Powers and Duties of the Township Committee and the Mayor

N.J.S.A. 40A:63-3 through 40A:63-7 establishes
Township Committee and the powers of the Township Committee and the Mayor

40A:63-3.    Organization of the Township Committee
     a.   The township committee shall consist of three or five members who shall hold office for a term of three years.

    b.   Notwithstanding the provisions set out in subsection a. of this section, a township that has been divided into wards prior to the effective date of this act shall continue to elect the members of the township committee from wards as heretofore established by referendum of the voters of said township. Also, one member of the township committee shall be elected at large and, by virtue of such designation, shall be known as the mayor of such township. The township committee may, by ordinance, not less than 60 days before any general election, call for a referendum of the legal voters to decide whether or not to abolish the ward system of representation and return to election of the township committee at large.

    c.   The legal voters of any township may elect to increase or decrease the membership of the township committee of the township either to three or five members.

    The township committee shall order an election on the proposition, to be held at the next general election, whenever a petition is presented to the township clerk by the legal voters of the township in the number of at least fifteen per centum (15%) of the votes cast in the township at the last election in which members of the General Assembly were elected. The proposition shall not be submitted more than once in any three year period.

    The notice, advertisement and conduct of the election shall be the same as for officers voted at any general election.

    The proposition shall be submitted to the voters at the election in substantially the following form:

    "Shall the membership of the township committee of .................... .. (insert name of township) be ...................... (insert 'increased' or 'decreased') from ............. (insert current number) to ........... (insert proposed number) members?"

    A canvass and return of the vote shall be made in the same manner as for officers voted for at any general election and a majority of all the votes cast in favor of the proposition shall be sufficient to make the change.

    d.   When the legal voters shall have voted to increase or decrease the membership of the township committee, as provided for in subsection c. of this section, the increase or decrease shall take effect for the next general election. At that election:

    (1) If two additional committee members are to be elected, then one shall be elected for a term of two years and one for a term of three years; or

    (2) If the membership of the township committee is to decrease by two members, then the terms of all committee members currently serving on the date of the election at which the decrease was adopted, and all committee members elected at that election, shall terminate on December 31 next following the next general election. At the next general election, one committee member shall be elected for a term of one year, one for a term of two years and one for a term of three years.

    e.   The township committee shall hold an annual meeting on the first day of January at 12 o'clock noon, or during the first seven days of January in any year.

    f.   At their annual meeting, the committee shall have the power and authority to elect one of their number as chairman of the committee, who shall preside at all meetings of the township committee and who shall be known as the mayor of the township. The mayor shall have no additional authority by virtue of such designation, except as otherwise provided by law or this act .

    g.   A majority of the committee shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. A majority of all the members of the committee shall be required to vote in the affirmative to pass any ordinance.

    h.   The committee may, at its annual meeting, establish for their members such subordinate committees as will assist them for the ensuing year.

    i.   No officer, who has obtained tenure by any provision of any section herein repealed by section 40A:63-9 of this act, shall be affected in any way by the repeal.

40A:63-4.    General Powers
     Every township, governed by the township form of government pursuant to this act, shall, subject to the provisions of this act or other general law, have full power to exercise all powers of local government in such manner as its committee may determine.

40A:63-5.    Powers of the Mayor
     a.   The mayor shall be the chairman of the township committee and head of the municipal government. In those townships divided into wards the mayor shall be the member of the township committee elected at large.

    b.   The mayor shall have all those powers placed in the mayor by general law.

    c.   The mayor shall preside at meetings of the committee and shall have the right to debate and vote on all questions before the committee.

40A:63-6.    Powers of the Committee
     a.   The committee shall be the legislative body of the municipality.

     b.   The committee may subject to general law and the provisions of this act:

    (1) pass, adopt, amend and repeal any ordinance or, where permitted, any resolution for any purpose required for the government of the municipality or for the accomplishment of any public purpose for which the municipality is authorized to act under general law;

    (2) control and regulate the finances of the municipality and raise money by borrowing and taxation;

    (3) create such offices and positions as they deem necessary. The officers appointed thereto shall perform the duties required by law and the ordinances of the committee. Other than the township attorney, engineer, building inspector, the clerk, tax collector and tax assessor who shall serve for terms as provided in Chapter 9 of Title 40A of the New Jersey Statutes, these officers shall serve at the pleasure of the committee;

    (4) investigate any activity of the municipality; and

    (5) remove any officer of the municipality, other than those officers excepted by law, for cause.

    c.   The committee shall have all the executive responsibilities of the municipality not placed, by general law or this act, in the office of the mayor.

40A:63-7.    Miscellaneous
     a.   The township committee may, by ordinance, delegate all or a portion of the executive responsibilities of the municipality to an administrator, who shall be appointed pursuant to chapter 9 of Title 40A of the New Jersey Statutes (40A:9-136).

    b.   The township committee may, by ordinance, adopt an administrative code. The administrative code shall restate the major provisions of the township's charter and the general law supplementing the charter. The administrative code shall set forth the manner in which the committee shall perform its duties. If the committee organizes itself into standing committees or if the committee members serve as heads of departments with administrative control over said departments, the administrative code shall specify the powers and duties of such committees or department heads and the manner in which they are appointed. The administrative code shall set forth the titles of the principal officers, how the officers are appointed, how they are organized into departments, boards, commissions and other agencies; whom they supervise; by whom they are supervised; what powers they have and what procedure should be followed to carry on the activities of the township government. The administrative code shall not grant any power or authority, nor authorize any procedure, unless such power, authority or procedure is authorized implicitly by the wording of the statute or derived reasonably by implication therefrom.

    c.   The assets and liabilities of any board, commission or district created pursuant to the statutes repealed in section 40A:63-9 of this act shall be transferred to the municipality.

    d.   The township committee may create such advisory councils to the municipality as they may choose, including councils for the functions absorbed by them of any heretofore existing boards, commissions or districts.