Pursuant to the Charter, the legislative power of the municipality
shall be exercised by the Council.
The regular meetings of the Council shall be held twice each
month, except during the months of July and August, when only one
meeting may be conducted. The regular meetings of the City Council
and the agenda conferences of the City Council shall be fixed by the
authority of a resolution of the City Council. Within seven days following
the annual organization or reorganization meeting of the City Council
or if there is no organization or reorganization meeting in the year
then by not later than January 10 of such year, the City Council shall
post and maintain posted throughout the year, as prescribed by law,
a schedule of the regular meetings and agenda conferences of the City
Council to be held during the succeeding year. Such schedule shall
contain the location of each meeting to the extent it is known, and
the time and date of each meeting. In the event that such schedule
is thereafter revised, the City Council, within seven days following
such revision, shall post, mail and submit such revision in the manner
prescribed by law.
As provided by the Charter, the Mayor or the President of the
Council may, and upon written request of a majority of the members
of the Council, shall, call a special meeting of the Council.
[New]
A.
In
the call the Mayor or President of the Council shall designate the
purpose of the special meeting.
B.
No
other business shall be considered at such meeting.
C.
The
call for a special meeting shall be filed with the Municipal Clerk
at least 48 hours before the time for which the meeting is called.
D.
The
Clerk shall forthwith serve notice thereof upon each of the Councilmen
by leaving a copy of the call at their respective places of residence
and by telephone communication, if possible, at such place as each
Councilman may in writing designate.
E.
The
Clerk shall also forthwith release copies of the call to the press
and post at least one copy in the municipal building. The Clerk may
provide electronic notice of any meeting through the Internet pursuant
to N.J.S.A. 10:4-9.1
All meetings of the Council shall be held in the South Amboy
City Hall. In case of an emergency making it impractical to conduct
the business of the Council in the City Hall, the Council, upon such
reasonable public notice as the circumstances permit, may meet in
or adjourn a meeting to any other building.
[New]
A.
All
meetings of the Council shall be open to the public. In order to prepare
for meetings, study matters before it and gather information, the
Council may convene as a committee of the whole in informal conference
which need not be open to the public. The public may be excluded from
that portion of a meeting at which the Council discusses those matters
outlined in N.J.S.A 10:4-12, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 10:4-13.
B.
Pursuant
to N.J.S.A. 40:69A-41(b), the Mayor may attend meetings of the Council
and may take part in discussions of the Council but shall have no
vote except in the case of tie on the question of filling a vacancy
on the Council, in which case he may cast the deciding vote.
[Ord. No. 37-2001]
A.
Pursuant
to the Charter, at its organizational meeting held annually on New
Year's Day, the Council shall elect a President of the Council from
among its members.
B.
At
the same time, the Council shall elect a Vice President of the Council
to serve, who shall have all the functions, powers and duties of the
President of the Council whenever the President may be absent. In
the absence of both the President and Vice President of the Council,
the Council shall elect a temporary presiding officer, who shall have
all the functions, powers and duties of the President during his absence.
C.
The
Council shall fill any vacancy occurring in the Office of the President
of the Council or in the Office of Vice President of the Council by
an election from its members for the unexpired term.
A.
The
President of the Council shall preside at its meetings.
B.
He
shall preserve order and decorum at all meetings of the Council.
C.
He
shall state every question coming before the Council.
D.
He
shall announce the decisions of the Council.
E.
He
shall decide all questions of order, subject to appeal to the Council.
F.
He
shall appoint all special committees of the Council.
G.
He
shall sign all ordinances and resolutions adopted by the Council during
his presence.
The Municipal Clerk shall serve as Clerk of the Council. He
shall keep a journal of its proceedings and record the minutes of
every meeting and shall have such other functions, powers and duties
as are provided by this chapter.
[New]
The Council, presided over by the Council President, shall hold
an agenda conference at the time scheduled at City Hall. All reports,
communications, ordinances, resolutions, contract documents or other
matters to be submitted to the Council shall be delivered to the Clerk
by 12:00 noon the previous Friday.
The Clerk shall immediately furnish copies thereof to each member
of the Council, the Mayor, Business Administrator, City Attorney,
City Engineer or anyone else with business before the meeting as far
in advance of the meeting as time for preparation shall permit.
