Local government of New Jersey

The local government of New Jersey is more complex than that of most U.S. states, potentially leading to misunderstandings regarding the governmental nature of an area. With five "types" and eleven "forms" of local government (plus several non-standard forms in municipalities with special charters), some areas of New Jersey are administered significantly differently from other states. All of New Jersey is included in one of the state's 21 counties and part of the state's 566 municipalities. That means there are no independent cities or consolidated city-counties in New Jersey. There is no unincorporated territory.

County

New Jersey is divided into 21 counties. All counties are governed by a Board of Chosen Freeholders, which typically serves as both the legislative and executive body. The Board consists of three to nine members elected at-large, with one chosen as the Board President. Each Freeholder is assigned responsibility for one or more departments of the county. Five counties have a separately elected county executive (Atlantic, Bergen, Essex, Hudson and Mercer). A sixth county (Union) has a county executive that is appointed by the Board, analogous to the council-manager municipal form of government. In these counties, the Board of Chosen Freeholders retain only legislative authority. Most of the rest of the counties also appoint a county supervisor/administrator who is responsible for routine administrative operations of the county government. New Jersey counties have powers that are intermediate between the broad powers of counties in Pennsylvania and the limited powers of counties in New York.

Types

New Jersey is unique in the United States for having five distinct types of incorporated municipalities. Each of the five types has an associated default form of government. Municipalities that do not choose to change their form of government to one of the optional forms listed in the next section have the form of government corresponding to the type of municipality they were incorporated as.

Borough

The borough form of government is New Jersey's most common, being used by over 200 of the state's municipalities. Although it was once quite rare, the boroughitis phenomenon of the late 19th century led to the incorporation of large numbers of new boroughs.

City

Town

The town form of government dates back to the late 19th century when towns were first incorporated in the state. The town government law was rewritten in 1988. In this form of government, a mayor is elected at-large plus eight councilmen – two from each of four wards. The mayor presides over council meetings and votes as a member of the council. The mayor has veto power over ordinances that can be overridden by a two-thirds vote of the council. All appointments to municipal offices are performed by the council. Currently, only nine of the state's 15 towns still have the town form of government, with most of the rest opting to switch to one of the newer optional forms.

Township

The township form of government has a group of elected officials (the township committee) which serves as both the executive and legislative authority. This form of government is one of the oldest and is derived from the town meeting form of government used in New England, where the township committee has similar functions to the board of selectmen. The township committee has either three or five members elected at-large. Every year, the committee chooses one of their members to be the "mayor", becoming the moderator for meetings of the township committee but having no special powers. In general, all legislative and executive powers are exercised by the committee as a whole. The committee, however, may appoint an administrator to oversee day-to-day operations of the municipality. The township form of government is only available to municipalities that are of the township type. Out of the 246 townships in the state, the township form of government is used by 144 of them.

Village

The village form of government was made possible by the Village Act of 1891. This form consists of a five-member Board of Trustees elected for staggered three-year terms. The Board selects a President and a Treasurer from among the members.cite book|last=Karcher|first=Alan J.|authorlink=Alan Karcher|title=New Jersey's Multiple Municipal Madness|publisher=Rutgers University Press|location=New Brunswick, New Jersey|date=1998|pages=118|isbn=978-0813525662] New incorporations under this form were stopped in 1961.

The only municipality operating under the village form of government is Loch Arbour. [Cerra, Michael F. [http://www.njslom.org/magart0307_p14.html "Forms of Government"] , "New Jersey Municipalities" (publication of the New Jersey State League of Municipalities), March 2007. Accessed August 5, 2008.]

Other forms

New Jersey municipalities are not restricted in their form of government by the type of municipality. Any type of municipality that chooses to do so can adopt one of the six standard optional forms of government listed below. Municipalities may also adopt non-standard forms of government by having the state legislature enact a special charter.

Charter Study Commission

A Charter Study Commission is one of two options available to residents of New Jersey to pursue a change in their form of government. The other option is a direct petition. The charter study commission approach is only available under the Faulkner Act.

A charter study commission can be formed by a vote of the governing body. Alternatively, a ballot question to form a charter study commission can be performed through a petition or by the existing municipal governing body enacting an ordinance to form a commission. Voters simultaneously vote yes / no to form a commission and also vote to select its members (if it passes), with the top five candidates becoming the members of the commission.

Walsh Act

Municipal Manager

The Municipal Manager Law was enacted in 1923 and is an optional form of government available to any type of municipality. Under this form of government, a municipal council composed of three, five, seven, or nine members is elected at-large with a term of office typically of four years. The council appoints several key officials, namely the municipal manager, tax assessor, auditor, clerk, treasurer, and attorney. The manager is the chief executive of the municipality and is responsible for appointing other officials and preparing the budget for council consideration. The manager serves only at the pleasure of the council. A mayor is also chosen from among the council members whose primary duty is to preside over council meetings. Only seven municipalities currently use this form of government.

Council-Manager

Mayor-Council

Mayor-Council-Administrator

mall Municipality

pecial Charter

New Jersey municipalities are not required to be governed in any of these ways. A community that finds all optional forms unsuitable may request a special charter from the state legislature. Such a charter, unique to this municipality, allows its government to be tailor-made to its needs.

Unincorporated communities

Unincorporated communities in the state of New Jersey are well-defined communities that are part of one or more incorporated municipalities but are not independent municipalities in their own right.

Some of the communities have official recognition as a Census-designated place, such as Somerset, New Jersey which is part of Franklin Township, Somerset County, New Jersey. Other communities have their own ZIP Code because they have their own post office such as Deans, New Jersey, which is part of South Brunswick Township, New Jersey. Other communities were once single-owner large farms that were later incorporated into a neighboring township such as Middlebush, New Jersey. Some smaller communities are incorporated into larger urban areas, such as when Greenville was merged into Jersey City

In New Jersey, all unincorporated communities belong to, and are part of, at one (or more) City, Township, Town, Borough or Village and pay property taxes to that entity.

References

External links

* [http://www.nj.gov State of New Jersey]
* [http://www.lwvnj.org/guide/municip.shtml The League of Women Voters of New Jersey - Municipal government in New Jersey]
* [http://www.njstatelib.org/NJ_Information/Digital_Collections/DIGIDOX1.php MODERN FORMS OF MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT - 1992 Report of the New Jersey Commission on County and Municipal Government]