The legislative power of the municipality shall be exercised by the Municipal Council, except as may be otherwise provided by general law.
The Council, in addition to such other powers and duties as may be conferred upon it by this chapter or otherwise by general law, may:
A. 
Require any municipal officer, in its discretion, to prepare and submit sworn statements regarding his official duties and the performance thereof and otherwise investigate the conduct of any department, office or agency of the municipal government.
B. 
Remove any municipal officer, other than the Mayor or a member of the Council, for cause, upon notice and an opportunity to be heard.
A. 
Upon the submission of the budget to the Council by the Mayor, the Council may reduce any item or items in the Mayor's budget by a vote of a majority of the Council, but an increase in any item or items therein shall become effective only upon an affirmative vote of 2/3 of the members of the Council.
B. 
The Council shall, where practicable, provide for the maintenance of a system of work programs and quarterly allotments for operation of the budget. It shall be the duty of the officer or department administering any such program to develop and report the appropriate unit cost of budgeted expenditures.
C. 
The Council shall provide, by ordinance, for the exercise of a control function in the management of the finances of the municipality by some officer other than the Business Administrator. The control function shall include provision for an encumbrance system of budget operation, for expenditures only upon written requisition, for the preaudit of all claims and demands against the municipality prior to payment and for the control of all payments out of any public funds by individual warrants for each payment to the official having custody thereof.
The Council shall cause to be made an annual audit of the Township's accounts and financial transactions as required by law. Such annual audit shall be made by a registered municipal accountant of New Jersey selected by the Council.
[Amended 1-26-1998 by Ord. No. 5-98]
Pursuant to the Charter, at its organization meeting, the Council shall elect a President of the Council from among its members. At the same time, the Council shall elect a Vice President of the Council to serve, who shall have the functions, powers and duties of the President of the Council whenever the President may be absent.
[Added 1-26-1998 by Ord. No. 5-98]
In the event both the President of Council and the Vice President of Council are absent from a particular meeting of Council, a Chairperson Pro Tem shall be selected from among the members present. Such Chairperson Pro Tem shall preside over the meeting at which he or she is selected only. In the event of a deadlock in selecting a Chairperson Pro Tem, the Clerk shall preside over the meeting.
A. 
The President of the Council shall preside at its meetings.
B. 
He shall preserve order and decorum at all meetings of the Council.
C. 
He shall state every question coming before the Council.
D. 
He shall announce the decisions of the Council.
E. 
He shall decide all questions of order.
F. 
He shall appoint all special committees of the Council.
G. 
He shall sign all ordinances and resolutions adopted by the Council during his presence.
H. 
For the purpose of receiving resumes, the Council President shall announce to the Council and the public any vacancies or impending vacancies on authorities, boards, commissions or committees, for which the Council has appointment powers. The Council President shall give copies of all resumes to the Council at the regular agenda meeting prior to the public meeting at which the appointments are to be voted upon.
[Added 4-14-1984 by Ord. No. 6-84]
The Municipal Clerk shall serve as Clerk of the Council. He shall keep a journal of its proceedings and record the minutes of every meeting and shall have such other functions, powers and duties as are provided by the Code.
[Amended 2-28-1985 by Ord. No. 8-85; 3-19-1990 by Ord. No. 6-90; 12-10-1992 by Ord. No. 48-92; 12-22-1994 by Ord. No. 90-94]
A. 
Regular meetings. The Township Council shall, following a municipal election, meet on January 1 at 12:00 noon for the purpose of reorganization, unless that day is a Sunday, in which case it shall meet in the next succeeding day. At other times, the Council shall reorganize at its first regular meeting of the year. The Council shall meet regularly on the second and fourth Monday of each month at 7:30 p.m., unless otherwise specified; and shall meet for the general purposes of formulating and discussing its agenda, local legislation and issues on the first and third Monday of each month at 7:30 p.m., unless otherwise specified. The Council may upon compliance with the Open Public Meetings Act[1] transact formal business at agenda meetings. Agenda meetings shall be advertised together with regular meetings in the schedule of regular meetings for purposes of the Open Public Meetings Act. The Council may by resolution dispense with one or more meetings. When the time for any regular meeting of the Council falls on a legal holiday as prescribed by law, such meeting shall be held at the same hour on the next succeeding day which is not a legal holiday or such other date designated by resolution. Meetings shall be held at the Old Bridge Township Municipal Building, One Old Bridge Plaza, or at such place as may be designated by the Township Council. Nothing herein shall preclude the Township Council from establishing a convenient meeting schedule on dates other than those set forth in this subsection. All Council meetings shall conclude no later then 11:00 p.m., except that the Council President may extend the meeting for the purpose of concluding official business. No new business shall be started after 10:30 p.m. so that sufficient time may be provided for public comments and Council comments prior to adjournment.
