Pursuant to the Charter, the legislative power of the municipality will be exercised by the Council.
[Amended 5-21-1986 by Ord. No. O-15A-86; 3-21-1988 by Ord. No. O-5-88; 4-7-1997 by Ord. No. O-20-97; 2-28-2006 by Ord. No. O-04-2006; 10-28-2008 by Ord. No. O:38-2008; 12-27-2012 by Ord. No. O:32-2012; 3-13-2024 by Ord. No. O:08-2024]
The regular meetings of the Council will be held on the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month, with the exception of June, July and August, at a time established by resolution of the Township Council at the annual reorganization meeting or any time thereafter as the Council may deem proper. The second Wednesday of every month is designated as an Ordinance Committee meeting. During the months of June, July and August, the regular meetings of the Council and Ordinance Committee meetings will be held on the fourth Wednesday of each month only at a time to be established at the annual reorganization meeting or any time thereafter as the Council may deem proper.
[Amended 6-14-2006 by Ord. No. O-23-2006]
A. 
As provided by the Charter, the Mayor or the President of the Council may, and upon written request of a majority of the members of the Council shall, call a special meeting of the Council.
B. 
The Mayor or the President of the Council shall, upon written request of a majority of the members of Council, reschedule a regularly scheduled meeting.
C. 
Procedure.
(1) 
In the call he/she shall designate the purpose of the special meeting and/or a rescheduled regular council meeting.
(2) 
No other business shall be considered at such meeting.
(3) 
The call for a special meeting and/or a rescheduled regular council meeting shall be filed with the Municipal Clerk at least 48 hours before the time for which the meeting is called.
(4) 
The Clerk shall forthwith serve notice thereof upon each Councilperson by leaving a copy of the call at their respective places of residence or by telephone communication at such place as each Councilperson may in writing designate.
(5) 
The Clerk shall also forthwith release copies of the call to the press and post at least one copy in a prominent place in the Municipal Building.
All meetings of the Council shall be held in the Municipal Building, except that, in case of an emergency making it impracticable to conduct the business of the Council at the Municipal Building, the Council, upon such reasonable public notice as the circumstances permit, may meet in or adjourn a meeting to any other public building.
A. 
(Reserved)[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Former § 4-9A, Conferences, was repealed 9-30-1997 by Ord. No. O-53-97.
B. 
Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:69A-41(b), the Mayor may attend meetings of the Council and may take part in discussions of the Council but shall have no vote except in the case of the tie on the question of filling a vacancy on the Council, in which case he may cast the deciding vote.
Pursuant to the Charter, at its organization meeting after each annual general election, 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 all the functions, powers and duties of the President of the Council whenever the President may be absent. In the absence of both the President and Vice President of the Council, the Council shall elect a temporary presiding officer, who shall have all the functions, powers and duties of the President during his absence.
The President of the Council shall:
A. 
Preside at its meetings.
B. 
Preserve order and decorum at all meetings of the Council.
C. 
State every question coming before the Council.
D. 
Announce the decisions of the Council.
E. 
Decide all questions of order subject to appeal to the Council.
F. 
Appoint all special committees of the Council.
G. 
Sign all ordinances and resolutions adopted by the Council during his presence.
H. 
Act as a liaison with the Mayor.
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 5-21-1986 by Ord. No. O-15A-86; 3-21-1988 by Ord. No. 05-88; 9-30-1997 by Ord. No. O-53-97; 9-24-2018 by Ord. No. O:25-2018]
All reports, communications, ordinances, resolutions, contract documents or other matters to be submitted to the Council shall be delivered to the Clerk on a date preceding the regular meeting as shall be deemed necessary by the President of the Council, whereupon the Clerk shall, prior to said meeting, email a copy thereof to each member of the Council, the Mayor, the Township Solicitor and the Township Engineer.
The President of the Council or, in his absence, the Vice President shall take his chair precisely at the hour appointed for the meeting and shall immediately call the Council to order. In the absence of the President and Vice President, the Clerk or his assistant shall call the Council to order, whereupon the members of the Council present shall elect a temporary Chairman who shall forthwith assume the chair and proceed with the meeting and who shall immediately relinquish the chair upon conclusion of the particular business before the Council as soon as the President or Vice President is present.
As soon as the meeting is called to order, the Clerk or his deputy shall alphabetically call the roll of the members, and the names of those present shall be entered in the minutes.
A majority of all members elected to the Council shall constitute a quorum at any regular or special meeting of the Council, but a lesser number may adjourn any meeting from time to time.
[Amended 5-21-1986 by Ord. No. O-15A-86; 3-2-1992 by Ord. No. O-03-92; 9-30-1997 by Ord. No. O-53-97]
The business of the Council at each regular Council meeting may be taken up for consideration and disposition in the following order or at the discretion of the governing body:
A. 
Opening ceremonies.
(1) 
Call to order.
(2) 
Salute to flag: invocation.
(3) 
Roll call.
(4) 
Presentation of awards or proclamations.
B. 
Approval of minutes.
C. 
Public bids.
D. 
Public portion regarding resolutions scheduled.
E. 
Resolutions.
F. 
