[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Committee
of the Township of New Hanover as indicated in article histories.
Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 4-14-1992 by Ord. No. 1992-2]
There is created, jointly with the Borough of
Wrightstown and the Township of Springfield, a public body corporate
and politic to be known as the "New Hanover - Wrightstown - Springfield
Regional Housing Authority."
A. Each governing body shall appoint two Commissioners
of the Regional Authority for a term of five years, except that all
vacancies shall be filled for the unexpired term. The governing body
of the municipality which has the greatest population of any of the
municipalities creating the Regional Authority shall appoint one additional
Commissioner of the Authority for a like term.
B. The Director of the Public Housing and Development
Authority in the State Department of Community Affairs, on receipt
of notification of the creation of the Regional Housing Authority
from the Clerks of the municipalities creating it, shall appoint two
members thereof, who shall hold office at his or her pleasure. The
persons appointed by the Director shall be entitled to vote as members
of the Housing Authority and shall be entitled to all other privileges
of membership of the Authority.
C. No more than one Commissioner from each municipality
creating this Authority can be an officer or employee of such municipality.
A certificate of the appointment or reappointment of any Commissioner
shall be filed with the municipal clerk, and such certificate shall
be conclusive evidence of the due and proper appointment of such Commissioner.
A Commissioner shall receive no compensation for his or her services
but shall be entitled to necessary expenses, including traveling expenses,
incurred in the discharge of duties for the Authority.
The powers of the Authority shall be vested
in the Commissioners thereof in office from time to time. Five members
shall constitute a quorum of the Authority for the conduct of its
business and exercising of its powers and for all other purposes.
Action may be taken upon affirmative vote of the majority of Commissioners
present, which shall not be fewer than five.
The Authority shall select a Chairperson and
Vice Chairperson from among its Commissioners and may employ a Secretary
or an Executive Director and such other employees as it may require
and shall determine their qualifications, duties and compensation.
The Authority may employ its own counsel or other technical experts
as it may require.
No Commissioner or employee of the Authority
shall acquire any interest, direct or indirect, in any housing project
or in any property included or planned to be included in the project
nor shall he or she have any interest, direct or indirect, in any
contract or proposed contract for materials or services to be furnished
or used in connection with any housing project. If any Commissioner
or employee owns or controls an interest, direct or indirect, in any
property included or planned to be included in a housing project,
he or she shall immediately disclose the same, in writing, to the
Authority, and such disclosure shall be entered upon the minutes of
the Authority. Failure so to disclose shall constitute misconduct
in office. Upon such disclosure, such Commissioner or employee shall
not participate in any action by the Authority affecting such property.
A Commissioner may be removed from office for
inefficiency or neglect of duty or misconduct in office, after being
given a copy of the charges at least 10 days prior to a hearing thereof
and having had an opportunity to be heard on the charges in person
or by counsel. If a Commissioner is removed, after a hearing on the
charges, a record of the proceedings, with the charges and findings
thereon, shall be filed in the office of the Clerk of the municipality
whose governing body first appointed the Commissioner.
All persons employed by the Authority shall
hold their respective employments subject to the provisions of Title
11A of the Revised Statutes of New Jersey.
The Authority shall exercise and perform public
and essential governmental functions and shall have the following
powers:
A. To sue and be sued; to have a seal and to alter the
same at his or her pleasure; to have perpetual succession; to make
and execute contracts and other instruments necessary or convenient
to the exercise of the powers of the Authority; and to make and from
time to time amend and repeal bylaws, rules and regulations to carry
into effect the powers and purposes of the Authority.
B. Within its area of operation, which shall be limited
to areas of federal property within the municipalities creating the
Authority, to prepare, carry out, acquire, lease and operate housing
projects, and to provide for the construction, reconstruction, improvement,
alteration or repair of any housing project or any part thereof.
