[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Committee
of the Township of Mullica 3-11-1986. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Administration of government — See Ch. 2.
The following rules of procedure shall govern
the business of the Township Council.
Except as may be provided in the Administrative
Code,[1] questions of order, methods of organization and the conduct
of business of the Council shall be governed by Robert's Rules of
Order (the most recent revised edition) in all cases to which they
are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with the rules
of procedure hereinafter set forth in these bylaws.
A.
The Council shall meet annually for organization at
12:00 noon on the first day of January, at which time it shall select
one of its members to serve as President and one as Vice President
for the year and until the election and qualification of a successor.
Election shall be by majority vote of the whole number of members
of the Council. The President shall preside over all meetings of the
Council and perform such other duties as the Council or the general
law may prescribe. Newly elected members shall take and subscribe
the oath of office at the annual organization meeting.
B.
Thereafter, the Council shall, by resolution, designate
the time of holding regular meetings, which shall be at least monthly.
Such meetings shall, upon resolution of the Council, be held at the
Township Hall.
C.
The Council President may, and upon written request
of three of the members of the Council shall, call a special meeting
of the Council. In this call, he shall designate the purpose of the
special meeting, and no other business shall be considered at such
meeting. The call for a special meeting shall be filed in accordance
with the Open Public Meetings Act.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See N.J.S.A. 10:4-6 et seq.
E.
All regular and special meetings of the Council and
all executive sessions shall be open to the public, pursuant to the
provisions of the Open Public Meetings Act, P.L. 1975, c. 231,[3] effective January 21, 1976, which is made a part of these
Rules of Procedure and of the Administrative Code by reference as
if fully recited herein at length.
[3]
Editor's Note: See N.J.S.A. 10:4-6 to 10:4-21.
There shall be no standing committees of the
Council other than the committee of the whole. The President of the
Council shall appoint the members and the Chairperson for all special
committees for legislative or investigative purposes. Said committee
members shall serve for the term of such committee as designated by
the President or until the committee issues a final report to the
Council.
A.
A majority of the whole number of the Council shall
constitute a quorum, but no ordinance shall be adopted by the Council
without the affirmative vote of a majority of all the members of the
Council. The procedure for adopting ordinances shall be in accordance
with the provisions of the Administrative Code.[1]
B.
If a quorum is not present 1/2 hour after the
appointed time for any meeting, the person presiding or, in his absence,
the Township Clerk may declare the meeting adjourned until the next
day, unless, by majority agreement, those members present select another
day.
C.
All voting shall be by voice vote, and the ayes and
nays shall be recorded in the minutes. The roll call shall be taken
in alphabetical order, except that the presiding officer shall be
polled last.
D.
No action of the Council, except as otherwise provided
herein, shall be valid or binding unless adopted with the concurrence
of a majority of all the members of the Council.
E.
Remote
participation by committee person.
[Added 3-12-2019 by Ord. No. 3-2019]
(1)
For
regularly scheduled committee meetings, committee persons are expected
to attend in person. However, a committee person may be permitted
to attend, participate and vote at meetings by telephone conference
call or other electronic means in accordance with the provisions of
the Open Public Meetings Act[2] and this chapter.
[2]
Editor's Note: See N.J.S.A. 10:4-6 et seq.
(2)
All
pertinent provisions of the Open Public Meetings Act must be complied
with, including, specifically, the proper notice of any regular or
special meeting, the proper recordkeeping or minutes of each meeting,
the appropriate agenda preparation for each meeting, which, in addition,
shall be posted along with the notice of meeting, and in particular,
any use of closed session shall be in compliance with the provisions
of the Act.
(3)
A
quorum must be established by committee persons physically present
at any meeting (a "physical quorum") before consideration can be made
as to whether to allow a member to participate in the meeting remotely.
A vote of a majority of the physical quorum shall be necessary to
authorize remote participation. For the meeting to continue with a
remote participant, there must always be a physical quorum present.
(4)
As
contemplated herein, except where prohibited by law or by this chapter,
a member of the committee may, under exceptional circumstances, participate
in a meeting of the committee by conference telephone or similar communications
equipment which enables all persons participating and in attendance
to hear each other and which permits full compliance with the provisions
of the Open Public Meetings Act. As used herein, "exceptional circumstances"
shall include, but not be limited to:
(5)
All
committee persons attending meetings by telephone conference call
or other electronic means shall be entitled to vote as if they were
personally and physically present at the meeting site so long as the
telephone or other electronic connection exists and a physical quorum
of the committee is present.
