Commission now will work toward coming up with an Aug. 1 recommendation for townshop officials.
By Lauren Graham Delehey
On Tuesday night, the Hopewell Township Charter Study Commission concluded the second phase of its work with a public hearing focused on the alternative forms of government available to the township under New Jersey law.
Chairman James E. McGuire noted that Phase III of the commission’s work will begin next week. During Phase III, the commission is charged with deciding whether the township should change its form of government. If it favors such a change, the commission is required by law to make specific recommendations in a report to be filed with township officials by Aug. 1.
Phase I concluded with an April 12 public meeting.
More than a dozen residents attended Tuesday’s meeting at the township’s municipal building, where there was extended discussion of both the structure and the pros and cons of the various forms of municipal government.
Since January, the five commission members have been studying the existing Township Committee form of government, as well as other forms of government the township might use instead. In the November 2004 general election, township voters OK’d the formation of a charter study group to look at the various forms of government available to Hopewell Township, with an eye toward a possible change in the future.
The commission divided its work into three phases.
Phase I, which went on from January to March, was an intensive review of the operations of the municipality’s current "Township Committee" form of government. The commission interviewed dozens of present and past Hopewell Township officials during this phase. "We thought it was important to invest the time to understand what (type of government) we have here and how it operates," said Commission Chairman James E. McGuire.
Vice Chairwoman H. Patricia Tieman described the existing Township Committee government. In partisan elections, she explained, township voters elect five committee members at large to staggered three-year terms. Each January, committee members select a mayor from among themselves for a one-year term, without term limits. The mayor presides over committee meetings and can marry people, but has no additional powers beyond that of any other committee member. The committee holds both the legislative and executive powers for the township. In its executive capacity, the committee may appoint and oversee boards, commissions and committees, or it may delegate all or any portion of its executive responsibilities to a township administrator.
Mr. McGuire noted that many township board and commission positions are mandated under New Jersey law, and some of those positions offer the continuity of tenure. He indicated that under the township committee form of government, Hopewell Township has had eight mayors in the last 10 years, and 11 mayors in the last 15 years. Not one of the five members currently serving on the Township Committee has completed a three-year term.
Phase II of the commission’s work, which concluded this week, was a review of the several available alternative forms of government. During this phase, the committee met with representatives from other New Jersey municipalities to discuss their experiences with the various forms of government.
MS. TIEMAN reported that, besides the Township Committee form currently in place in Hopewell Township, New Jersey law specifies three other forms of municipal government:
Under the "Council-Manager" form, council and mayoral elections may be partisan or non-partisan. Voters elect five, seven or nine council members or a mayor and four, six or eight council members, all to four-year terms. Council members may all be elected at-large, or may be a combination of at-large members and representatives of designated wards. The mayor may be elected at-large, directly by the voters, or may be selected by the council members from among themselves. Council and mayoral terms may be consecutive or staggered.
As in the existing Township Committee form, the mayor under a "Council-Manager" system is little more than a presiding officer for the council, with a voice in discussions and a vote. Council exercises legislative power, but must appoint a manager to act as the chief executive officer for the municipality. Council members are prohibited from dealing with day-to-day municipal operations, except through the manager. The manager must attend all council meetings and may participate in council’s discussions, but has no vote. Council may remove the manager at any time with a majority vote, but must pay 90 days severance.
The "Mayor-Council" form also allows for partisan or nonpartisan elections. Voters elect a mayor and five, seven or nine council members to four-year consecutive or staggered terms. Council members may all be elected at large, or may be a combination of at-large members and ward representatives. Council selects one of its members to serve as council president.
In this form, council exercises the legislative power, while the mayor exercises the executive power and appoints department heads with council approval. The mayor under the "Mayor-Council" option wields more power than under the Township Committee or Council-Manager forms of government. He or she may remove department heads subject to disapproval by a two-thirds vote of all council members. The mayor attends and may speak at council meetings, but has no vote. The mayor has veto power over ordinances, but council can override a mayoral veto by a two-thirds vote. The mayor prepares and submits the budget for council approval. Council may reduce mayoral budget items with a simple majority vote, and may increase items by a two-thirds majority.
The mayor must appoint a business administrator to assist in budget preparation and in purchasing and personnel operations. The administrator may supervise departments under the mayor’s direction. The administrator serves at the pleasure of the mayor and may be removed by council only for cause.