Ordinances: introduction and public hearings.
G. 
Reports and business.
H. 
Petitions, communications and general public discussion.
I. 
Correspondence.
J. 
Approval to pay bills.
K. 
Adjournment.
Unless a reading of the minutes of the previous meeting is requested by a member of the Council, such minutes may be approved without a reading if the Clerk has previously furnished each member with a copy thereof.
A. 
Presiding officer may debate and vote. The President or such other member of the Council as may be presiding may move, second and debate from the chair, subject only to such 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.
B. 
Obtaining the floor; improper references to be avoided. Every member desiring to speak shall address the chair and, upon recognition by the presiding officer, shall confine himself to the question under debate, avoiding all personalities and indecorous language.
C. 
Interruptions. A member, once recognized, shall not be interrupted when speaking unless it be to call him to order or as herein otherwise provided. If a member, while speaking, is called to order, he shall cease speaking until the question of order is determined, and if in order, he shall be permitted to proceed.
D. 
Privilege of 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 on the day such action was taken. It may be made either immediately during the same session or at a recessed or adjourned session and may be seconded by any member. It may be made at any time and have precedence over all other motions and it shall be debatable. Nothing herein shall be construed to prevent any member of the Council from making or remaking the same or any other motion at a subsequent meeting of the Council.
F. 
Synopsis of debates; when entered in minutes. The Clerk shall enter in the minutes a synopsis of the discussion on any question coming before the Council.
G. 
Remarks of Councilman; when entered in minutes. A Councilman may request, through the presiding officer, the privilege of having an abstract of his statement on any subject under consideration by the Council entered in the minutes.
H. 
A motion to adjourn shall always be in order and shall be decided without debate.
I. 
Any matter not covered by these rules shall be governed by Robert's Rules of Order (Revised).
[Amended 9-30-1997 by Ord. No. O-53-97]
Whenever a roll call vote and nomination are necessary, the Council shall vote alphabetically with the presiding officer voting last.
All special committees and the Chairman thereof shall be appointed by the presiding officer at a regular or special meeting. A quorum of each special committee appointed shall consist of a majority of the members thereof. Meetings of special committees shall be held at such time as shall not conflict with regular meetings.
Upon recognition by the chair, the person shall proceed to the floor and give his name and address in an audible tone of voice for the record. Statements and questions shall be addressed to the President of Council as a body and not to any member thereof. A Councilman shall not direct any question to a speaker addressing the Council, except through the presiding officer.
The President of the Council may request the Police Department to designate a police officer to serve as Sergeant at Arms at Council meetings. He shall carry out all orders and instructions given by the presiding officer for the purpose of maintaining order and decorum at Council meetings, and it shall be his duty to place any person under arrest who violates the order and decorum of a meeting and to cause him to be prosecuted under the provisions of this code upon a complaint signed by the presiding officer.
A. 
All ordinances shall be reviewed by the Township Solicitor upon direction of the Council or the Mayor.
[Amended 5-21-1986 by Ord. No. O-15A-86]
B. 
An ordinance may be introduced by any member of the Council after approval by the Ordinance Committee.
[Amended 10-10-2023 by Ord. No. O:38-2023]
C. 
If approved by the Council President and Ordinance Committee Chairperson, an ordinance may be introduced for first reading at a scheduled Council Meeting, if the matter is time-sensitive, without approval by the Ordinance Committee.
[Added 10-10-2023 by Ord. No. O:38-2023[1]]
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also redesignated former Subsections C and D as Subsections E and F, respectively.
D. 
A resolution may be presented for action at a scheduled Council Meeting. If approved by the Council President and Ordinance Committee Chairperson, a resolution may be presented at a scheduled Ordinance Committee Meeting, if the matter is time-sensitive.
[Added 10-10-2023 by Ord. No. O:38-2023]
E. 
All ordinances shall be introduced, read, heard and enacted in the manner provided by general law. Each ordinance passed by the Council shall be promptly delivered by the Clerk to the Mayor, and he shall, within 10 days after receiving any ordinance, either approve the ordinance by affixing his signature thereto or return it to the Council by delivering it to the Municipal Clerk, together with a written statement setting forth his objections thereto or to any item or part thereof. No ordinance or any item or part thereof shall take effect without the Mayor's approval, unless the Mayor fails to return an ordinance to the Council within 10 days after it has been presented to him or unless the Council, upon reconsideration thereof at the next regular meeting following its return by the Mayor shall, by a vote of 2/3 of all the members of Council, resolve to override the Mayor's veto.
F. 
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 members of the Council vote in favor of such resolution.
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 was adopted by the Council on the ......... day of ................, ........, and was delivered to the Mayor on the ................. day of ..............., ........., and was returned to me on the ............... day of ............., ......., together with the Mayor's statement of the reasons for which he was constrained to withhold his approval 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
  Clerk
Whenever 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 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
  Clerk
The Council shall file with the Clerk all petitions, resolutions or other papers considered by it on each matter. All reports to the Council and all resolutions shall be filed with the Clerk.
A. 
Nominations submitted by the Mayor will be considered at the agenda conference or at a regular meeting. Any member of the Council may move such nomination at a public meeting.
