Atlantic County, NJ Article VIII Department of Law

§ 4-43 Department established; legal counsels.

[Amended 5-27-1980; 2-15-1992 by Ord. No. 12-1992]

There shall be a Department of Law, the head of which shall be the County Counsel, who shall be appointed by the County Executive with the advice and consent of the Board of County Commissioners, who shall be a member of the unclassified service and who shall serve as chief legal officer of the County. In addition thereto, there shall be a Legislative Counsel to the Board of County Commissioners, appointed by it, to serve at the pleasure of the Board.

§ 4-43.1 (Reserved) [1]

[1] Editor's Note: Former § 4-43.1, Division of Consumer Affairs, added 8-21-1984 by Ord. No. 21A-1984, was repealed 1-17-2012 by Ord. No. 1-2012. This ordinance also provided that the County shall continue to conduct the statutory operation of weights and measures under the Office of Weights and Measures, which shall be a separate office located within the Atlantic County Department of Law, the personnel of which shall report to the County Counsel and/or his/her designee.

§ 4-44 Functions and duties of County Counsel.

A. Provision of legal services.

[Amended 12-29-1981 by Ord. No. 24-1981; 2-15-1992 by Ord. No. 12-1992]

(1) The County Counsel and his or her assistant or assistants shall provide necessary legal services to the County, its officers, boards, commissions, constitutional officers or other bodies, excluding those authorities or boards otherwise designated by this chapter as autonomous and excluding those functions and duties expressly designated to the Legislative Counsel.

[Amended 8-6-1996 by Ord. No. 12-1996]

(2) In the event that the County Counsel cannot represent a constitutional officer, that officer may seek representation from the Attorney General of the State of New Jersey; and if the Attorney General's Office refuses to provide representation, the constitutional officer may, within available appropriations, designate special counsel to provide representation, subject to prior Board of County Commissioners approval where the retention of special counsel requires execution of a professional services agreement.

(3) In the event that the County Counsel cannot represent the County Executive in a specific legal matter, the County Executive may either retain separate counsel pursuant to a duly authorized professional services agreement or may appoint a Counsel to the Executive to represent him or her in said matter. Executive Counsel shall serve at the pleasure of the County Executive, and N.J.S.A. 40:41A-87 shall not apply to Executive Counsel.

(4) In the event that a specific legal matter has the County of Atlantic and/or multiple individual County employees as parties and the County Counsel, under applicable law and court rules regarding conflicts cannot provide representation for all parties, the County Counsel shall designate a New Jersey licensed attorney(s) outside of the Law Department to represent any parties the County Counsel is unable to represent.

(5) In the event that an individual County employee is named as a defendant in a criminal proceeding in Municipal Court, representation for said employee shall be in accordance with the Special Counsel Policy.

B. The County Counsel shall represent the County of Atlantic in all judicial and administrative hearings, except those directly involving a conflict between the executive branch and the legislative branch of the County government. He or she shall prepare all resolutions and ordinances requested by the County Executive or the County Administrator and, together with the Legislative Counsel, shall review all contracts. He or she shall render legal opinions upon request for and to all departments and divisions and render such legal opinions to the Board of County Commissioners as shall be requested by it.

[Amended 12-29-1981 by Ord. No. 24-1981; 4-11-1989 by Ord. No. 8-1989]

C. The County Counsel shall maintain records of all actions, suits and proceedings of a legal nature and shall report thereon, from time to time, and as requested by the Board and/or the County Executive.

D. The County Counsel may designate to his or her assistants such responsibilities and duties as he or she deems appropriate, including the designation of an Assistant County Counsel to perform as County Adjuster. In the event of a vacancy in the office of County Counsel, an Assistant County Counsel shall be designated by the County Executive to act until the appointment and qualification of a County Counsel.

[Amended 12-29-1981 by Ord. No. 24-1981]

E. The Law Department shall handle the investigation, administration and litigation of all workers compensation and general liability claims.

[Added 10-12-1992 by Ord. No. 14-1982; 2-15-1992 by Ord. No. 12-1992]

§ 4-45 Office of Risk, Insurance, Safety and Claims. [1]

[Added 9-5-2000 by Ord. No. 9-2000; amended 6-7-2022 by Ord. No. 5-2022]

A. There shall be an Office of Risk, Insurance, Safety and Claims (RISC), the Manager of which shall be a member of the unclassified service and shall be qualified by training, education and experience for the duties of the office.

B. The Office of RISC shall coordinate with the Atlantic County Insurance Commission (ACIC) of which the County is a member in order to carry out the following functions:

(1) Cooperate with the ACIC in establishing a risk management plan and coordinating programs of loss prevention, sick avoidance and otherwise be proactive to ensure safety in the work place, in County facilities, County installations and on County highways.

(2) Cooperate with the ACIC to provide for the County's insurance needs in areas of general liability, auto liability, employment practices liability (EPL), public official liability (POL), professional liability and workers' compensation coverage.

(3) Develop, implement and manage a comprehensive, Countywide safety program providing appropriate training and assistance in ensuring workplace safety for County employees and premises safety for visitors and clientele.

(4) Manage any and all claims which are presented to the County, including workers' compensation, property damage and personal injury claims.

(5) Secure appropriate bonds for County officials and the County's Constitutional Offices.

(6) Work in conjunction with the ACIC's third party administrator (TPA) to manage any and all claims which are presented to the County, including workers' compensation, property damage and personal injury claims.

[1] Editor's Note: Former § 4-45, Functions and duties of Legislative Counsel, was repealed 8-6-1996 by Ord. No. 12-1996.

§ 4-46 (Reserved) [1]

[1] Editor's Note: Former § 4-46, Office of Equal Employment Opportunity, added 2-15-1992 by Ord. No. 12-1992, as amended, was redesignated as § 4-28 6-7-2022 by Ord. No. 5-2022.

§ 4-46.1 Office of the County Adjuster.

[Added 2-15-1992 by Ord. No. 12-1992]

A. There shall be an Office of the County Adjuster, the head of which shall be a member of the classified service and who shall be qualified by training, experience or education for the duties of the office.

B. The office shall:

(1) Receive notification of admissions to state mental and DDD facilities and schedule commitment hearings for persons admitted to mental hospitals.

(2) Conduct comprehensive investigation on all admissions to determine the financial ability of a patient or legally responsible relative to pay, identify and pursue any available third-party payments and determine if the County is chargeable.

(3) Audit state institutional billing to the County, make appropriate deductions and process payment.

(4) Monitor/track rebates and credits due to the County from the state to ensure the accuracy and receipt thereof.

§ 4-47 Effect on authority of County Counsel. [1]

Nothing herein contained shall restrict or limit the proper responsibilities, powers and duties of the office of County Counsel as established by law and by this chapter.

[1] Editor's Note: Section 8.5 of the original ordinance, on Special Counsel, which formerly preceded this section, was repealed 5-27-1980.