Faulkner Act (mayor–council)

The Faulkner Act, or Optional Municipal Charter Law, provides for New Jersey municipalities to adopt a mayor–council government in its "strong-mayor" form.

New Jersey municipal government
Traditional types
Borough Township
City Town Village
Modern forms
Walsh Act commission
1923 municipal manager
Faulkner Act forms
Mayor–council Council–manager
Small municipality
Mayor–council–administrator
Nonstandard forms
Special charter
Changing form of municipal government
Charter Study Commission

This form of government provides for election of a mayor and five, seven, or nine council members. All council members may be elected at large, or some may be elected by wards; they may be partisan or nonpartisan, and serve four-year concurrent or staggered terms. There may be up to ten administrative departments.[1] Mayors in this system are vested with broad executive power.

As in all Faulkner Act municipalities, citizens in the mayor–council system enjoy the right of initiative and referendum, meaning that proposed ordinances can be introduced directly by the people without action by the local governing body. This right is exercised by preparing a conforming petition signed by 10% of the registered voters who turned out in the last General Assembly election. Once the petition is submitted, the local governing body can vote to pass the requested ordinance, and if it refuses, it is then submitted directly to the voters.

The following municipalities have adopted mayor–council system under the Faulkner Act.

Municipality County
Atlantic City Atlantic
Avalon Borough Cape May
Bayonne City Hudson
Berkeley Township Ocean
Brick Township Ocean
Bridgeton City Cumberland
Bridgewater Township Somerset
Burlington City Burlington
Burlington Township Burlington
Camden City Camden
Cherry Hill Township Camden
Clark Township Union
Delran Township Burlington
Denville Township Morris
East Brunswick Township Middlesex
Edison Township Middlesex
Elizabeth City Union
Ewing Township Mercer
Florence Township Burlington
Gloucester Township Camden
Hamilton Township Mercer
Harrison Town Hudson
Hawthorne Borough Passaic
Hillside Township Union
Hoboken City Hudson
Irvington Township Essex
Jackson Township
Switched from Township as of July 1, 2006[2]
Ocean
Jefferson Township Morris
Jersey City Hudson
Lincoln Park Borough Morris
Little Falls Township Passaic
Long Branch City Monmouth
Mahwah Township Bergen
Manchester Township Ocean
Marlboro Township Monmouth
Mine Hill Township Morris
Monroe Township Gloucester
Monroe Township Middlesex
Morristown Town Morris
Mount Olive Township Morris
Mountainside Borough Union
Mullica Township Atlantic
Newark City Essex
New Brunswick City Middlesex
North Caldwell Borough Essex
North Plainfield Borough Somerset
Oaklyn Camden
Ocean City Cape May
Old Bridge Township Middlesex
Orange City Township Essex
Parsippany-Troy Hills Township Morris
Passaic City Passaic
Paterson City Passaic
Pemberton Township Burlington
Perth Amboy City Middlesex
Phillipsburg Town Warren
Plainfield City Union
Piscataway Township Middlesex
Rahway City Union
River Vale Township Bergen
Robbinsville Township
(known as Washington Township until 2007)
Mercer
Rockaway Township Morris
Saddle Brook Township Bergen
Sea Isle City
Switched from Walsh Act as of July 1, 2007[3]
Cape May
Somerville Borough Somerset
South Amboy City Middlesex
Spotswood Borough Middlesex
Tinton Falls Borough Monmouth
Toms River Township Ocean
Trenton City Mercer
Vernon Township Sussex
Vineland City Cumberland
Washington Township Bergen
Washington Township Gloucester
Wayne Township Passaic
West Orange Township Essex
West Windsor Township Mercer
Wildwood City Cape May
Willingboro Township Burlington
Woodbridge Township Middlesex

References

  1. "Faulkner Act (OMCL) Mayor–Council". Types And Forms Of New Jersey Municipal Government. New Jersey State League of Municipalities. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-11-14.
  2. Minutes of the 163rd Reorganization Meeting Archived 2008-07-20 at the Wayback Machine, Jackson Township, held July 1, 2006. Accessed June 26, 2008.
  3. Burczewski, Ron. "Sea Isle City 11/07/07 Our new government", Cape May County Herald, November 7, 2007. Accessed April 30, 2008.
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