C. To arrange or contract, in the manner now prescribed
by law concerning municipalities, except as otherwise provided by
the rules or regulations of the federal government, for the furnishing
by any person or agency, public or private, of services, privileges,
works or facilities for, or in connection with, a housing project
or the occupants thereof, and to agree to any conditions attached
to federal financial assistance relating to the determination of prevailing
salaries or wages or to payment of not less than prevailing salaries
or wages or to compliance with labor standards in the development
or administration of projects and to include in any contract let in
connection with a project stipulations requiring that the contractor
and any subcontractors comply with requirements as to minimum wages
and maximum hours of labor and comply with any condition which the
federal government may have attached to its financial aid of the project.
D. To lease or rent any dwellings, houses, accommodations,
lands, buildings, structures or facilities embraced in any housing
project and establish and revise the rents or charges therefor; to
own, hold and improve real or personal property; to purchase, lease,
obtain options upon or acquire by gift, grant, bequest, devise or
otherwise any real or personal property or any interest therein; to
acquire by the exercise of the power of eminent domain any real property;
to sell, lease, exchange, transfer, assign, pledge or dispose of any
real or personal property or any interest therein; to insure or provide
the insurance of any real or personal property or operations of the
Authority against any risk or hazards; and to procure or agree to
the procurement of insurance or guaranties from the federal government
of the payment of any bonds or parts thereof issued by an authority,
including the power to pay premiums on any such insurance.
E. To invest any funds held in reserve or sinking funds
or any funds not required for immediate disbursement in property or
securities in which savings banks may legally invest funds subject
to their control, and to purchase its bonds at a price not more than
the principal amount thereof and accrued interest, all bonds so purchased
to be canceled.
F. Within its area of operation, as defined in Subsection
B hereof, to investigate into living, dwelling and housing conditions and into the means and methods of improving such conditions; to determine where there is a shortage of decent, safe and sanitary dwelling accommodations for persons of low income; to make studies and recommendations relating to the problem of clearing, replanning and reconstructing of slum areas and the problem of providing dwelling accommodations for persons of low income and to cooperate with any public body in action taken in connection with such problems; and to engage in research, studies and experimentation on the subject of housing.
G. To exercise all or any part or combination of powers
herein granted.
No person shall, because of race, religious
principles, color, national origin or ancestry, be subject to any
discrimination.
A. The Authority shall manage and operate its housing
projects in an efficient manner so as to enable it to fix rentals
for dwelling accommodations at the lowest possible rates consistent
with its providing decent, safe and sanitary dwelling accommodations.
B. The Authority shall not construct or operate a housing
project for profit or as a source of revenue to the municipalities
creating it.
C. The Authority shall fix the rentals for dwellings
in its projects at no higher rates than it shall find to be necessary
in order to produce revenues which, together with all other available
moneys, revenues, income and receipts of the Authority, will be sufficient
to:
(1) Pay, as the same become due, the principal and interest
on bonds of the Authority.
(2) Meet the cost of and provide for maintaining and operating
the projects, including the cost of insurance and the administrative
expenses of the Authority.
(3) Create, during not less than the six years immediately
succeeding its issuance of any bonds, a reserve sufficient to meet
the largest principal and interest payments which will be due on such
bonds in any one year thereafter and to maintain such reserve.
D. Rental duties.
(1) In the operation or management of housing projects,
the Authority shall at all times observe the following duties with
respect to rentals and tenant selection:
(a) It may rent or lease the dwelling accommodations therein
only to persons of low income and at rentals within the financial
reach of such persons of low income.
(b) It may rent or lease to a tenant dwelling accommodations
consisting of the number of rooms (but no greater number) which it
deems necessary to provide safe and sanitary accommodations to the
proposed occupants thereof, without overcrowding.
(c) It shall not accept any person as a tenant in any
housing project if the person or persons who would occupy the dwelling
accommodations have an aggregate annual net income, less an exemption
of $100 for each minor member of the family other than the head of
the family and his spouse, at the time of admission, in excess of
five times the annual rental of the quarters to be furnished such
person or persons. In computing the rental for this purpose of selecting
tenants, there shall be included in the rental the average annual
cost (as determined by the Authority) to occupants of heat, water,
electricity, gas, cooking range and other necessary services or facilities,
whether or not the charge for such services and facilities is in fact
included in the rental.