The President of the Council, or in his absence the Vice President,
shall take his chair precisely at the hour appointed for the meeting
and shall immediately call the Council to order. In the absence of
the President and Vice President, the Clerk shall call the Council
to order, whereupon the members of the Council present shall elect
a temporary Chairman, who shall forthwith assume the chair and proceed
with the meeting, and who shall immediately relinquish the chair upon
conclusion of the particular business before the Council as soon as
the President or Vice President is present.
As soon as the meeting is called to order, the Clerk or his
Deputy shall alphabetically call the roll of the members, and the
names of those present shall be entered in the minutes.
A majority of all members elected to the Council shall constitute
a quorum at any regular or special meeting of the Council, but a lesser
number should adjourn any meeting from time to time.
A.
The business of the Council at each regular meeting shall be taken
up for consideration and disposition in the following order:
B.
Those items on the Council agenda which are considered routine by
the Municipal Clerk shall be marked with an asterisk (*). Prior to
voting upon any item on the consent agenda, the Chair will open the
meeting to the Council to receive requests for removal from the consent
agenda. There will be no separate discussion of items on the consent
agenda unless a Council Member so requests, in which event the item
will be removed from the consent agenda and considered in its normal
sequence on the agenda. Items to be included in the consent agenda
may include, but are not limited to, the following: approval of minutes,
payment of bill list, conveyances, easements, leases and agreements
previously approved in principal and award of bids. Those items which
appear on the consent agenda are not required to be read at the public
meeting in their entirety, but may be read by description only. Copies
of any resolutions on the consent agenda shall be available to the
public at the time of the meeting. Provided that no objection is received
prior to moving on the consent agenda, once a matter is placed on
the consent agenda there will be no separate discussion for that item.
Those items so approved under the consent agenda will appear in the
Council minutes in their complete and proper form.
C.
General public discussion. Upon recognition by the Chair, the person
desiring to address the Council shall proceed to the floor and give
his or her name and address in an audible tone of voice for the record.
Statements shall be addressed to the presiding officer of the Council
and not to any member thereof. Such person shall limit his or her
statement to five minutes, unless further time is granted by the Council.
A Council Member shall not direct any question to a speaker addressing
the Council, except through the presiding officer.
Unless a reading of the minutes of the previous meeting is requested
by a member of the Council, such minutes may be approved without a
reading if the Clerk has previously furnished each member with a copy
thereof.
[Revised]
A.
Presiding officer may debate and vote. The President or such other
member of the Council as may be presiding may move, second and debate
from the chair, subject only to such limitations of debate as are
by these rules imposed on all members, and shall not be deprived of
any of the rights and privileges of a Councilman by reason of his
acting as the presiding officer.
B.
Obtaining the floor; improper references to be avoided. Every member
desiring to speak shall address the chair and, upon recognition by
the presiding officer, shall confine himself to the question under
debate, avoiding all personalties and indecorous language.
C.
Interruptions. A member, once recognized, shall not be interrupted
when speaking unless it be to call him to order or as herein otherwise
provided. If a member, while speaking, is called to order, he shall
cease speaking until the question of order is determined, and if in
order, he shall be permitted to proceed.
D.
Privilege of closing debate. The Councilman moving the adoption of
an ordinance or resolution shall have the privilege of closing the
debate.
E.
Motion to reconsider. A motion to reconsider any action taken by
the Council may be made only on the day such action was taken. It
may be made either immediately during the same session or at a recessed
or adjourned session and may be seconded by any member. It may be
made at any time and have precedence over all other motions and it
shall be debatable. Nothing herein shall be construed to prevent any
member of the Council from making or remaking the same or any other
motion at a subsequent meeting of the Council.
F.
Synopsis of debates: when entered in minutes. The Clerk shall enter
in the minutes a synopsis of the discussion of any question coming
before the Council.
G.
Remarks of Councilman: when entered in minutes. A Councilman may
request, through the presiding officer, the privilege of having an
abstract of his statement on any subject under consideration by the
Council entered in the minutes.
H.
Motion to adjourn. A motion to adjourn shall always be in order and
shall be decided without debate.
I.
Additional rules. Any matter not covered by these rules shall be
governed by Robert's Rules of Order
Whenever a roll call vote is necessary, the Council shall vote
alphabetically, with the presiding officer voting last.
Silence or abstention from voting shall be construed as a vote
added to the majority decision of the votes cast. This rule shall
not apply where the general law makes provision for a specific number
of votes to be cast.
There shall be no standing committee of the Council other than
the committee of the whole. The President of the Council shall be
the presiding officer of the committee of the whole, and the rules
of procedure of the Council shall be observed in the committee of
the whole as far as the same may be applicable.
