For purposes of this section, "immediate family"
means the spouse or dependent child of an officer or employee residing
in the same household.
A. No officer or employee or member of his or her immediate
family shall have an interest in a business organization or engage
in any business, transaction, or professional activity, which is in
substantial conflict with the proper discharge of the officer's or
employee's duties in the public interest;
B. No officer or employee shall use or attempt to use
the officer's or employee's official position to secure unwarranted
privileges or advantages for himself or herself or others;
C. No officer or employee shall act in his or her official
capacity in any matter where the officer or employee, a member of
his or her immediate family, or a business organization in which the
officer or employee has an interest, has a direct or indirect financial
or personal involvement that might reasonably be expected to impair
his or her objectivity or independence of judgment;
D. No officer or employee shall undertake any employment
or service, whether compensated or not, which might reasonably be
expected to prejudice the officer's or employee's independence of
judgment in the exercise of official duties;
E. No officer or employee, member of his or her immediate
family, or business organization in which the officer or employee
has an interest, shall solicit or accept any gift, favor, loan, political
contribution, service, promise of future employment or other thing
of value based upon an understanding that the gift, favor, loan, contribution,
service, promise or other thing of value was given or offered for
the purpose of influencing the officer or employee, directly or indirectly,
in the discharge of official duties. This provision shall not apply
to the solicitation or acceptance of contributions to the campaign
of an announced candidate for elective public office, if the officer
has no knowledge or reason to believe that the campaign contribution,
if accepted, was given with the intent to influence the local government
officer in the discharge of official duties;
F. No officer or employee shall use, or allow to be used,
his or her public office or employment, or any information, not generally
available to the members of the public, which the officer or employee
receives or acquires in the course of and by reason of office or employment,
for the purpose of securing financial gain for the officer or employee,
any member of his or her immediate family, or any business organization
with which the officer or employee is associated;
G. No officer or employee or business organization in
which he or she has an interest shall represent any person or party
other than the local government in connection with any cause, proceeding,
application or other matter pending before any agency in the local
government in which the officer or employee serves. This provision
shall not be deemed to prohibit one employee from representing another
employee where the City is the employer and the representation is
within the context of official labor union or similar representational
responsibilities;
H. No officer shall be deemed in conflict with these
provisions if, by reason of his or her participation in the enactment
of any ordinance, resolution or other matter required to be voted
upon or which is subject to executive approval or veto, no material
or monetary gain accrues to him or her as a member of any business,
profession, occupation or group, to any greater extent than any gain
could reasonably be expected to accrue to any other member of such
business, profession, occupation or group;
I. No elected officer shall be prohibited from making
an inquiry for information on behalf of a constituent, if no fee,
reward or other thing of value is promised to, given to or accepted
by the officer or a member of his or her immediate family, whether
directly or indirectly, in return therefor; and
J. Nothing shall prohibit any officer or employee, or
members of his or her immediate family, from representing himself,
herself or themselves, in negotiations or proceedings concerning his,
her or their own interests. (N.J.S.A. 40A:9-22.5)
[Amended 9-19-2017 by Ord. No. 17-20]
No rule or regulation made by any department
shall, except upon written approval of the Mayor, take effect until
at least 10 days after it is filed with the Municipal Clerk as required
by the Charter. The Municipal Clerk shall maintain a docket of all
orders, rules and regulations filed in the Clerk's office which docket
shall show the name of the issuing department, a brief description
of the subject matter, and the date of filing. At the close of each
year the Clerk shall, with the advice and assistance of the City Solicitor,
compile and codify all of the orders, rules and regulations which
then remain in force and effect. The Municipal Clerk may arrange for
the printing and sale of such compilation within the limits of available
appropriations.
The public, administrative and executive business
offices of the City shall be open for the transaction of public business
daily except Saturdays and Sundays and legal holidays, between such
hours as the Business Administrator may prescribe with the approval
of Council, except as otherwise provided by law. The Division of Police
Administration, Division of Fire and Fire Safety, and the Streets
and Roads Division of the Department of Public Works shall provide
City services for 24 hours a day heretofore. All other departments
shall provide City services for 24 hours a day in times of emergency.
The Business Administrator or a department head may require any officer
or employee to be in attendance for work on any day or days whenever
he or she determines that a public exigency or emergency so requires.
[Amended 9-19-2017 by Ord. No. 17-20]
A. Powers and duties. The Municipal Clerk shall:
(1) Act as secretary of the municipal corporation and
custodian of the City seal and of all minutes, books, deeds, bonds,
contracts, and archival records of the City. The governing body may,
however, provide by ordinance that any other specific officer shall
have custody of any specific other class of record.