(2) Notwithstanding any provisions of this section, an
Authority may agree to conditions as to tenant eligibility or preference
required by the federal government pursuant to federal law in any
contract with the Authority for financial assistance.
The Authority shall have the right to acquire,
by the exercise of the power of eminent domain, any real property
which it may deem necessary for its purposes after adoption by it
of a resolution declaring that the acquisition of the real property
described therein is necessary for such purposes. Property already
devoted to a public use may be acquired in like manner, except that
real property belonging to a public body or corporation having the
power of eminent domain may not be acquired without its consent.
All housing projects of the Authority are subject
to the planning, zoning, sanitary and building laws, ordinances and
regulations applicable to the locality in which the housing project
is situated.
A. Issuance. The Authority shall have the power to issue
bonds from time to time, in its discretion, for any of its corporate
purposes. The Authority shall also have the power to issue refunding
bonds for the purpose of paying or retiring bonds previously issued
by it. The Authority may issue such types of bonds as it may determine,
including (without limiting the generality of the foregoing) bonds
on which the principal and interest are payable exclusively from the
income and revenues of the housing project financed with the proceeds
of such bonds; exclusively from the income and revenues of certain
designated housing projects, whether or not they are financed in whole
or in part with the proceeds of such bonds; or from its revenues generally.
Any such bonds may be additionally secured by a pledge of any grant
or contributions from the federal government or other source or a
pledge of any income or revenues of the Authority or a mortgage of
any housing project, projects or other property of the Authority.
B. Liability. Neither the Commissioners of the Authority
nor any person executing the bonds shall be liable personally on the
bonds by reason of the issuance thereof. The bonds and other obligations
of the Authority (and such bonds and obligations shall so state on
their face) shall not be a debt of the state or any political subdivision
thereof and neither the state nor any political subdivision thereof
shall be liable thereon nor in any event shall such bonds or obligations
be payable out of any funds or properties other than those of the
Authority. The bonds shall not constitute an indebtedness within the
meaning of any debt limitation or restriction. Bonds of the Authority
shall be declared to be issued for an essential public and governmental
purpose and to be public instrumentalities and, together with interest
thereon and income therefrom, shall be exempt from taxes.
C. Provisions; powers of the Authority. Bonds of the
Authority shall be authorized by its resolution and be in the form
provided by N.J.S.A. 55:14A-14. In connection with the issuance of
bonds or the incurring of obligations under leases and in order to
secure the payment of such bonds and obligations, the Authority shall
have the powers contained in N.J.S.A. 55:14A-15.
In addition to the powers conferred upon any
Authority by other provisions of this article, the Authority is empowered
to borrow money or accept contributions, grants or other financial
assistance from the federal government for or in aid of any housing
project within its area of operation; to take over or lease or manage
any housing project or undertaking constructed or owned by the federal
government; and, to these ends, to comply with such conditions and
enter into such mortgages, trust indentures, leases or agreements
as may be necessary, convenient or desirable. It is the purpose and
intent of this article to authorize the Authority to do any and all
things necessary or desirable to secure the financial aid or cooperation
of the federal government in the undertaking, construction, maintenance
or operation of any housing project by such Authority.
All housing projects of the Authority are public
property devoted to an essential public and governmental purpose.
All such public property devoted to such a public purpose shall be
exempt from all taxes and special assessments of the state or any
political subdivision thereof as long as such public property remains
under exclusive control and jurisdiction of the Authority which owns
or holds such property; provided, however, that in lieu of such taxes,
the Authority which owns or holds such property may agree to make
payments to a political subdivision for the services or improvements
of facilities furnished by it for the benefit of a housing project,
but in no event shall such payments exceed the amount last levied
as the annual tax of such political subdivision upon the property
included in said project prior to the time of its acquisition by the
Authority.
