Village (New Jersey)
New Jersey Municipal Government  |
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| Traditional forms | ||||
| Borough | Township | |||
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| 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 | ||||
A Village in the context of New Jersey local government, refers to one of five types and one of eleven forms of municipal government.
The Village Act of 1891 defined the form of government to consist of a five-member board of trustees to be elected to three-year staggered terms. One member serves as president, one member serves as treasurer. This act was repealed by the State Legislature in 1961.
The Village Act of 1989 changed the essence of the Village form of government, essentially eliminating it in all but name. As of January 1, 1990, every village operating under the Village Form of government had to operate according to the laws pertaining to the Township form. Essentially, the Village form of government is now identical to the Township form, except that the Township Committee and Mayor in the Township form correspond to the Board of Trustees and the President of the Board in the Village form.[1]
Though there are three municipalities with the Village type of government, only one municipality, tiny Loch Arbour, still retains the traditional Village form of government.[2] Loch Arbour has a five-member Board of Trustees elected at-large for three-year staggered terms of office in partisan elections. Loch Arbour’s Board of Trustees elects one of its members to serve as President for a one-year term of office. New Jersey's two other villages – Ridgefield Park (now with a Walsh Act form) and Ridgewood (now with a Faulkner Act Council-Manager charter) – have both migrated to other, non-Village forms. The Township of South Orange Village operates with a six-member Board of Trustees and a Village President elected directly by voters,[3] operating under a Special Charter granted by the New Jersey Legislature in 1869 that has been revised several times since, but that is largely modeled off of the Village form of government.[4]
[edit] References
- ^ New Jersey Municipal History and the Traditional Forms of Government, New Jersey State Library, p. 10. Accessed January 25, 2012.
- ^ Cerra, Michael F. "Forms of Government", New Jersey Municipalities (publication of the New Jersey State League of Municipalities), March 2007. Accessed August 5, 2008.
- ^ Government, Township of South Orange Village. Accessed January 25, 2012. "The Township of South Orange Village's governing body is comprised of an elected Board of Trustees consisting of six elected Trustees and an elected Village President, all seven of whom serve four-year terms without any remuneration."
- ^ South Orange Charter Review Committee: Report and Recommendations, South Orange, New Jersey, June 2011. Accessed January 25, 2012.
