In the first two centuries of New Jersey history, the legislature, upon community request, granted charters of incorporation which specified the form of government to be created. These charters were virtually nullified when all municipalities were brought under governmental forms (village, town, borough, township and city) established by general law enacted between 1890 and 1900.
All the land in the state is incorporated within its municipalities contrary to almost every other state. In other words, there are no unincorporated areas in New Jersey. The municipalities are organized under the authority of the state to provide for the health, safety, and welfare of their inhabitants. As a municipal corporation, the municipality has the power to sue and be sued, to acquire and dispose of property, to make contracts, to tax, and to enact ordinances-all these corporate privileges coming from the state.
The classification of municipalities developed in New Jersey to allow the legislature to limit the application of general laws to a particular group of municipalities, in the same way it has limited the law to specific classes of counties. The Home Rule Act of 1917 included city, town, township, borough, and village within the meaning of the term "municipality". These classifications are no longer related in any way to the size, population, character, or even the governmental structure of the municipalities. Further confusion is created as these same terms also apply to specific forms of government. While most of the larger municipalities are cities, there are some cities whose populations are comparatively small; on the other hand. there are towns and townships with large populations. In addition, it is not unusual to find a township operating under the Council-Manager rather than township form of government. The variety of governmental structures under which the municipalities of New Jersey operate is truly bewildering. The majority of local governmental units are still organized along lines established in the 1890's. A municipality's classification may be changed by referendum. In addition, there are four subclasses of cities: three are based on population, and the fourth is seaside resort cities on the Atlantic Ocean.
There are two major functions of local government: legislative (policy-making) and executive (administration). The elected governing body, whether it is called the committee, council, commission, board of aldermen or board of trustees, is usually responsible for the legislative function - that is, passing the ordinances and resolutions under which the community is governed. The major distinction among these forms is in the handling of the executive functions. Since no clear philosophy of local government guided early development, there was little attempt at separation of legislative and executive powers such as have been built in the federal and state governments. Lines of responsibility which were never clear to begin with became increasingly fuzzy as new offices and bodies with special powers and functions were added to municipal machinery.
Most of New Jersey's 567 municipalities still operate under forms called town, borough, township, city or village plans. In the older committee forms known as the township and the village plans, the elected body is also responsible for carrying out its own policies. Other older forms--town, borough and city plans--fall into the category called weak-mayor governments. In these forms, while the voters directly elect a mayor, the position does not encompass all the powers of a strong executive. Such a mayor does not have the power to prepare a budget, and many administrative functions must be shared with the elected legislative body. A newer "strong" mayor-council form is rapidly gaining acceptance among the larger municipalities. This form provides for the election of a mayor who is the chief administrative officer, who makes the budget, has veto power (subject to override) over the acts of the council and who appoints the heads of his own administrative departments (subject to approval by the council). The council is strictly a policy making body.
The council may consist of five, seven, or nine members, and they may be elected all from the community at large or through a combination of at-large and ward representation. The number of wards varies with the size of the council, as shown below:
| Size of Council | Number of Wards | At Large Members |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | 2 or 3 | 3 or 2 |
| 3, 4, 7, 9 | 5 or 6 | 4 or 3 |
Elections may be held on a partisan basis, with primaries in the Spring and the general election in November, or a non-partisan basis in May. Council terms may be served concurrently for the full four years, or they may be staggered, so that part of the council is elected every two years. Where wards are used with staggered council terms, the mayor and the at-large council members stand for office in the same year, while ward council members run in the off-year election. Run-off elections may be included in the non-partisan pattern if no candidate receives a majority, but they are not required.
This provides for better administration, a system of checks and balances between the legislative and executive, centralized budgeting, etc. One possible disadvantage is the fact that the mayor, through his right to name officials below the rank of department heads without approval of the Council, may use this right to build a personal political machine.
The first attempt to allow a kind of local structure that would pinpoint administrative responsibility was the "commission" form of government specified in the Walsh Act of 1911. This form places responsibility for particular departments with individually-elected commissioners. However, problems arise because of the lack of a strong executive to coordinate the administration of the municipality.