A. Upon completion of an application of the Authority
for the financial assistance of any agency of the federal government
in connection with a housing project, the Authority shall present
to the Director of the Public Housing and Development Authority in
the State Department of Community Affairs said application and supporting
data. The application and data shall be transmitted by the Director
within 20 days from the receipt thereof to the federal agency in question,
with the recommendations of the Director. Should the Director fail,
within said twenty-day period, to forward said application and documents
to the federal government or its appropriate agency, the Authority
shall be permitted to present its application to the federal government
or its agency.
B. During the pendency of an application to the federal
government or its agency for its assistance as aforesaid, the Authority
shall file with the Director copies of all correspondence, agreements
and documents that may be exchanged between the Authority and representatives
of the federal government in connection with the project. The Authority,
its members and personnel shall cooperate with the Director and its
representatives in the performance of the Director's functions and
in particular in the Director's capacity of serving as a central bureau
through which statistical and other information, pertaining to slum
clearance and low-cost housing, will be disseminated. The Authority
shall cooperate in the Director's duties of coordinating all housing
agencies in the State of New Jersey and of integrating their activities
with the federal government and its agencies.
The Authority shall file with the Director of
Public Housing and Development Authority in the State Department of
Community Affairs any proposed change in an approved project. Should
the Director at any time submit to the Authority suggestions with
respect to any project or change in a project of the Authority, the
Authority shall give consideration to such suggestions at a regular
or special meeting of the Authority.
At least once a year, the Authority shall file
with the municipal clerks of the municipalities creating the Authority
and said Director a report of its activities for the preceding year
and shall make recommendations as to additional legislation or other
action necessary to carry out the purposes of this article and the
Local Housing Authority Law.
The Executive Director of the Authority shall
provide written notice to the county or municipality, as appropriate,
whenever the Authority enters into a written agreement for the planning
and construction of a housing development project within the county
or municipality for which funding assistance shall be sought from
state or federal agencies, or both. The Executive Director shall also
give notice to such government units when the Authority makes application
for such assistance. Such notice shall be given within five calendar
days of the signing of the written agreement or the application for
funding assistance. In the case of a county, the written notice shall
be provided to the members of the Board of County Commissioners. In
the case of a municipality, the written notice shall be provided to
the Mayor and members of the governing body.
This article shall become effective upon final
adoption and publication according to law. A certified copy shall
be filed with the Director of Public Housing and Development in the
New Jersey Department of Community Affairs.
[Adopted 11-28-1994 by Ord. No. 1994-6]
There is hereby created a public body, corporate
and politic, in the municipalities of New Hanover Township and Plumsted
Township, the areas of which together comprise an integral body of
territory, to be named the "New Hanover - Plumsted Municipal
Utilities Authority," pursuant to the provisions of an act of the
Legislature of the State of New Jersey (N.J.S.A. 40-14B-1 et seq.),
known as the "Municipal and County Utilities Authorities Law," as
amended and supplemented.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. II)]
The membership of the New Hanover - Plumsted
Municipal Utilities Authority shall consist of three members, with
this aggregate number consisting of one citizen of Plumsted Township,
who shall be appointed by resolution of the Plumsted Township Committee;
one citizen of New Hanover Township, who shall be appointed by resolution
of the New Hanover Township Committee; and a third member, and an
alternate member, of either Plumsted Township or New Hanover Township,
who shall be appointed by parallel resolutions of the Plumsted Township
Committee and the New Hanover Township Committee, with the residency
of the third member, and the alternate member, to alternate between
New Hanover and Plumsted on each successive appointment. Additionally,
an alternate member shall be appointed to the Authority, which term
of appointment shall be simultaneous and coterminous with the term
of the third member. In any given year the alternate member and the
third member shall not be residents of the same municipality. The
alternate member may participate in discussions at the proceedings
but may not vote except in the absence or disqualification of a regular
member. A vote shall not be delayed in order that a regular member
may vote instead of an alternate member.