Upon recognition by the chair, the person shall proceed to the
floor and give his name and address in an audible tone of voice for
the records. Statements shall be addressed to the Council as a body
and not to any member thereof. A Councilman shall not direct any question
to a speaker addressing the Council, except through the presiding
officer.
The president of the Council may request the Police Department
to designate a police officer 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 Council meetings, and it shall be his duty to place any person
under arrest who violates the order and decorum of a meeting and to
cause him to be prosecuted under the provisions of this chapter upon
a complaint signed by the presiding officer.
A.
All ordinances shall be reviewed by the City Attorney upon direction
of the Council or the Mayor. Prior to introduction, each proposed
ordinance requiring or permitting administrative action shall be submitted
to the Business Administrator and the department head concerned, each
of whom shall submit to the Council a written opinion as to the administrative
implications of the proposed ordinance or resolution.
B.
An ordinance or resolution may be introduced by any member of the
Council. Each ordinance and resolution shall be limited to a single
object which shall be expressed in its title.
C.
All ordinances shall be introduced, read, heard and enacted in the
manner provided by general law. Each ordinance passed by the Council
shall be promptly delivered by the Clerk to the Mayor, and he shall,
within 10 days after receiving any ordinance, either approve the ordinance
by affixing his signature thereto or return it to the Council by delivering
it to the Municipal Clerk, together with a written statement setting
forth his objections thereto or to any item or part thereof. No ordinance
or any item or part thereof shall take effect without the Mayor's
approval, unless the Mayor fails to return the ordinance to the Council
within 10 days after it has been presented to him, or unless the Council,
upon reconsideration thereof on or after the third day following its
return by the Mayor, shall, by a vote of 2/3 of the members, resolve
to override the Mayor's veto.
D.
No ordinance other than the local budget ordinance shall take effect
until after it is published and after its final passage by Council
and approval by the Mayor where such approval is required, unless
the Council adopts a resolution declaring an emergency and at least
2/3 of all members of the Council vote in favor of such resolution.
Whenever an ordinance has been reconsidered by the Council following
a veto by the Mayor, the Clerk shall append to such ordinance a certification
of the action of the Council upon such reconsideration in substantially
the following form:
I HEREBY CERTIFY that the above ordinance was adopted by the
Council on the ___ day of ___ 20___, and was delivered to the Mayor
on the ___ day of ___ 20___, and was returned to me on the ___ day
of ___ 20___, together with the Mayor's statement of the reasons for
which he was constrained to withhold his approval of such ordinance,
item or part thereof. On reconsideration thereof on the ___ day of
___ 20___, (the Council duly resolved by the affirmative vote of 2/3
of its members to enact such ordinance, item or part thereof notwithstanding
the Mayor's veto) or (the Mayor's veto was sustained).
Dated: ________________________
Clerk _________________________
Whenever an ordinance takes effect without the Mayor's signature
by reason of his failure to return it to the Council by filing it
with the Clerk within 10 days after it has been presented to him,
the Clerk shall append to such ordinance a certificate in substantially
the following form:
I HEREBY CERTIFY that the above ordinance was adopted by the
Council on the ___ day of ___ 20, and was presented to the Mayor duly
certified on the ___ day of ___ 20___, and upon his failure to sign
it or to return and file it with the Clerk within 10 days thereafter,
the said ordinance took effect in like manner as if the Mayor had
signed it.
Dated: ________________________
Clerk _________________________
The Council shall file with the Clerk all petitions, resolutions
or other papers considered by it on each matter. All reports to the
Council and all resolutions shall be filed with the Clerk.
A.
Nominations submitted by the Mayor shall be considered at the agenda
conference or at a regular meeting. Any member of the Council may
move such a nomination at a public meeting.
B.
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 at any agenda
conference or at a regular meeting. 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 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.
A.
The Council may for cause remove any municipal officer or board member
other than the Mayor or a member of the Council.
B.
The Council shall consider a motion to remove for cause only after
removal has been duly proposed and considered at an agenda conference.
C.
A motion for removal shall set forth the alleged cause for removal,
making specific charges, and provide for notice and an opportunity
to be heard to the affected officer. The Clerk shall forthwith cause
a copy of the motion for removal, together with a statement of the
causes and charges involved and notice of the time and place fixed
for hearing, to be served personally or by certified mail upon the
officer affected. Hearing shall be held not less than 10 days nor
more than 15 days after date of such service and may be adjourned
from time to time. Such hearings may be open to the public, and the
officer charged shall be entitled to be represented by his own counsel.
