Town (New Jersey)
New Jersey municipal government |
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Traditional types |
Modern forms |
Faulkner Actforms |
Nonstandard forms |
Special charter |
Changing form of municipal government |
Charter Study Commission |
Atownin the context ofNew Jerseylocal government refers to one of fivetypesand one of elevenformsof municipal government. Whiletownis often used as a shorthand to refer to atownship,the two are not the same.
The Town Act of 1895 allowed any municipality or area with a population exceeding 5,000 to become a town through a petition and referendum process. Under the 1895 act, a newly incorporated town was divided into at least three wards, with two councilmen per ward serving staggered two-year terms, and one councilman at large, who also served a two-year term. The councilman at large served as chairman of the town council.[1]
The Town Act of 1988 completely revised the town form of government and applied to all towns incorporated under the Town Act of 1895 and to those incorporated by a special charter granted by the legislature prior to 1875. Under the 1988 act, the mayor is also the councilman at large, serving a term of two years, unless increased to three years by a petition and referendum process. The council under the Town Act of 1988 consists of eight members serving staggered two-year terms with two elected from each of four wards. One councilman from each ward is up for election each year. Towns with different structures predating the 1988 act may retain those features unless changed by a petition and referendum process.[1]
Two new provisions were added in 1991 to the statutes governing towns, First, a petition and referendum process was created whereby the voters can require that the mayor and town council be elected to four-year terms of office. The second new provision defines the election procedure in towns with wards.
The mayor in a town chairs the town council and heads the municipal government. The mayor may both vote on legislation before council and veto ordinances. A veto may be overridden by a vote of two-thirds of all the members of the council. The council may enact an ordinance to delegate all or a portion of the executive responsibilities of the town to a municipal administrator.[2]
List of towns
[edit]Fifteen New Jersey municipalities currently have atypeof town, eight of which operate under the townformof government:
Municipality | County | Form |
---|---|---|
Belvidere | Warren | Town |
Boonton | Morris | Town |
Clinton | Hunterdon | Town |
Dover Town | Morris | Town |
Guttenberg | Hudson | Town |
Hackettstown | Warren | Special Charter |
Hammonton | Atlantic | Special Charter |
Harrison | Hudson | Town |
Kearny | Hudson | Town |
Morristown | Morris | Faulkner Act (Mayor-Council) |
Newton | Sussex | Faulkner Act (Council-Manager) |
Phillipsburg | Warren | Faulkner Act (Mayor-Council) |
Secaucus | Hudson | Town |
West New York | Hudson | Walsh Act |
Westfield | Union | Special Charter |
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^abNew Jersey Municipal History and the Traditional Forms of GovernmentArchivedSeptember 9, 2005, at theWayback Machine,State of New Jersey Library, p. 7-8. Accessed August 16, 2007.
- ^Types and Forms of New Jersey Municipal Government: TownArchivedJanuary 14, 2011, at theWayback Machine,New Jersey State League of Municipalities.Accessed August 16, 2007.