The five-member commission, if OK’d by voters, would study the township’s current form of government and make a written recommendation on whether to stay with that form or switch to another.
By Allison Busacca
The Hopewell Township Committee unanimously adopted an ordinance Monday night that enables officials to place a charter study commission question on the November general election ballot.
The five-member commission, if OK’d by voters, would study the township’s current form of government and make a written recommendation on whether to stay with that form or switch to another.
"The commission can be as big or as little as we want," Deputy Mayor David Sandahl said. "We could hire professionals to do extensive consulting, or we could do what West Windsor did where local members created surveys and did the research themselves."
When the public raised concerns about cost, Township Attorney Steven P. Goodell said the commission would have to ask the Township Committee for appropriations. They also have the option of raising their own funds.
Currently, Hopewell Township is run by five-member Township Committee. In this form of government, each January, committee members elect two members to one-year terms as mayor and deputy mayor.
"Our current form of government is one of the oldest forms in the state," Mr. Sandahl said. "The mayor is elected every year. One or two committee members is replaced every year … this means there is a very brief window during which serious business can be conducted."
Charter commission candidates will be listed on the November election ballot, enabling residents to vote for the creation of the commission and the commission members at the same time. The five candidates who receive most votes would become commission members. To get on the ballot as a candidate for the commission, an individual must be a registered voter in the township and have a petition signed by at least 3 percent of the township’s registered voters, or 100 voters, whichever number is lower.
During the May 10 meeting, when the ordinance was introduced, Township Attorney Goodell said the charter commission can study and make recommendations on how many seats there should be on the township governing body. There could be five, seven or nine seats, he said. The commission also could recommend dividing the township into wards instead of having members of the governing body elected at-large, as they are now, Mr. Goodell said.
State law says a charter commission must organize within 15 days after the November election, elect a chair and establish rules for accomplishing its goals. The commission’s meetings will also be open to the public. Within nine months of that organizational meeting, the commission must submit a written report of its findings to the municipal government. That report, which also must be available to the public, could recommend a change to another form of government.
Other forms of municipal government used in New Jersey include the mayor-council form, used in Pennington and Hopewell boroughs, and the council-manager form. In the latter form, the manager, who is appointed by council and can be dismissed by council, runs the municipality on a day-to-day basis. The council, which is chosen by the voters in the November general election, makes the policy decisions on which the manager’s day-to-day activities are based.
In the mayor-council form of government, voters directly elect both mayor and council members. Mayors are elected to four-year terms. The six council members are elected to three-year terms. The mayor presides over council meetings, sets the agenda and has the power to make some appointments. The mayor does not vote on any measure before the council unless a tie-breaking vote is needed.
If the commission recommends a government change, voters will enter the process again. By answering a ballot question, voters will elect whether or not to switch to the new recommended form of government. State law says voters will make that decision either in the November general election or in a special election, which would have to be held at least 60 days, but not more than 120 days, following the official filing of the charter commission’s report with the municipal clerk.
"The township has grown to such an extent that it makes sense to stop and take a look at how its government does business," Mayor Vanessa Sandom said recently. "The time for this ordinance to pass has come."