All powers of the municipality and the determination
of all matters of policy shall be vested in the Township Council,
except as otherwise provided by law.
Compensation of each member of the Township
Council and compensation for the Mayor shall be determined by the
salary ordinance.
The Mayor and the Deputy Mayor shall be elected
by a majority vote of all members of the Township Council. The selection
of the Mayor and Deputy Mayor shall be made at the annual reorganization
meeting of the Township Council held after a regular election of members
of the Township Council. The Mayor and Deputy Mayor shall serve a
term of two years, i.e., until the next reorganization meeting following
the regular election for members of the Township Council.
The Mayor shall have only the powers and duties
as Mayor as are expressly vested in the Mayor by this chapter and
by general law. The Mayor shall preside at all meetings of the Township
Council and shall have a voice and vote in its proceedings. In the
absence of the Mayor, the Deputy Mayor shall preside. Upon the arrival
of the Mayor, the Deputy Mayor shall immediately relinquish the chair
upon the conclusion of the business immediately before the Council.
All bonds, notes, deeds, contracts and written obligations of the
Township shall be executed on its behalf by the Mayor or, in the event
of the absence or inability of the Mayor to act, by the Deputy Mayor.
A.
Regular meetings. The Council shall meet annually
for organization on a date and hour determined and fixed by Council
as provided by law. If Council shall fail to fix a date for the next
organization meeting, it shall meet for organization on the first
day of January at 2:00 p.m. prevailing time. At the reorganization
meeting, Council shall fix the date and hour for regular Council meetings
to be conducted during the calendar year.
B.
Special and emergency meetings. The Mayor may at any
time and shall upon written request of any three members of the Council
call a special meeting or an emergency meeting of the Council. The
call for a special or emergency meeting shall specify the purpose
of the meeting and no business shall be transacted at any special
or emergency meeting other than that specified. The Township Clerk
shall give notice of the meeting as required by law and shall promptly
give notice of the meeting by telephone or other means of electronic
transmission to each Council member, and shall serve or cause to be
served a written copy of the meeting notice on each Council member
by delivery of a copy to the member personally or by leaving of a
copy at the member's residence. The Police Department shall cooperate
with the Clerk in service of notice.
C.
All regular, special and emergency meetings of the
Council shall be conducted in accordance with the Open Public Meetings
Act. The Manager and Clerk shall attend regular and special meetings
of the Council. The Attorney, Engineer, and other municipal officers
and employees shall attend regular and special meetings of the Council
when directed to do so by the Council or the Manager.
The Council may convene at any time in informal
conference for the study of municipal business or to plan for the
agendas of its future meetings. Members of the public shall be permitted
to attend these conferences, except where the Council shall determine,
in accordance with the Open Public Meetings Act, that the meeting
shall be closed to the public for discussion of certain specific matters,
which by law are permitted to be discussed in private.
A majority of all the members elected to the
Council shall constitute a quorum at any regular or special meeting
of the Council, but a lesser number than a quorum may adjourn any
meeting. If no quorum of the Council is present one-half hour after
the appointed time for any meeting, the Clerk shall adjourn the meeting.
No ordinance shall be adopted by the Council without the affirmative
vote of a majority of all the members of the Council.[1]
[1]
The requirement that the adoption of an ordinance
requires the affirmative vote of a majority of all of the members
of the Council is set forth in N.J.S.A. 40:69A-180.
The order of business, agenda, conduct of meetings,
procedure, decorum, and any and all matters pertaining to the functions
of the Council and the carrying out of Township business at regular
and special meetings may be determined and prescribed by resolution
of the Council.
Except as may be provided by law or by resolution
of the Council, questions of order, methods of organization and the
conduct of business of the Council shall be governed by the latest
revised edition of Robert's Rules of Order. All public meetings of
the Council shall begin with the salute to the Flag of the United
States.
The agenda for each meeting of Council shall
be prepared by the Clerk. Except for emergency matters which may be
added to the agenda at any time with the approval of the Manager,
the agenda for each regular meeting of the Council shall include only
such matters of Council business as have been presented or delivered
to the Clerk by the Manager or a Council member not later than 24
hours preceding the meeting. As soon as the agenda for each meeting
has been prepared, the Clerk shall provide a copy to each Council
member and the Manager. The Clerk shall also make copies available
to department heads, the press and to interested citizens upon request.
The Council may appoint such committees as it
may deem appropriate to serve in an advisory capacity to the Council.
The Council may provide for the inclusion of individuals other than
Council members on any committee which is established.