In 1923 the legislature made available the "municipal manager" form of government. For the first time, a structure was devised that establishes a clear division of legislative and administrative functions. The council operates in a policy-making capacity and hires a manager who has the responsibility for executing their policies. He holds office at the pleasure of the council during the first three years of his employment, after which time he may be removed only for cause.
In 1948 legislature established a commission to study municipal forms and recommend their modernization. The commission submitted as proposed legislation the Optional Municipal Charter Law, which was adopted by the legislature in 1950.
This law was called the "Faulkner Act" after the commission chairman who also has been a friend of American Legion Jersey Boys State and lectured to its sessions on municipal government for many years. The law makes possible a change of municipal governmental structure under voter authority. Under this law, a charter study referendum may be initiated by petition of the voters or by an ordinance of the governing body. In either case the voters decide whether there is to be a study and at the same time elect the five members of a charter study commission to serve if the proposed study is approved. The commission operates according to the provisions set down in the act, and is responsible to the voters. The commission may or may not recommend a change. If a change is recommended, it must be reported in full and must be placed on the ballot at an election set by the commission. The authority of the commission ceases only when the last necessary action, such as a vote by the people, has been completed.
The Faulkner Act also provides an alternate method for achieving a charter change: a direct voter petition for the adoption of a particular Faulkner Act form of government. In such a case, a referendum is held without a charter commission study. This law provides three forms of government-Mayor-Council, Council-Manager, and the Small Municipality plans--with each, offering more local discretion over the management of internal affairs than other forms. Within these plans it is possible to adopt a variety of political alternatives, but each provides for a clear division of legislative and administrative functions.
The Mayor-Council-Administrator Form of municipal government was added to the Optional Municipal Charter Law in 1982.
In the council-manager form, the council hires a trained manager who serves at the pleasure of the council, executes its policies, and administers the municipality. Among his responsibilities are the appointment and removal of the department heads and preparation of the annual budget.
In the mayor-council form the elected council is the legislative body: It adopts ordinances, makes all appropriations, decides all policies, and holds investigative power over the administration. A mayor, elected by the people, is the chief executive officer; he is responsible for carrying out all council decisions and the conduct of all other functions of the municipality. The mayor attends meetings of the council, but he has no vote (except on a tie vote in filling a council vacancy). His veto of any ordinances may be overridden by a two-thirds vote of the council. The council establishes and determines functions of all departments. A department of administration is required by statute, and certain of its functions--centralized purchasing, centralized personnel policies, and budgeting--are also mandatory. The mayor must appoint as head of the department of administration a person qualified to perform these functions. He also appoints other department heads who all serve at his pleasure. These appointments must be approved by the council, and removals may be nullified by a two-thirds vote of the council. The mayor prepares the annual budget for council approval.
In the small municipality plan, tailored specifically to update borough and township forms in communities of fewer than 12,000 population, the mayor--either directly elected by the people or chosen by and from the council--serves as executive head of the municipality, but without veto power. He also shares some executive authority with the council in the area of fiscal matters.
In the mayor-council-administrator form, the municipal council consists of a mayor and six members of council who are elected at large. The mayor serves a four year term and the members of council three year terms on a staggered basis. Under this form of government, the mayor has veto power over ordinances which can be overridden by a two-third vote of council. The mayor appoints an administrator and department heads with the advise and consent of council. The council is a legislative body with no administrative duties or power of appointment. One member of council is selected as president to preside in the mayor's absence. The administrator is directed to administer the business affairs of the municipality.
By 1971, twenty-one years after the Faulkner act was passed, 62 municipalities, containing over one third of the state's population, had one of its forms. Two additional options are available for modernizing local government. Now municipal governing bodies may by ordinance create the position of administrator, granting to him such powers and duties as they see fit. The constitution also permits a municipality to petition the legislature for a special charter delineating the desired governmental form.