[Amended 11-8-2004 by Ord. No. 40-04; 1-9-2006 by Ord. No. 38-2005]
[1]
Editor's Note: See N.J.S.A. 10:4-6 et seq.
B. 
Special meetings. The Mayor or Council President may at any time, and upon the written request of any five Council persons shall, call a special meeting. The request and call for a special meeting shall specify the purpose of the meeting, and no business shall be transacted at any special meeting other than that specified unless all nine members agree to consider business not specified in the call of the meeting. Such other business may also be considered notwithstanding the absence of consent by all nine Council persons if the business qualifies under the Open Public Meetings Act as being of such urgency and importance that a delay for purposes of providing adequate notice would be likely to result in substantial harm to the public interest. The call for a special meeting by the Mayor or President of Council shall be filed with the Municipal Clerk and served upon each Council person at least 24 hours prior to the time for which the meeting is called, provided that the Mayor may determine that an emergency exists affecting the health and safety of the people which requires consideration by the Council within a shorter time, and upon such determination, which the Mayor shall set forth in the call, the call may be filed with the Municipal Clerk for any time not less than three hours prior to the time set for the meeting. Upon the filing of any call for a special meeting, the Municipal Clerk shall forthwith give notice thereof by telephone or fax to each Council person at such place at he or she has previously designated for that purpose and shall also serve or cause to be served a written copy of the call upon each Council person by delivery of a copy to him or her personally or by the leaving of a copy at his or her usual place of abode. The Police Department shall cooperate with the Municipal Clerk in effectuating such service of notice. Upon written waiver of notice executed by all the members of the Council, a special meeting may be held without prior notice, notwithstanding the above provisions of this subsection.
[Amended 1-9-2006 by Ord. No. 38-2005]
C. 
Open to public attendance. All regular and special meetings of the Council shall be open to the public. The Attorney and Clerk shall attend regular and special meetings of the Council.[2]
[2]
Editor's Note: See also § 5-23, Addressing Council.
D. 
Quorum. 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 member of the Council is present 1/2 hour after the appointed time for any meeting, the Clerk shall adjourn the meeting.
E. 
Executive sessions. The Township Council shall keep reasonably comprehensive minutes of its executive sessions, showing the time and place, the members present, the subjects considered, the actions taken, and any other information required to be shown in the minutes by law. The executive session minutes, which need not be verbatim, shall be maintained by the Township Clerk. Executive session minutes that have been approved by the Township Council shall, upon request, be publicly released no later than seven business days following receipt of the request. Prior to public release, however, the Township Attorney shall redact or suppress its executive session minutes only to the extent authorized by law.
[Amended 9-12-2005 by Ord. No. 29-2005; 8-14-2006 by Ord. No. 38-2006]
[Amended 6-4-1984 by Ord. No. 10-84]
A. 
Order of business. The business of the Council at regular meetings and so far as applicable at special meetings shall be taken up for consideration and disposed of in the following order:
[Amended 10-21-1991 by Ord. No. 23-91; 12-10-1992 by Ord. No. 48-92; 8-28-1995 by Ord. No. 50-95;9-24-2012 by Ord. No. 2012-18; 2-26-2018 by Ord. No. 2018-03; 10-19-2020 by Ord. No. 2020-19; 3-23-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-10]
(1) 
Salute to the flag, invocation by Council member and quorum roll call.
(2) 
Presentations.