Following the conclusion of the hearing, the presiding officer shall
call for a vote on the motion, which shall be determined by a majority
vote of the Council.
Pursuant to the Charter (N.J.S.A. 40:69A-37), the Council may,
in its discretion, require any municipal officer to prepare and submit
sworn statements regarding his official duties and the performance
thereof; and the Council may otherwise investigate the conduct of
any department, officer or agency of the municipal government.
[N.J.S.A. 40:69A-48]
The Council shall cause to be made an annual audit of the municipality's
accounts and financial transactions as required by law. Such annual
audit shall be made by a registered municipal accountant of New Jersey
selected by the Council.
[Added 7-15-2020 by Ord. No. 07-2020]
The governing body is hereby authorized to conduct public meetings
exclusively in electronic form in compliance with the New Jersey Open
Public Meetings Act, N.J.S.A. 10:4-6 et seq., provided the medium
for such meeting, whether telephonic, broadcast video, computer-based,
or other electronic media, or any combination of these, and the conduct
of the electronic meeting, allows for the following standards and
practices to be met:
A.
At the beginning of any electronic meeting, the presiding officer
shall poll the members of the governing body to confirm attendance,
and any member of the governing body attending by way of electronic
media shall be considered present for the purposes of constituting
a quorum.
B.
Whenever a meeting shall be noticed by the City Clerk to be conducted
by electronic media, each member of the governing body who intends
to participate in such meeting, as well as the Mayor, shall provide
to the City Clerk a telephone number or other means of alternative
contact by which the Clerk can contact that individual in the event
that they do not answer the roll call at the beginning of the meeting
to confirm whether or not that individual intends to participate in
the meeting.
C.
If any member of the governing body or the Mayor has expressed to
the Clerk an intention to attend the electronic meeting but does not
answer the roll call, then the proceedings shall be paused by the
presiding officer for a period not to exceed 10 minutes to allow the
Clerk sufficient time to contact that individual using the telephone
number or other means provided or, if no such number has been provided
for the specific meeting, then the telephone number on file for that
person with the City Clerk's Office.
D.
If any governing body member or Mayor has not notified the Clerk of an intention to attend the meeting to be conducted in full or in part by electronic media, then no such contact as set forth in Subsection C shall be required.
E.
Following the taking of the roll call, and before the transaction
of any business, the Clerk shall affirm that she or her designee has
confirmed that the information provided on the public notice of hearing
is correct and that the designated electronic system is in proper
working order so that members of the public can participate in the
meeting.
F.
Any member of the governing body or Mayor that is unable to participate
via computer, smartphone or other electronic device shall be afforded
the opportunity to participate by telephone.
G.
Any vote of the governing body during a meeting conducted fully or
partially by electronic means shall be conducted by individual voice
vote of the members of the governing body, who shall verbally indicate
their vote on any matter by stating "<name of governing body member>,
yes" or "<name of governing body member>, no." All individual votes
shall be recorded by the Clerk.
H.
Meetings shall be recorded or minutes kept in the same manner as
an in-person meeting.
I.
All members of the governing body, officials, staff, and presenters
shall identify themselves by name and be recognized prior to speaking.
Members of the governing body shall strictly comply with the rules
of the governing body as they relate to procedural matters to preserve
order and allow for the effectiveness of electronic meetings.
J.
Electronic executive sessions shall be permitted in accordance with
the provisions of the Open Public Meetings Act and the governing body
shall properly announce by resolution it's reason for going into any
executive session in conformance with the Act. The electronic meeting
utilized for such executive session may be held by i) a separate telephonic,
broadcast video, computer-based, or other electronic media, or any
combination of these wherein the public shall not be permitted to
participate, or ii) on the initial telephonic, broadcast video, computer-based,
or other electronic media, or any combination of these, with the implementation
of necessary participation or listening restrictions, provided that
in either instance all members of the governing body must have the
capability to be heard at all times.
K.
Public comment periods, and the opportunity for the public to be
heard during any public meeting conducted fully or partially by electronic
media shall be the same as if the meeting were conducted fully in-person,
and shall comply with the Open Public Meetings Act and with all local
ordinances. Additionally, in lieu of appearing during a public comment
period members of the public may submit written public comments not
to exceed 250 words to the Clerk not later than 24 hours prior to
the noticed start of the meeting, and such comments shall be read
into the record immediately following closure of the public comment
portion of the meeting.