(6)
This subsection shall not be construed to mean that conferencing by electronic means shall be regularly used or used at every meeting of the committee; instead, remote participation shall be used only as necessary to allow participation of committee members who are unable to attend in person due to such circumstances as listed in Subsection E(4) above.
For the purpose of performing duties, other
than enacting legislation, which are properly exercisable by the Council
under the provisions of the Administrative Code,[1] the Council may sit in nonlegislative sessions at such
times as it may determine.
A.
Any and all matters to be presented to and acted upon
by the Council at its regular meetings must be filed in the office
of the Clerk not later than 12:00 noon six working days preceding
the date of such meeting, and unless so filed, will not be considered
by the Council until the next succeeding regular meeting of said Council,
unless authorized by majority vote of the members present.
B.
Presiding officer. The president and, in his absence,
the Vice President shall take the Chair at the hour appointed for
the meeting and shall immediately call the Council to order. In the
absence of the President and the Vice President, the Clerk shall call
the Council to order and shall determine whether a quorum is present.
If a quorum is present, the Clerk shall call for the election of an
Acting Chairperson.
[Amended 2-9-2010 by Ord. No. 3-2010]
Subject to the authority of the Chair, at each regular meeting
of the Township Committee to divert from the regular posted agenda
of such regular meeting, the order of business at each regular meeting
shall be handled as follows:
A.
Call to order.
B.
Sunshine Law.
C.
Flag salute.
D.
Roll call.
E.
Approval of minutes.
F.
Presentations.
G.
Early public comment on agenda items not otherwise subject to public
hearing.
H.
Introduction of ordinance.
I.
Public hearings of ordinances on second reading.
J.
Correspondence.
K.
Old business.
L.
New business.
M.
Payment of bills.
N.
Public discussion.
O.
Executive session.
P.
Adjournment.
A.
Every member shall give his entire attention to the
business under consideration during the sessions of the Council and
shall not absent himself from the meeting until the hour of adjournment,
except by permission of the President.
B.
Every member desiring to speak shall address the presiding
officer and, upon recognition, shall confine himself to the question
under debate, avoiding all personalities and indecorous language.
A member, once recognized, shall not be interrupted when speaking,
unless it is 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 by the presiding officer,
and if in order, he shall be permitted to proceed. Any member may
appeal to the Council from the decision of the Chair upon a question
of order when, without debate, the Chair shall submit to the Council
the question, "Shall the decision of the Chair be sustained?" and
the Council shall decide by a majority vote.
C.
Members of the public attending regularly scheduled
meetings shall not be permitted to speak more than two times, not
to exceed three minutes each time, on any one subject germane to an
issue then before the Council, unless given special permission for
extra time by majority vote of the Council members, and shall be heard
only during that portion of the meeting as established by Rule 6.[1]
The President shall preserve order and decorum
and decide questions of order, subject to an appeal to the Council,
which shall require a 2/3 vote to overrule.
A.
Resolutions shall be prepared by the Township Solicitor
upon request of a majority of the Council. Every proposed resolution
shall be prepared in writing and may be introduced at any regularly
scheduled meeting of the Council upon a motion and seconding, subject
to Rule 5.[1]
B.
Ordinances shall be prepared by the Township Solicitor
upon the request of a majority of Council. No ordinance, except those
relating to the budget or appropriation of funds and those relating
to the adoption or revision of the Administrative Code, shall contain
more than one subject, which shall be clearly expressed in its title.
The procedure for the passage of ordinances shall be that as set forth
in the Administrative Code.[2]
The Township Clerk shall, at least once each
year, within the seven days following the annual organization meeting
of the Council, post, for the purpose of public inspection, a schedule
of the regular meetings of the Council to be held during the year
in at least one public place reserved for such or similar announcements.
She shall, in addition, mail or deliver a copy thereof to the two
newspapers designated by the Council to receive notices of the meetings
of the Council. The schedule shall contain the location of each meeting
and the time and date thereof. In the event that such schedule is
thereafter revised, she shall, within seven days following each revision,
post, mail and submit such revision in the manner hereinabove set
forth.
These bylaws may only be altered by means of
a formal amendment, which shall be proposed, in writing, at the regular
meeting next preceding and adopted by a majority of the members of
the Council, but any of these bylaws may be suspended temporarily
with the concurrence of 2/3 of the entire membership of the Council,
unless such a suspension would be in violation of a statute of the
State of New Jersey.