(3) 
Approval of minutes of previous meetings.
(4) 
Bill list.
(5) 
Public hearings and/or adoption/amendment of those ordinances for second reading.
(6) 
Consent agenda.
(7) 
Ordinances for first reading.
(8) 
Reports of Township Clerk and Township Attorney and administrative report.
(9) 
Public comments on any subject matter for a maximum period of three minutes, subject to the discretion of the Council President.
(10) 
Council member comments.
(11) 
Adjournment.
B. 
Agenda. The agenda for each regular and special meeting of the 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 Mayor or the Council President, 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 no later than 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday preceding the agenda meeting. As soon as the agenda for each meeting has been prepared, the Clerk shall deliver a copy to each Council member, the Mayor and each department head.
[Amended 12-10-1992 by Ord. No. 48-92; 7-29-1993 by Ord. No. 30-93; 1-9-2006 by Ord. No. 38-2005; 10-19-2020 by Ord. No. 2020-19]
C. 
Consent agenda. Those items listed on the Council agenda which are considered routine by the Township Council shall be listed under consent agenda. Prior to voting upon any item on the consent agenda, the presiding officer shall open the meeting to Council to entertain requests for removal from the consent agenda. There shall be no separate discussion of items on the consent agenda unless a Council member so requests, in which event the item shall be removed from the consent agenda and considered in its normal sequence on the agenda. Items to be included in the consent agenda may include but are not limited to approval of minutes, reports, solicitation of bingos and raffles, conveyances, easements, leases and agreements previously approved in principle. Those items which appear on the consent agenda are not required to be read at the public meeting in their entirety, but may be read by description only. Once a matter is placed on the consent agenda, there shall be no separate discussion on that item. Those items so approved under the consent agenda shall appear in the Council minutes in their complete and proper form.
[Amended 1-9-2006 by Ord. No. 38-2005; 3-23-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-10]
A. 
General procedure. Except as otherwise provided herein, meetings of the Council shall be conducted according to Robert's Rules of Order, latest update.
[Amended 1-9-2006 by Ord. No. 38-2005]
B. 
Reading of the minutes. The minutes of the previous meeting of the Council may be approved without reading if the Clerk has previously furnished each Councilman with a copy thereof, but upon request of any Councilman, the minutes or any part thereof shall be read prior to approval.
C. 
Presiding officer may debate and vote. The presiding officer may move, second and debate from the chair and may vote on any question, subject only to limitations of debate as are, by these rules, imposed on all members, and he shall not be deprived of any of the rights and privileges of a Councilman by reason of his acting as the presiding officer.
D. 
Closing debate. The Councilman moving the adoption of an ordinance or resolution shall have the privilege of closing the debate.
E. 
Motion to reconsider. A motion to reconsider any action taken by the Council may be made only at the meeting at which such action was taken. It may be made either immediately during the same session or at a recessed or adjourned session of such meeting. Such motion may be made only by one of the prevailing side, but may be seconded by any member and may be made at any time and have precedence over all other motions, and it shall be debatable.
F. 
Remarks of Councilman. A Councilman may request, through the presiding officer, the privilege of having an abstract of his statement on any subject before the Council, not exceeding 100 words, entered in the minutes. If the Council consents thereto, such abstract shall be entered in the minutes.
G. 
Synopsis of debate. The Clerk may be directed by the presiding officer, with consent of the Council, to enter in the minutes a synopsis of the discussion on any question coming regularly before the Council.
Any person desiring to address the Council shall first seek to be recognized by the presiding officer and, upon recognition of such person, shall confine his statement to the order of business prescribed by the section.
A. 
Written communications. Under the order of business described as "written communications," affected parties or their authorized representatives may address the Council in regard to matters then under discussion which are the subject of such communication.
B. 
Public portion. There shall be a public portion at all meetings of the Township Council during which the public will be invited to speak on any subject matter for a period not to exceed five minutes per person. At regular meetings of the Township Council, an additional five-minute opportunity to speak shall be permitted which shall be limited to items listed on the agenda for action. If a statute, ordinance or Council tradition permits a public hearing or public comment before a vote or other action on any item at the meeting, such item shall not be subject to this separate right to speak. Unless a different procedure is established by vote of the Township Council, the public's right to speak at agenda meetings shall be held at the end of the meeting. The public's right to speak at regular meetings shall be held at a time established by the Clerk on the published agenda unless the Township Council shall, by majority vote, designate a different time for the public to make its comments.
