[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council of the Borough of Mendham 11-4-1974 as Ch. 4 of the 1974 Code. Amendments noted where applicable.]
§ 4-1. Mayor; election and term of office.
The Mayor shall be chosen at the general election by popular ballot of the eligible voters of the Borough of Mendham. He or she shall serve for a term of four years, which shall begin at 12:00 noon on January 1 following the election. (N.J.S.A. 40A:60-2)
§ 4-2. Powers and duties of Mayor. [Amended 6-7-1999 by Ord. No. 15-99]
The Mayor shall have all the powers and duties provided by state statute. He or she shall, inter alia, see to the faithful execution of the laws of the state and ordinances of the Borough, recommend to the Council those measures he or she deems necessary or expedient, maintain peace and good order and have the power to suppress riots and tumultuous assemblies, all as provided in N.J.S.A. 40A:60-5. He or she shall nominate and, with the advice and consent of Council, appoint all officers in accordance with N.J.S.A. 40A:60-5. The Mayor, as contemplated by N.J.S.A. 40A:60-5, shall preside over meetings of the Council and may, in the event of a tie, cast the deciding ballot; otherwise, he or she shall not vote. The Mayor may veto ordinances in accordance with the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40A:60-5. Such veto may be overcome by a two-thirds vote of the Council.
§ 4-3. Council; composition; terms of office.
As provided by state statute, the members of the Borough Council shall be chosen at the general election by popular ballot of the eligible voters of the Borough of Mendham. The Council shall consist of six members. Their terms of office shall be for three years, beginning at 12:00 noon on January 1 following their election, and arranged in such a manner that the terms of two Councilpersons shall expire at the end of each year. (N.J.S.A. 40A:60-2)
§ 4-4. Compensation of Mayor and Councilpersons. [Amended 6-7-1999 by Ord. No. 15-99]
Compensation for the Mayor and Councilpersons shall be fixed by vote of a majority of the members of the Council, in accordance with N.J.S.A. 40A:9-165. Editor's Note: Original § 4-6, Vacancies, was deleted 6-7-1999 by Ord. No. 15-99.
§ 4-5. Powers.
The powers of the Council are those vested by authority of statutory law, as enumerated in N.J.S.A. 40A:60-6 et seq., and as provided elsewhere in this chapter and amendments thereto.
§ 4-6. Organization.
The Mayor shall preside over all meetings of the Council, which shall organize annually on January 1 or during the first seven days of January in that year. (N.J.S.A. 40A:60-3 and 40A:60-5)
§ 4-7. President of Council.
| A. | The Council shall, at its organizational meeting, elect from its number a President of the Council. He or she shall hold office for one year until the next organizational election. If the Council fails to elect a President at the designated time, the Mayor shall appoint a President, and no confirmation by the Council shall be necessary. (N.J.S.A. 40A:60-3) |
| B. | It shall be the duty of the President to preside at all meetings of the Council in the absence of the Mayor, but he or she shall not lose his or her right to debate or vote on all questions before the Council while presiding. (N.J.S.A. 40A:60-3) |
§ 4-8. Acting Mayor.
| A. | If the Mayor is absent from the Borough for three days or is otherwise unable to act, the President of the Council shall perform the duties of the Mayor. The Mayor shall notify the President, in writing, if he or she intends to be absent for more than three days at any one time, and the President shall become Acting Mayor upon receipt of such notice and shall continue to act until the Mayor's return. (N.J.S.A. 40A:60-3) |
| B. | In case of the inability of the President to assume the duties of Acting Mayor, the member of the Council having the longest term of service shall act temporarily for the President. (N.J.S.A. 40A:60-3) |
§ 4-9. Meetings and conferences.
| A. | Regular meetings. The Council shall meet annually on January 1 or during the first seven days of January in that year. All meetings shall be held within the Borough. The Council shall meet regularly thereafter as provided by resolution. When the time for any regular meeting of the Council falls on a legal holiday, as prescribed by law, such meeting shall be held at the same hour on the next succeeding day which is not a legal holiday. (N.J.S.A. 40A:60-3) |
| B. | Special meetings. The Mayor shall, when necessary, call special meetings. In case of his or her neglect or refusal, any four members of the Council may call a special meeting at such time and place in the Borough as they may designate. In all cases, 48 hours' written notice of such meetings shall be given to all members. (N.J.S.A. 40A:60-3) Editor's Note: Former Subsection C, Council conferences, which immediately followed this subsection, was deleted 6-7-1999 by Ord. No. 15-99. [Amended 6-7-1999 by Ord. No. 15-99] |
§ 4-10. Quorum. [Amended 6-7-1999 by Ord. No. 15-99]
Three Councilpersons and the Mayor or, in the absence of the Mayor, four Councilpersons shall constitute a quorum. (N.J.S.A. 40A:60-3)
§ 4-11. Roll call votes; minutes. [Amended 2-6-1978 by Ord. No. 3-78]
The vote upon every ordinance, and upon those resolutions where the general law so requires, shall be taken by roll call, and the yeas and nays shall be entered upon the minutes. After approval at public meetings, the official copy of the minutes of each meeting shall be countersigned by the presiding officer, either the Mayor or the Council President, and by the Clerk.
§ 4-12. Rules of Council.
All regular and special meetings of the Council shall be open to the public. The rules of procedure to be followed and rules for the consideration of nominations submitted by the Mayor and for the conduct of other business of the Council shall be as adopted at the annual organization meeting.
§ 4-12.1. Consent agenda. [Added 5-3-2004 by Ord. No. 10-04]
| A. | There is hereby authorized a consent agenda for inclusion as a part of the agenda of every regularly scheduled meeting of the Borough Council. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| B. | Items which may be included in the consent agenda
include, but are not limited to, the following:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| C. | The consent agenda shall consist of any item so designated by the Borough Council and marked on the agenda with an asterisk. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| D. | No item shall be designated on the consent agenda unless an accurate copy of the resolution, proclamation, report or other matter which is the subject of the consent item is filed with the Borough Clerk at least 24 hours prior to the meeting at which the item is to be considered. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| E. | Prior to voting upon any item on the consent agenda, the Mayor shall open the meeting to members of the public for the sole purpose of hearing requests for removal of items from the consent agenda. There will be no separate discussion of items on the consent agenda unless the Mayor, a member of the Borough Council or citizen so requests, in which event the item will be removed from the consent agenda and considered in its normal sequence on the regular agenda. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| F. | Those items which appear on the consent agenda are not required to be read at the meeting in their entirety. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| G. | Once a matter is placed on the consent agenda and no member of the Borough Council or public requests its removal, there will be no separate discussion of that item. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| H. | All items on the consent agenda shall be listed separately on the agenda, but shall be approved by one motion and one vote at the time of consideration of the consent agenda as a whole by the Council. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| I. | All items approved on the consent agenda will appear on the Council minutes in their complete and proper form. |
For more the complete code online, follow this link to The Code of the Borough of Mendham, Online