The New Hanover - Plumsted Municipal
Utilities Authority hereby created shall be an agency and instrumentality
of Plumsted Township and New Hanover Township and shall have all of
the powers conferred by the Municipal and County Utilities Authorities
Law upon municipal utilities authorities generally. The New
Hanover - Plumsted Municipal Utilities Authority shall service
all of the area located within the jurisdictional boundaries of New
Hanover Township, inclusive of the area under federal control commonly
known as "Fort Dix Military Reservation;" additionally, the collection
area to be located within Plumsted Township shall be limited to the
following area: all that area lying west of High Bridge Road, west
of Applegate Lane, west of Inman Road and all of the area lying west
of an imaginary line intersecting Applegate Lane and Inman Road and
the area lying to the west of the imaginary line running due south
between the southern terminus of Inman Road and the boundary line
of the Fort Dix Military Reservation. The municipal governments of
both New Hanover Township and Plumsted Township recognize the existence
of the Plumsted Township Municipal Utilities Authority. It is understood
and agreed by the parties that the Plumsted Township Municipal Utilities
Authority shall have exclusive control and jurisdiction over the service,
distribution and collection of any utility service within the Township
of Plumsted lying outside of the area known as the "Fort Dix Military
Reservation." The New Hanover - Plumsted Municipal Utilities
Authority shall limit its jurisdiction, authority and power within
the Township of Plumsted to servicing the area within the Fort Dix
Military Reservation and collecting or supplying utility services
up to the Township line. The New Hanover - Plumsted Municipal
Utilities Authority recognizes that the collection and distribution
area of Plumsted Township as set forth herein may not be altered by
the New Hanover - Plumsted Municipal Utilities Authority.
Any alteration in the service, collection and distribution area of
Plumsted Township may only occur after adoption of such subsequent
ordinance to amend the same. The powers of the Municipal Utilities
Authority shall be vested in the members thereof in office from time
to time. A majority of the entire authorized membership of the Municipal
Utilities Authority shall constitute a quorum at any meeting thereof.
Action may be taken in motions and resolutions adopted by the Authority
at any meeting thereof by vote of a majority of the members present,
unless in any case the bylaws of the Authority shall require a larger
number.
The New Hanover - Plumsted Municipal
Utilities Authority shall consist of three members, and an alternate
member appointed as aforesaid. Other than the members first appointed,
or to be first appointed, all members shall serve for terms expiring
on the first day of the fifth February next ensuing after the date
of the appointment of any member. Upon the initial appointment of
members to the New Hanover - Plumsted Municipal Utilities
Authority (MUA), the expiration of each of the initial members shall
be as follows: on the first February after the initial appointments,
no term shall expire; on the second February after the initial appointments,
no member position shall expire; on the third February after the initial
appointments, the term of the member appointed by parallel resolutions
of New Hanover and Plumsted Townships shall expire, and that position
will be filled for the subsequent term by a resident of the municipality
previously in the voting minority on the authority. This position
shall alternate every term of five years between a resident of New
Hanover Township and Plumsted Township; similarly the position of
alternate member shall expire on the third February after the initial
appointment, the initial appointment of the alternate position shall
be simultaneous and coterminous with the position of the third member.
Each successive term of the alternate member shall alternate between
a resident of New Hanover and Plumsted Township; on the fourth February
after the initial appointments and every fifth February thereafter,
the term of the member appointed by Plumsted Township shall expire,
and the member shall be replaced in perpetuity by a resident of Plumsted
Township as appointed by resolution of the Plumsted Township Committee;
on the fifth February after the initial appointment and every fifth
February thereafter, the term held by the resident of New Hanover
Township shall expire, and such position shall be filled in perpetuity
by a resident of New Hanover Township as appointed by the New Hanover
Township Committee.
In the event of a vacancy in the membership
of the Authority occurring during an unexpired term of office, a person
shall be appointed as a member of the Authority to serve for such
unexpired term by the governing body or governing bodies that made
the original appointment for such unexpired term. Each member shall
hold office for the term for which he was appointed and until his
successor has been appointed and has qualified.
A copy of this article and a copy of each resolution
appointing any member of the New Hanover - Plumsted Municipal
Utilities Authority, duly certified by the appropriate Township official,
shall be filed in the Office of the Secretary of State of New Jersey.