[Amended 2-24-2003 by Ord. No. 05-03; 3-12-2012 by Ord. No. 2012-08]
The Director of the Department of Police or such member or members of his Department as he may designate shall be Sergeant at Arms of the Council meetings and shall be in attendance at Council meetings when requested by the Council President. The Sergeant at Arms shall carry out all orders and instructions given by the presiding officer for the purpose of maintaining order and decorum at the Council meeting. Any person making personal, impertinent or slanderous remarks or who shall become boisterous while addressing the Council shall be barred by the presiding officer from further attendance at that meeting of the Council unless permission to continue is granted by a majority vote of the Council. Any person who violates the order and decorum of the meeting shall be guilty of an offense punishable as provided by law. Upon instructions of the presiding officer, it shall be the duty of the Sergeant at Arms to place such person under arrest and cause him to be prosecuted pursuant to law, the complaint to be signed by the presiding officer.
A. 
Procedure for introduction. Ordinances may be introduced and read on first reading by reading the title only. After publication and notice of hearing and upon the opening of the hearing, the ordinance shall be given a second reading, which may also be by title only, and thereafter it may be passed with or without amendments or rejected. Prior to the second reading, a copy of the ordinance shall be posted on the bulletin board or other public place upon which public notices are customarily posted in the Municipal Building, and copies of the ordinance shall be made available to members of the general public of the Township who shall request such copies. Copies of each ordinance and resolution, in printed or typewritten form and bearing a notation by the Department of Law as to approval as to form and sufficiency, shall be mailed by the Clerk to each Councilman at least 48 hours prior to introduction, provided that the failure of the Clerk to make such mailing shall not invalidate any action taken by the Council.
B. 
Prior approval or disapproval; drafting. Ordinances and resolutions shall be drafted by the Department of Law upon motion of the Council or request of the Mayor. It is understood that the ordinances requested by the Mayor shall be through the Council President as all ordinances must be sponsored by a Councilperson. Any ordinance or resolution which affects the administration of any department of the municipal government shall be submitted to the Mayor for his review and comment prior to its introduction.
[Amended 7-9-2018 by Ord. No. 2018-16]
C. 
All ordinances approved upon motion of Council or at the request of the Mayor pursuant to Subsection B above shall first be listed for discussion by the Council for the sole purpose of receiving an explanation regarding the purpose and intent of said ordinance. In that regard, debate regarding the ordinance shall not be permitted at this time, but rather shall be reserved for the public hearing of the ordinance. In addition, any ordinance approved by Council by motion to be drafted may also be moved for first reading (introduction) at the same meeting that it is listed for discussion by Council prior to it being introduced upon motion approved by the majority of Council then present at such meeting.
[Added 7-9-2018 by Ord. No. 2018-16]
A. 
An ordinance may be adopted by the Council only by the affirmative vote of at least a majority of all members of the Council. Each ordinance shall be published by the Clerk, considered and adopted by the Council and become effective according to the procedure prescribed by the Charter.
B. 
Resolutions, unless laid over by a majority vote of the Council, shall be acted upon at the same time at which they are introduced.
C. 
The vote of the Council upon every ordinance and resolution shall be taken by the Clerk by roll call, and he shall record in the journal the ayes and nays and not voting or abstains, as the case may be, on each question put to vote.
D. 
Unless a member of the Council who is present states that he is not voting or abstains, the Clerk shall record him as voting in the affirmative.
A. 
All ordinances shall be introduced, read, heard and enacted in the manner provided by general law. Each ordinance adopted by the Council shall be promptly delivered by the Clerk to the Mayor. Each ordinance shall be returned by the Mayor to the Township Clerk after the Mayor has affixed his signature thereto or after the expiration of 10 days from the date of its delivery to the Mayor in any event.