"Mayor-Council-Administrator" is a relatively new form of municipal government, created by the state Legislature in 1981. Only two New Jersey municipalities currently use this form of government: North Brunswick (with 36,000 residents); and West Milford (26,000) residents).
Under this form, the voters elect a mayor to a four-year term and six council members at-large to staggered three-year terms in partisan elections. The mayor exercises the executive power and presides at council meetings, but votes only to break ties. He or she holds veto power, subject to override by a two-thirds vote of all council members. The mayor appoints the municipal clerk, administrator, attorney, tax collector and assessor, treasurer and department heads with council approval, and may remove department heads upon written notice to council.
Council exercises legislative power, and prepares the municipal budget with assistance from the administrator and the treasurer. Each year council selects one of its members to serve as council president. Council has no administrative duties or appointive power, but it approves certain mayoral appointees. Council may remove department heads only for cause after a hearing. The administrator serves at the pleasure of the mayor, but may be removed by a two-thirds vote of the council.
A final option is a "Special Charter," which could provide a modified form of government, drawing from any and all of the above forms. Thirteen New Jersey municipalities currently operate under special charters. A special charter form of government requires approval by a two-thirds majority vote of the New Jersey General Assembly and Senate, as well as signature by the governor. Any ongoing changes to the special charter would require the same process.
Mr. McGuire described the process of choosing a form of government as "kind of like taking your kid around to look at colleges." Any number of good colleges may be right for certain people, he said; the purpose of the process is "looking for the right fit."
There was a broad range of discussion when the commission opened the hearing to public comment. Township resident Sheryl Stone asked whether any particular type of government seemed to lend itself a particular size population. "We have asked this of each municipality," said Mr. McGuire. Commission member Jon Edwards noted that many of the municipalities the commission interviewed began this process of reviewing their form of government when they reached a population size roughly equivalent to this township’s (16,000-18,000 residents). Committee member Janet E. Crum noted that each form has been used in municipalities of different sizes.
Ms. Stone commented that while the current township committee form of government has no separation of powers, each of the other available forms does. Mr. Edwards said that separation of powers is an important aspect of "professionalism in government."
Commission member William Cane noted that other municipalities did not necessarily rank separation of powers high among their reasons for a change of governmental form, but that the need for continuity in a mayor was a major concern. Citizens need to know "who to call when they have a problem," he said. And Ms. Stone commented, "Anyone who works on committees or commissions knows that continuity can be important for communication with other municipalities."
"I want a clear mayor with continuity, established in a way that I know who is responsible for what," said resident Eva Axelrod. Resident Joan McNinch, who lived in West Windsor for 40 years, said there was a tremendous difference in the leadership she saw with the Mayor-Council form of government. With a committee, they had trouble achieving a forum and getting things done, she said.
Resident Len Ramist said the lack of continuity in mayors may have nothing to do with the form of government, but could just be a function of who was interested in running in those years. But Mr. McGuire said the "high turnover" of mayors in recent years (11 mayors in 15 years) would almost certainly be reduced if the township instituted four-year mayoral terms.
On the topic of partisan or non-partisan elections, township Committeewoman Judy Niederer and township resident Sevi Di Cocco each expressed concerns about the potential expense of holding an additional election (the law requires that nonpartisan elections be held separately in May, rather than with the general election in November). Ms. Crum said municipalities reported additional expense ranging from about $10,000 to $30,000 for the May election every other year.
Ms. Tieman also noted that separate May elections tend to have lower voter turnout than November general elections.
Resident Bob Higgins observed several problems with the current township committee system. He said yearly elections "overly politicize issues," because committee votes are "always in the context of an upcoming election." He noted deep conflicts among township committee members on issues like development and sewers, and said domination by the Republican and Democratic parties tends to exclude independent candidates.
Mr. Higgins urged the commission to consider an electoral process of "proportional representation," which would require a special charter. In such a system, he said, voters would choose from among a long list of candidates from any or no party. He said this system would give more opportunity to independent candidates or those from other than the two major parties, and said research shows that proportional representation increases voter turnout.
Chairman McGuire said the commission meets weekly (Monday nights at 7 p.m. and Tuesday night on the second week of each month). He encouraged residents to attend and offer comments at their meetings.