B. 
With respect to appointments to be made by the Council, any member of the Council may nominate as many candidates as there are offices to be filled. The Council will consider such nominations at any agenda conference or at a regular meeting. Where there is a single office to be filled, the sense of the Council on the appointment shall be taken as to each nominee, and the nominee receiving a majority shall be deemed appointed. Where there is more than one office to be filled, such as on a board or authority, the same procedure shall be followed with respect to each office separately until the total number of appointments to be made has been completed. In the discretion of the chair, a group of nominations may be considered at once where there is no apparent division in the Council as to nominees included in the group.
[Amended 4-15-1981 by Ord. No. O-08-81; 10-16-1985 by Ord. No. O-23-85; 3-20-1989 by Ord. No. O-12-89; 6-19-1989 by Ord. No. O-24-89]
A. 
The Mayor may, in his discretion, remove any department head and, subject to any general provisions of law relating to term of office or tenure, any other municipal executive officer who is not a subordinate departmental officer or employee, after notice and an opportunity to be heard. Prior to removal, the Mayor shall first file written notice of his intention with the Council, and such removal shall become effective on the 20th day after the filing of such notice unless the Council shall prior thereto have adopted a resolution by a 2/3 vote of the whole number of the Council, disapproving the removal pursuant to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:69A-43(c).
B. 
A department head may, with the approval of the Mayor, remove officers and employees of that department, subject to the provisions of the rules and regulations of the New Jersey State Department of Personnel as are provided by N.J.S.A. 40:69A-43(d).
C. 
The Council may, for cause, remove any municipal officer or Board member not encompassed in Subsections A and B above. other than the Mayor or a member of the Council.
(1) 
The Council will consider a motion to remove for cause only after removal has been duly proposed and considered at an agenda conference.
(2) 
A motion for removal shall set forth the alleged cause for removal, making specific charges, and provide for notice and an opportunity to be heard by the affected officer or Board member. The Township Clerk shall forthwith cause a copy of the motion for removal, together with a statement of the causes and charges involved and notice and time and place fixed for hearing, to be served personally or by certified mail upon the officer or Board member affected. Said notice shall be signed by the President of Council. A hearing shall be held not less than 10 days nor more than 30 days after the service of said notice and may be adjourned from time to time with permission from the officer or Board member charged. Such hearing shall be opened to the public, and the officer or Board member charged shall be entitled to be represented by his or her own counsel. Both the counsel and the officer or Board member charged shall have the right to subpoena witnesses and any documentary evidence. Following the conclusion of the hearing, the President of Council shall call for a vote on the motion, which shall be determined by a majority vote of the quorum of Council present at said meeting.
D. 
Attendance as cause for removal.
(1) 
All members of appointed boards, committees and commissions, whether appointed by the Mayor or the Township Council, are required to attend a minimum of 70% of all official meetings, workshops and caucuses. If, at any time after six months from the date of appointment. any such member shall have failed to attend 70% of such meetings, workshops and caucuses following appointment or 70% of such meetings, workshops and caucuses during any six-month period, such attendance record may constitute cause for dismissal of the position held.
(2) 
All members of appointed boards, committees and commissions, whether appointed by the Mayor or the Township Council, are required to attend a minimum of 60% of all committee events. If, at any time after six months from the date of appointment, any such member shall have failed to attend 60% of such events, such attendance record may constitute cause for dismissal of the position held.
[Added 2-24-2020 by Ord. No. O:03-2020[1]]
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also redesignated former Subsection D(2) as Subsection D(3).
(3) 
The Chairman or Secretary of each board, committee or commission shall keep monthly attendance records of all meetings and shall forward said reports to the Township Council within five days of the last day of each month.
Pursuant to the Charter (N.J.S.A. 40:69A-37), the Council may, in its discretion, require any municipal officer to prepare and submit sworn statements regarding his official duties and the performance thereof, and the Council may otherwise investigate the conduct of any department, officer or agent of the municipal government.
The Council shall cause to be made an annual audit of the municipality's accounts and financial transactions, as required by law. Such annual audit shall be made by a registered municipal accountant of New Jersey appointed by the Council for a term of one year and until his successor has been appointed and qualified. The Township Auditor shall perform such other services as may be requested by the Mayor or the Council.
Directors of all departments shall attend all regular and special meetings of the Council, unless excused from attending by the President of the Council. Failure to attend a regular or special meeting of the Council, unless excused by the President of the Council, shall constitute sufficient cause for removal from office.
No annual license may be renewed without consent of the Council, except dog licenses. The Council may investigate any license holder or licensed premises, and violation of any Township ordinance or state statute shall constitute sufficient cause for refusal to renew any license. All license renewal applications shall be filed with the Council at least one month prior to the expiration of the license. Council may, by resolution, extend any annual license for a period of one month after its expiration date to complete its investigation.
The Council President may appoint one member of Council to each board or committee to act as liaison between the Council and the board or committee. The Council member shall not be a voting member of the board or committee unless specified by state statute or Township ordinance.
The Township Solicitor and Engineer, or a representative of their respective firms, shall attend all regular and special Council meetings unless excused by the Council President.