Upon proof of such filing of a certified copy of said article, the
New Hanover - Plumsted Municipal Utilities Authority shall,
in any suit, action or proceeding involving the validity or enforcement
of or relating to any contract or obligation or act of the joint Municipal
Authority, be conclusively deemed to have been lawfully and property
created, organized, established and authorized to transact business
and exercise its powers pursuant to Title 40, Chapter, 14B of the
Revised Statutes of New Jersey.
No member, officer or employee of the Authority
shall have or acquire any interest, direct or indirect, in the utilities
system or in any property included or planned to be included in the
utilities system or in any contract or proposed contract for materials
or services to be furnished to or be used by the Authority, but neither
the holding of any office or employment in the government of any county
or municipality or under any law of the state, nor the owning of any
property within the state, shall be deemed a disqualification for
membership in or employment by the Authority, and members of the governing
body of the two municipalities may be appointed by such municipalities
and may serve as members of the New Hanover - Plumsted Municipal
Utilities Authority.
Members of the New Hanover - Plumsted
Municipal Utilities Authority shall receive no compensation for services
except as such members shall be reimbursed for necessary expenses
incurred in the discharge of their duties. Notwithstanding the provisions
of this section, members of the Authority may receive compensation
for their services as may be determined hereafter by any parallel
ordinances of Plumsted Township and New Hanover Township amendatory
hereof.
Upon the initial appointment of the members
of the Authority and thereafter on or after February 1 of each year,
the Authority shall annually elect from among its members a Chairperson
and a Vice Chairperson, who shall hold office until February 1 next
ensuing and until their respective successors have been appointed
and have qualified. The Authority may also appoint and employ such
agents and employees as it may require and may determine their duties
and compensation without regard to the provisions of Title 11A of
the Revised Statutes, including but not limited to a Secretary, an Executive
Director, managerial and staff personnel, technical advisors and experts,
professional employees and persons who shall render professional services
as set forth in N.J.S.A. 40A:11-5.
The purpose of the New Hanover - Plumsted
Municipal Utilities Authority shall be:
A. The provision and distribution of an adequate supply
of water for the public and private users of the Townships of New
Hanover and Plumsted and their inhabitants for the areas of such municipalities
as set forth herein.
B. The relief of waters in or bordering the region from
pollution arising from causes within the two Townships, and the relief
of waters in, bordering or entering New Hanover and Plumsted Townships
from pollution or threatened pollution, and the consequent improvement
of conditions affecting the public health.
C. The provision of sewage collection and disposal service
within or without the Townships of New Hanover and Plumsted through
the authority vested in the service area or through contracts with
the appropriate governmental authority.
D. The provision of water supply and distribution service
in such areas outside the Townships of New Hanover and Plumsted as
are permitted by the provisions of Title 40, Chapter 14B of the Revised
Statutes of New Jersey and as set forth herein.
E. The provision of solid waste services and facilities
within or without the Townships of New Hanover and Plumsted in a manner
consistent with the Solid Waste Management Act found in N.J.S.A. 13-1E-1
et seq., and in conformance with a Solid Waste Management Plan adopted
by the Solid Waste Management Districts created therein.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. II)]
F. A generation, transmission and sale of hydroelectric
power at wholesale.
G. The operation and maintenance of utility systems owned
by other governments within the Townships of New Hanover and Plumsted
through contracts with said governments.
The Authority shall cause an annual audit of
its accounts to be made and, for this purpose, it shall employ a registered
municipal accountant of New Jersey or a certified public accountant
of New Jersey. The audit shall be completed and filed with the Authority
within four months after the close of the fiscal year of the Authority
and a certified duplicate copy thereof shall be filed with the Director
of the Division of Local Government in the Department of the Treasury
within five days after the original report is filed with the Authority.
Nothing herein contained shall be construed
as limiting or restricting any of the powers and duties conferred
upon municipal utilities authorities created pursuant to the aforesaid
Act, and the New Hanover - Plumsted Municipal Utilities
Authority shall enjoy all of the statutory powers and duties as specifically
set forth in N.J.S.A. 40:14B-1 et seq., and as the same may be amended
and supplemented.