(2) Act as secretary to the governing body, prepare meeting
agendas, be present at all meetings of the governing body, keep a
journal of the proceedings of every meeting, retain the original copies
of all ordinance and resolutions, and record the minutes of every
meeting.
(3) Serve as the chief administrative officer in all elections
held in the City, subject to the requirements of Title 19 of the Revised
Statutes.
(4) Serve as chief registrar of voters in the City, 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 City ordinance has
delegated that responsibility to some other City officer.
(6) Serve as coordinator and records manager responsible
for implementing local archives and records retention programs as
mandated pursuant to Title 47 of the Revised Statutes. (N.J.S.A. 40A:9-133)
(7) Cause the Corporate Seal of the City to be affixed
to instruments and writings pursuant to law, to exemplify any documents
on record in the Clerk's office or to certify any act or paper from
which the records of the Clerk's office shall appear to have been
a public act of the City of public documents, and shall charge a fee
as allowed by ordinance.
(8) Perform such other duties as are now or hereafter
imposed by statute, regulation or by City ordinance or regulation.
(N.J.S.A. 40A:9-133)
B. Minutes; recordings of ordinances and resolutions.
The Clerk shall keep the minutes and records of the proceedings of
the Council, and upon request of the Chairman, of any Council committee
meeting. The Clerk shall preserve and compile all ordinances and resolutions.
At the close of each year, with the advice and assistance of the City
Solicitor, the Clerk shall update the codification of all the ordinances
and resolutions or true copies thereof of the City which then remain
in force and effect. The Clerk shall also properly index the record
books compilation or codification of ordinances and resolutions. (N.J.S.A.
40:69A-182)
C. References of matters of the Council. Whenever the
Council has taken any action requiring any act or forbearance by any
officer or employee of the City or affecting the administration of
the functions, duties or powers of any such officer or employee, it
shall be the duty of the Municipal Clerk to communicate officially
the action of the Council to the person affected and to retain the
matter on the agenda of the Council for such further disposition as
may be required. Each officer and employee shall, unless otherwise
directed, direct his response to the action of the City Council to
the attention of the Municipal Clerk for the presentation to and information
of the Council.
D. Appointment and qualification.
(1) The Council shall appoint the Municipal Clerk. (N.J.S.A.
40A:9-133)
(2) No person shall be appointed as Municipal Clerk unless
that person shall have a registered Municipal Clerk Certificate issued
pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40A:9-133 et seq.
E. Term; vacancy; temporary appointment; tenure; removal.
(1) The Municipal Clerk shall be appointed for a three-year
term.
(2) For purposes of tenure, the term of the Municipal
Clerk shall be deemed to have begun as of the actual date upon which
a person serving as Municipal Clerk is appointed.
(3) In the event of a vacancy in the office, an appointment
shall be made for a new term and not for an unexpired term.
(4) The reappointment of an incumbent Municipal 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 appointment.
(5) The City Council shall appoint a person to a three-year
term as Municipal Clerk within six months after the previous Municipal
Clerk has resigned or the office has otherwise become vacant.
(6) The City Council may appoint a person to serve as
acting Municipal Clerk for a period of not more than six months should
the office of Municipal Clerk become vacant.
(7) No Municipal Clerk shall attain tenure in office unless
that person holds a Registered Municipal Clerk Certification. (N.J.S.A.
40A:9-133 et seq.)
(8) Any person who shall have been reappointed to the
office of Municipal Clerk and having served as Municipal Clerk or
performed the duties of the Municipal Clerk or not less than three
consecutive years immediately prior to such reappointment shall acquire
tenure.
(9) Upon receiving tenure, the Municipal Clerk shall continue
to hold office during good behavior and efficiency notwithstanding
the appointment was for a final fixed period of years and shall not
be removed for political reasons but only for good cause shown and
after a hearing before the Director of the Division of Local Government
and in accordance with N.J.S.A. 40A:9-133.7.
F. Assistant Municipal Clerk. Council may appoint an
Assistant Municipal Clerk to assist in the duties of the office of
the Municipal Clerk and who shall perform the duties of the Municipal
Clerk in the absence of the Municipal Clerk.
G. Clerk Pro Tempore. The President of City Council may
appoint a Clerk Pro Tempore who shall keep the records and minutes
whenever the Municipal Clerk or Assistant Municipal Clerk is unavailable.