There shall be by this article hereby established within the City of Millville, County of Cumberland, a Veterans' Advisory Board, which shall serve as an ad hoc advisory board to the Board of Commissioners for the purposes of keeping the Board of Commissioners informed of developments regarding veterans, and which may respond to any ordinances introduced by the Board of Commissioners that may have an impact upon veterans, and which shall otherwise advise the Board of Commissioners with respect to pending legislation at the county or state level which may impact veterans.
[Added 3-1-2022 by Ord. No. 15-2022]
A.
Meetings. The Veterans' Advisory Board shall meet no less than 12 occasions per year to discuss matters of interest to veterans, current and pending City ordinances, county or state laws affecting veterans and other issues of interest to veterans which may have an impact upon the City as a whole. The Advisory Board shall report to the Board of Commissioners at least two times per year, or as often as the Advisory Board believes it is necessary, on activities and discussions and provide the governing body with a summary of the issues it has discussed and the positions it believes should be advanced on behalf of veterans. The Advisory Board shall be strictly advisory, and its recommendations, decisions, comments or other observations shall not be binding in any way on the Board of Commissioners or any other municipal body, board or agency.
B.
Membership and term.
(1)
The Veterans' Advisory Board shall consist of seven members who shall be appointed by a majority of the Board of Commissioners in the following manner and for the following terms. The Veterans' Advisory Board shall also consist of two alternate members who shall be appointed by the majority of the Board of Commissioners in the following manner and on the following terms.
(2)
The Veterans' Advisory Board shall consist of seven members and two alternates serving three-year terms. Those members currently on the Board shall fill their existing terms. Thereafter, each member or alternate member shall be appointed for a three-year term. All terms shall expire on December 31 of the appropriate year and shall begin on January 1 of the appropriate year. The members and alternate members of the Veterans' Advisory Board shall be residents of the City of Millville and be certified veterans with a DD-214 Record of Military Service.
(3)
The members shall choose a Chairman, Vice Chairman and Secretary for the Board. The Chairman shall serve as a liaison between the Board and the Board of Commissioners. The Secretary shall keep notes of the meeting, which notes shall be deemed to be the property of the City. The Chairman shall serve as the spokesperson for the Board in discussions with the Board of Commissioners. The Chairman shall vote on all issues before the Advisory Board, and his/her vote shall be equal to all other members of the Advisory Board.
A.
It is the intent of this article that the Veterans' Advisory Board shall be solely an advisory board consisting of volunteers appointed by the Board of Commissioners.
B.
Notwithstanding its status as an advisory board which is not subject to the Open Public Meetings Act,[1] the Veterans' Advisory Board will provide a schedule of its meetings to the City Clerk, who will advertise the meetings. In addition, any recommendations made by the Board to the Committee shall be reduced to writing, signed by the Chairperson, and sent to the City Clerk for placement on the next Committee agenda.
[1]
Editor's Note: See N.J.S.A.10:4-6 et seq.
C.
The Board shall have no authority to expend any funds, and no funds shall be appropriated in the budget for the Board. Any projects which require City funding would go through the Board of Commissioners as part of the recommendation to approve the project.
It is expressly intended that the Veterans' Advisory Board is an ad hoc group to assist the Board of Commissioners in addressing issues and problems facing veterans. The Board shall be permitted to communicate with other agencies in order to render suggestions, opinions and recommendations with regard to veterans, but all such communication should first be directed to the Board of Commissioners for approval.