The office of Township Clerk, heretofore established by the Township Committee, is hereby created, continued and confirmed pursuant to N.J.S.A.A 40A: 9-133.1 et seq. The Clerk shall be qualified as required by law, and appointed by the Township Committee for a term of three years. For the purposes of tenure, the term of Township Clerk shall be deemed to have begun as of the actual date upon which a person serving as Township Clerk is appointed. In the event of a vacancy in the office of Township Clerk, an appointment shall be made for a new term and not for the unexpired term. A reappointment of an incumbent Township Clerk made within 60 days following the expiration of the prior term shall not be considered to be a new appointment, and the effective date of the reappointment shall date back to the date of expiration of the initial term of the appointment.
A. 
The Township Clerk shall:
(1) 
Act as secretary of the Township and custodian of the municipal seal and of all minutes, books, deeds, bonds, contracts and archival records of the Township, except that the Township Committee may provide by ordinance that any other specific officer shall have custody of any specific other class of record.
(2) 
Act as secretary to the Township Committee, prepare meeting agendas at the discretion of the Township Committee, be present at all meetings of the Township Committee, keep a journal of the proceedings of every meeting, retain the original copies of all ordinances and resolutions and record the minutes of every meeting.
(3) 
Serve as the chief administrative officer in all elections held in the Township, subject to the requirements of Title 19 of the Revised Statutes.
(4) 
Serve as chief registrar of voters in the Township, subject to the requirements of Title 19 of the Revised Statutes.
(5) 
Serve as the administrative officer responsible for the acceptance of applications for licenses and permits and the issuance of licenses and permits, except where statute or municipal ordinance has delegated that responsibility to some other municipal officer.
(6) 
Serve as coordinator and custodian of the records of the Township, implement and maintain local archives and records retention programs and be responsible for compliance with the requirements of the New Jersey Open Public Records Act, N.J.S.A. 47:1-1 et seq. and the Rules of the Bureau of Archives.
(7) 
Perform such other duties as are now or hereafter imposed by statute, regulation or municipal ordinance or assigned by the Township Committee.
B. 
In addition to the duties set forth above, the Clerk shall:
(1) 
Issue assessment search certificates.
(2) 
Conduct business with other municipal departments as directed by the Township Committee.
(3) 
Serve as information officer to the public and to the media, except that the Township Committee shall have the discretion to designate another individual for these purposes if warranted by particular circumstances.
(4) 
Certify to the Township's Bond Counsel as to the proper advertising and filing of supplemental debt statements and that no protests have been filed with the Township as to the adoption of bond ordinances.
The Township Clerk shall be paid a salary fixed and adopted by the Committee in the annual Salary Resolution within the guidelines set forth in the Salary Ordinance.
A. 
The Township Committee may appoint a full-time or part-time Deputy Township Clerk, who shall be paid a salary or wage fixed and adopted by the Committee in the annual Salary Resolution within the guidelines set forth in the Salary Ordinance, and whose specific duties shall be determined by the Township Committee in consultation with the Township Clerk.
B. 
During the absence or disability of the Township Clerk, the Deputy Township Clerk shall have all the powers of the Township Clerk and shall perform all of the functions and duties of that office.
C. 
If neither the Township Clerk nor a Deputy Township Clerk is available for a Township Committee meeting, or if no Deputy Township Clerk has been appointed, then the Committee may appoint the Township Administrator or another department head to serve as temporary Deputy Township Clerk for the purpose of performing the functions and duties required of said Clerk during a meeting.