All municipalities operating under the Walsh Act or the Faulkner Act have the powers of initiative, referendum and recall. Initiative is the power of the voters of a municipality to petition for a referendum to adopt an ordinance of their own design. Referendum is the power of the voters of the municipality to require, by petition, a binding referendum on any ordinance introduced or passed by the governing body. Recall permits the voters, by petition a referendum to remove and replace one or more members of the elected governing body before the completing of their terms of off ice. The Walsh and FauIkner Acts permit recall after one year of service; the municipal manager (1923) form, which also permits recall, permits it after two years.
Local laws are enacted by ordinance. An ordinance is introduced at a Ineeting of the governing body, is then published in a newspaper circulating in the municipality, the publication calling for a public hearing. After the public hearing, the ordinance receives final reading and is again voted upon; if it is passed, it is again published and generally takes effect at the final publication.
All municipalities require officials and staffs to perform the several and varied functions of local government. Depending on size and other factors, there are:
• The Clerk, who acts as the secretary of the governing body, keeping minutes and records of all its activities, seeing that all notices are published when and as required by law, keeping records of all voting registry lists, etc.
• The Assessor, who evaluates all property for tax purposes.
• The Tax Collector, whose duty is apparent from his title.
• Chief Financial Officer, Treasurer, who is custodian of the municipal monies.
• The Department of Public Welfare, headed by a Director, which administers relief and charitable aid.
• The Building Department, headed by the Construction Code Official, who has charge of the issuance of permits for the erection and alteration of buildings so that the same comply with the requirements of the municipal ordinances.
• Department of Health, Police, Fire, Law and the Municipal Court Judge.
• The Library Board, Recreation Commission, as well as special units which provide orcontractfor services such as utilities, etc.
• The Public Schools are under the control of a Board of Education, which is either elected by the voters or appointed by the mayor.
However, at the municipal level, unlike the county level, the duties and powers otherwise exercised by some autonomous boards or officers may instead be assumed or controlled by the municipal governing body. This occurs when the municipality is operating under a form of municipal government intended to be a "complete" government, as in the Faulkner Act forms. In other words, the municipal governing body in this event does not have to share its policy-making and administrative authority with independent agencies and officers. Nonetheless, some boards, such as the planning board and the zoning board of adjustment, exist regardless of the form of government.
Each municipality must bear its share of the costs of the County in which it is located as determined by the County Tax Board. The costs of municipal government, of schools and of a share of County costs together make up the local tax which is apportioned more or less fairly among local property owners on the basis of their property values as determined by the local assessor.
The local tax rate is arrived at by dividing the amount to be raised from property taxes (tax levy) by the total value of taxable property in the municipality (taxable assessed valuation).
Tax Rate = Tax Levy / Taxable Assessed Valuation
Municipalities may provide a large number of services, and the variety and quality of the services actually performed varies widely among them. Municipalities may provide services directly or by contract. In some cases, as an alternative, they may create special units to provide them. Some of these special units are described below. A special district, as the term is used in New Jersey, is an independent government created to provide definite functions and having the power to tax, impose service charges, and incur debt. The taxes it levies are only upon the properties within the geographic section it serves, and its financial obligations are not the responsibility of the rest of the municipality, although it may be aided by municipal funds. A special district may be established in a township or borough, depending on the particular service, and is governed by an elected board of commissioners. Fire protection or garbage collection is the service usually provided.
A municipally operated public utility is not considered a special district, for although its operations are separate from the municipality's it is not an independent government. The municipal treasury makes up any deficit in or may use any surplus from the utility's operations. Most of these utilities offer water, or water and sewage treatment services. A regional authority may be established by two or more municipalities to provide sewage service.
An authority is a public corporation with the power to levy and collect service charges, issue revenue bonds, and operate independently, but it does not not have the power to levy taxes. It is created to perform a specific function-typically sewage treatment, housing, utilities, transportation, parking, or port development-within an area. An authority's governors are appointed by the government creating it.
The United States Bureau of the Census, which includes authorities in its definition of special districts, counted 311 special districts in New Jersey.
