City of Trenton, NJ Article II Mayor; Chief of Staff; Business Administrator

§ 2-4 Mayor.

A. Election; term; compensation. The Mayor shall be elected by the voters of the City at a regular municipal election and shall serve for a term of four years beginning on the first day of July next following his/her election. The salary range for the Mayor shall be as set by ordinance.

B. General powers and duties of Mayor. The Mayor shall be the chief executive and administrative officer of the City. The Mayor shall:

(1) Enforce the Charter and ordinances of the City.

(2) Supervise all of the departments of City government.

(3) Require each department to make an annual and such other reports of its work as (s)he may deem desirable.

(4) Appoint all officers and employees for whose election or appointment no other provision is made by Charter or ordinance.

(5) From time to time make such recommendations for action by the Council as (s)he may deem to be in the public interest.

(6) Report annually at the beginning of the year to the Council and the public on the work of the previous year and condition and requirements of City government for the current year.

C. Appointment powers of Mayor.

(1) The Mayor may appoint a Deputy Mayor in charge of staff, who shall be called the "Chief of Staff," and whose powers, duties and annual compensation shall be prescribed, in writing, by the Mayor. The Chief of Staff shall serve and be removable at the pleasure of the Mayor and shall serve in the unclassified service of the civil service of the City.

(2) The Mayor shall appoint the Director of each department with the advice and consent of Council. Each department head shall serve during the term of office of the Mayor appointing him/her and until the appointment and qualification of his/her successor.

(3) The Mayor may, in his/her discretion, remove any department head after notice and an opportunity to be heard. Prior to removing a department head, the Mayor shall first file written notice of his/her intention with the Council, and such removal shall become effective on the 20th day after the filing of the notice unless the Council shall, prior thereto, have adopted a resolution by a two-thirds vote of the whole number of the Council disapproving the removal.

(4) The Mayor shall have such further appointing power with advice and consent of the Council, or otherwise as provided by general law.

(5) Whenever a vacancy exists in any office required by the Charter or this chapter to be filled by the Mayor with advice and consent of Council, and there is no holdover incumbent, the Mayor may temporarily fill such vacancy (in the absence of any contrary provision in the Charter or ordinances) by appointing an active officer, including designation of himself/herself as Acting Business Administrator in event of a vacancy in that office.

(6) Such appointee shall have all of the functions, powers and duties of the office until it shall be filled permanently. Such appointment shall terminate no later than 90 days after the date of the appointment unless the Council shall, by resolution, authorize one or more extensions of such period.

D. Veto power. Ordinances adopted by the Council shall be submitted to the Mayor, and (s)he shall, within 10 days after receiving any ordinance, either approve the ordinance by affixing his/her signature thereto or return it to the Council by delivering it to the City Clerk together with a statement setting forth his/her 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/her, or unless Council upon reconsideration thereof on or after the third day following its return by the Mayor shall by a vote of 2/3 of the members resolve to override the Mayor's veto.

E. Acting Mayor. As provided by the Charter (Section 3-12, N.J.S.A. 40:69A-42), the Mayor shall designate the Chief of Staff, the Business Administrator, any other department head or the City Clerk to act as Mayor whenever the Mayor shall be prevented, by absence from the City, disability or other cause, from attending to the duties of the office. During such time, the person so designated by the Mayor shall possess all the rights, powers and duties of Mayor. Whenever the Mayor shall have been unable to attend to the duties of the office for a period of 60 consecutive days for any of the above-stated reasons, an acting Mayor shall be appointed by the Council who shall succeed to all the rights, powers and duties of the Mayor or the then Acting Mayor.

F. Vacancy. A vacancy in the office of Mayor shall be filled by election for the remainder of the unexpired term at the next regular municipal election occurring not less than 60 days after the occurrence of the vacancy. Council shall fill vacancies temporarily by appointment to serve until the qualification of a person so elected.

§ 2-5 Business Administrator.

A. A Business Administrator shall be appointed as provided by the Charter. The Business Administrator shall be chosen solely on the basis of his/her executive and administrative qualifications with special reference to his/her actual experience in, or knowledge of, accepted practice in respect to duties of the office as hereinafter set forth. At the time of his/her appointment (s)he need not be a resident of Trenton or of this state, but during his/her tenure of office (s)he may reside outside the City only with the approval of the City Council.

B. Under the direction of the Mayor, the Business Administrator shall:

(1) Assist the Mayor in the preparation of the City budget.

(2) Negotiate contracts and maintain proper labor relations with all employee collective bargaining groups.

(3) Serve as Director of the Department of Administration.

(4) Prescribe and enforce rules and regulations for the efficient management of the City government not inconsistent with the Charter and this chapter.

(5) The Business Administrator shall approve and authorize payments, on behalf of the City, of claims which, upon review of the City Attorney, represent legitimate and provable causes of action against the City in such amount as represents a just, equitable and fair settlement and to authorize payment of such amounts from the trust fund account administered by the agency designated by the City to administer the self-insurance program, provided that nothing in this subsection shall be construed to authorize the Business Administrator to make settlement of any claim in excess of $3,000 without the prior approval by resolution of the City Council.

(6) Perform such other duties as this chapter may require, as assigned by the Mayor or as Council may otherwise prescribe.

C. The salary range for the Business Administrator shall be as set by ordinance.