There shall be a Department of Law, the head
of which shall be the Township Attorney, who shall be appointed by
the Mayor with the advice and consent of the Council, but need not
serve full time, and shall be subject to such fees as shall be approved
by the Council for all services.
[Amended 5-9-1974 by Ord. No. 708, 5-22-1975 by Ord. No.
721; 6-10-1982 by Ord. No. 859; 3-26-1987 by Ord. No. 945]
The Director of the Department of Law and the Township Attorney, who shall be one and the same, shall perform the following duties in consideration of the salary set forth in Article
I of the Salary Ordinance and shall receive compensation on a fee basis as set forth
herein:
A. The Township Attorney, as head of the Department of
Law, shall be the chief legal advisor of the Township government and
all of its officers, departments, divisions and committees. He shall
give his opinion and advise the Mayor and the Council when requested
to do so on matters relating to the conduct of the Township government.
He shall also advise other department heads on matters relating to
their duties and the business of the Township. He shall attend all
regular meetings of the Mayor and Council and special meetings of
the Mayor and Council upon request. He shall draft and prepare all
ordinances, contracts, deeds and other legal papers as may be necessary
for the proper conduct of the public business and the due performance
of the Mayor and Council. He shall prepare easement agreements, right-of-entry
agreements when requested to do so by the Mayor and Council and shall
prepare and process and perform those services relating to the acquisition
of title when the Township government elects to acquire title to real
estate. He shall supervise the Department of Law and all matters relating
to that Department and supervise the conduct of any other employees
or attorneys who are within the jurisdiction of that Department. He
shall maintain a complete file on all matters in which he has performed
legal services for the Township.
B. In addition thereto, for legal services performed
by the Township Attorney in connection with the preparation and processing
of bond ordinances, sale of tax anticipation notes and any proceedings
or litigation before or in any court or administrative tribunal or
commission wherein the Mayor and/or the Council and/or the Township
or any department, board or commission of the Township shall be a
party or have an interest, he shall be compensated additional fees
as determined by the Township Council upon presentation of a proper
voucher duly sworn according to law. In addition thereto, he shall
receive his actual disbursements made and out-of-pocket expenses incurred
in performing any of his duties and such taxed costs as he may recover
from the opposing litigant.
With approval of the Council, the Township Attorney
may appoint special counsel as may be required from time to time.
[Added 5-5-1994 by Ord. No. 1072; amended 5-14-1998 by Ord. No.
1160]
A. In the event that a person appearing before the Municipal
Court of the Township of Saddle Brook applies for representation by
the Municipal Public Defender, it shall be a requirement of such appointment
that any such person applying for representation by the Municipal
Public Defender shall pay an application fee of $50 to $200 to the
Municipal Court of the Township of Saddle Brook.
B. The Municipal Court Judge may waive any required application
fee, in whole or in part, if the Municipal Court Judge determines,
in his or her discretion, that the application fee represents an unreasonable
burden to the person seeking representation.