B. 
No ordinance, other than the Local Budget Ordinance, shall take effect less than 20 days after its final passage by Council and approval by the Mayor, where such approval is required, unless the Council shall adopt a resolution declaring an emergency and at least 2/3 of all the members of the Council vote in favor of such resolution.
The Council shall reconsider any ordinance returned by the Mayor within the time permitted by the Charter, together with a statement setting forth his objections. The recommendations of the Mayor shall be reconsidered at the next meeting of the Council which occurs not less than three days following the return of the ordinance by the Mayor. Whenever an ordinance has been reconsidered by the Council following a veto by the Mayor, the Clerk shall append to such ordinance a certification of the action of the Council upon such reconsideration in substantially the following form:
I HEREBY CERTIFY that the above ordinance adopted by the Township Council on the __________ day of __________, _____, was delivered to me on the __________ day of __________ together with the Mayor's statement of reasons for his veto of such ordinance, item or part thereof. On reconsideration thereof, on the __________ day of __________ (the Council duly resolved by the affirmative vote of 2/3 of its members to enact such ordinance, item or part thereof notwithstanding the Mayor's veto) or (the Mayor's veto was sustained).
Dated:
Township Clerk
When an ordinance shall take effect without the Mayor's signature by reason of his failure to return it to the Council by filing it with the Clerk within 10 days after it has been presented to him, the Clerk shall append to such ordinance a certificate in substantially the following form:
I HEREBY CERTIFY that the above ordinance was adopted by the Township Council on the__________ day of __________, _____ and was presented to the Mayor duly certified on the __________ day of __________ and upon his failure to sign it or to return and file it with the Clerk within 10 days thereafter, the said ordinance took effect in like manner as if the Mayor had signed it.
Dated:
Township Clerk
All reports to the Council and all resolutions shall be filed with the Township Clerk and entered in the minutes of the Council.
A. 
The compensation of each Councilman shall be $6,000 per annum, unless and until otherwise provided by the Salary Ordinance, to be paid as all other salaries are paid.
B. 
The President of the Council, by reason of his additional duties, shall receive an additional $1,000 annually, to be paid as all other salaries are paid.
C. 
Where an ordinance provides for an increase, decrease or alteration in the salaries, wages or compensation to be paid to elected members of the governing body, the ordinance or that portion thereof which provides for the increase, decrease or alteration shall not become operative for any member or members of the governing body until the first full term following the next respective election thereof.
[Added 1-11-1985 by Ord. No. 36-84]
A. 
Where the Council consent of a mayoral appointment is required by statute, the same shall be read by the Clerk of the Council or his designee and, unless otherwise ordered, shall be considered by the Council under new business.
B. 
When the appointment is taken up for action, the President shall put the question on each appointment as follows: "Will the Council confirm the appointment?" On that motion, a vote shall be ordered. If five or more members vote to confirm, the President shall announce. "The appointment is confirmed." If less than five members vote to confirm, the President shall announce. "The appointment is rejected."
C. 
Action by confirmation or rejection upon any appointment made by the Mayor shall not be postponed or delayed by the Council longer than for one regular meeting following receipt from the Mayor.
D. 
Within two days after confirmation or rejection of an appointment, the Clerk of the Council shall, in writing, notify the Mayor of that fact.
E. 
In the event that an appointment is rejected, the Mayor shall, within 90 days of receipt of the rejection, make another appointment to said position, which shall be considered by the Council pursuant to this section. The Council may at any time within the ninety-day period reconsider an appointment which has been rejected.
[Added 8-16-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-23]
The Township Council of the Township of Old Bridge shall not adopt an ordinance using the Township’s power of eminent domain to acquire private property against the wishes of the property owner for private development solely to increase tax ratables or tax revenue derived from the property, and this power shall only be used by the Township to acquire private property:
A. 
When the property is to be opened to the public or for the public’s use or necessary to support a public purpose, including infrastructure; or
B. 
When the acquisition is necessary to eliminate blight or another existing use of the property that inflicts an affirmative harm on society; or
C. 
Consistent with New Jersey Supreme Court opinion in Gallenthin.