor.
(3) 
Report of the Township Manager.
(4) 
Council comments and report of special committees.
(5) 
Public comment.
(6) 
Hearing upon adoption or amendment of ordinances on second hearing.
(7) 
Ordinances for introduction.
(8) 
Approval of previous minutes.
(9) 
Proposed resolutions.
(10) 
Licenses and permits.
(11) 
New/unfinished business.
(12) 
Public comment.
(13) 
Adjournment.
B. 
Special meetings, workshop meetings, pre-meeting conferences, planning meetings and informal conference meetings shall be discussion meetings of the Council and shall not be guided by the order of business set forth in this section.
A. 
The vote upon every ordinance shall be taken by roll call, and the yeas and nays shall be entered on the minutes. The minutes of each meeting shall be signed by the Township Clerk and the Mayor, Deputy Mayor, or President Pro Tempore presiding at such meeting.
B. 
When the roll is called upon any question, each Councilperson shall audibly announce his/her vote, and the silence of a Councilperson shall constitute an affirmative vote unless he/she states that he/she abstains.
C. 
A Councilperson does not have the right to explain his/her vote during voting (this would represent "debate," which is not permitted during voting).
The Township Clerk shall, so far as practicable, prepare and distribute to the Council the minutes of each meeting promptly after 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.
There shall be no standing committees of the Council other than the Committee of the Whole. The rules of the Council shall govern the meetings of the Committee of the Whole so far as applicable. Special committees for legislative purposes may be appointed by the Mayor pursuant to motion or resolution. No special committee shall proceed to the consideration of any matter referred to it unless a majority of the members of the committee shall be present. No special committee shall report at the same meeting in which the matter is referred to it except by unanimous consent of the Council.
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 in the Committee of the Whole, which will report to a regular meeting of the Council. 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, 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. Appointments may be made by the affirmative vote of a majority of those present and voting.
A. 
The Mayor or other presiding officer may move, second and debate from the Chair and shall not be deprived of any right to vote or of any other rights, powers or duties of a Councilperson by virtue of presiding over the meeting.
B. 
A member of the Council shall be entitled to the floor only upon recognition by the presiding officer. Once a member has been recognized and taken the floor, he/she shall not be interrupted for any reason other than a call to order; and in such case, the presiding officer shall rule promptly on the point of order and the speaker shall be allowed to proceed if he/she is in order.
C. 
The Councilperson who has made a motion shall be entitled to the privilege of closing debate.
D. 
A motion to reconsider may be made by a Councilperson on the prevailing side, and such motion may be made only at the same meeting or at an adjournment thereof as which the action was taken.
E. 
A motion to adjourn shall always be in order and shall be decided without debate.
A. 
Persons other than Council persons may be permitted to address the Council in the proper order of business. A person present may, upon recognition by the presiding officer, be heard either upon ordinances upon second reading or at the time of public comment and at such other times as the Council may, by majority vote of those present, specifically permit. All remarks or questions shall be directed to the presiding officer. No person shall address any remark or question to any specific Councilperson, nor shall any person be permitted to address the presiding officer while a motion is pending. A Councilperson may, through the presiding officer, respond to any communication or address received pursuant to this section.
[Amended 1-28-2019 by Ord. No. 2019-04]
B. 
Except upon consent of the Council, by the majority vote of those present, each person addressing the Council pursuant to this section shall be required to limit his/her remarks to four minutes during the time for public comment and shall at no time engage in any personally offensive or abusive remarks. On a hearing on ordinances on the second reading, each person addressing the Council shall be required to limit their remarks to four minutes a person on the issue and shall at no time engage in any personally offensive or abusive remarks. The presiding officer shall call any speaker to order who violates any provision of this section.
A. 
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/her to continue may be granted by a majority vote of the Council.
B. 
The Chief of Police shall, upon request of the presiding officer, designate a member of the Police 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 meeting.
All reports to the Council and all resolutions shall be filed with the Township Clerk and entered in the minutes of the Council.
A. 
The Township Clerk shall record the minutes of every meeting of the Council, and the minutes shall contain only the formal actions of the Council by motion, resolution or ordinance except as otherwise authorized by this section.
B. 
With the consent of Council, a Councilperson may have the privilege of including in the minutes a written abstract not exceeding 100 words of any statement he/she may make before the Council.
C. 
In the discretion of the Township Clerk, other matters relating to the business or actions of the Council may be included in the minutes to the extent necessary to clarify the purpose or context of any recorded formal action.
D. 
The text of ordinances need not be included in the minutes, but the signed official copies thereof shall be bound and preserved as public record in the Office of the Township Clerk.
Except as may be provided in the Charter, questions of order, methods of organization and the conduct of business of the Council shall be governed by Robert's Rules of Order in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with the rules of procedure hereinafter set forth in this chapter.
[Added 12-16-2024 by Ord. No. 2024-41]
A. 
Beginning calendar year 2025 and going forward, the Township of Verona municipal elections shall be held on the day of the general election, the Tuesday after the first Monday in November.
B. 
The Township of Verona shall not be permitted to change the day of the election back to the second Tuesday in May until: (1) at least 10 years have passed since the adoption of the ordinance (Ord. No. 2024-41 dated December 16, 2024) changing the date of the municipal election to the day of the general election; and (2) a new ordinance providing for regular municipal elections to occur on the second Tuesday in May is adopted by the municipality's governing body.
C. 
The term of any person in office on the date of the adoption of such an ordinance shall be extended until the beginning of the term of the person elected to that office on the day of the general election in November.
D. 
All Council appointments made to boards and committees that expire on June 30, shall be extended until the beginning of the term of the person appointed to that board or committee in January after the year of the original expiration.
E. 
All references to a July reorganization for the Council as well as all board and committees are hereby amended to read January to align with the spirit of N.J.S.A. 40:45-7.1.