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Board of County Commissioners (New Jersey)

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In New Jersey, a board of chosen freeholders is the county legislature in each of the state's 21 counties.

Origin

New Jersey's system of naming county legislators "freeholders" is unique in the United States. The origin of the term was in the provisions of the New Jersey State Constitution of 1776, which stated:[1]

That all inhabitants of this Colony, of full age, who are worth fifty pounds proclamation money, clear estate in the same, and have resided within the county in which they claim a vote for twelve months immediately preceding the election, shall be entitled to vote for Representatives in Council and Assembly; and also for all other public officers, that shall be elected by the people of the county at large.

The name "freeholder" in the "Board of Chosen Freeholders" is because "clear estate" is also known as a freehold. "Chosen" means elected.[2]

Current use

Today, state law specifies that the boards may contain between three and nine seats. Due to the small sizes of the boards and the possibility of electing an exactly split legislature with the inevitably resulting deadlock, an odd-numbered board is required. The means of election of the freeholders varies from all elected in districts to all elected at large to various systems in between. Elections are first past the post for single-member districts, and for at-large elections when only one seat is at stake. For at-large elections with more than one seat, plurality-at-large voting is used.

Depending on the county, the executive and legislative functions may be performed by the board or split.[3] In some counties, members of the Board of Chosen Freeholders perform both legislative and executive functions on a commission basis, with each freeholder assigned responsibility for a department or group of departments. In other counties (Atlantic, Bergen, Essex, Hudson, and Mercer), there is a directly elected county executive who performs the executive functions while the Board of Chosen Freeholders retains a legislative and oversight role. In counties without an executive, a county administrator (or county manager) may be hired to perform day-to-day administration of county functions. All of the above attributes may be changed by act of the board and a referendum, or by explicit change of the relevant laws by the New Jersey Legislature.

Structure by county

All freeholders are elected to three-year terms.

County No. of
members 		Election frequency Representation Notes References
Atlantic 9 Staggered elections Five freeholders represent equally populated districts, four are elected at-large Popularly elected Atlantic County Executive [4]
Bergen 7 Staggered elections Elected at-large Popularly elected Bergen County Executive [5]
Burlington 5 Staggered elections Elected at-large Freeholder director is elected annually by the board from among its members [6]
Camden 7 Staggered elections Elected at-large [7]
Cape May 5 Staggered elections Elected at-large Freeholder director and freeholder deputy director elected from board at annual reorganization meeting in January [8]
Cumberland 7 Staggered elections Elected at-large Freeholder director and freeholder deputy director elected from board at annual reorganization meeting in January; appointed county administrator [9]
Essex 9 Concurrent elections Five freeholders represent equally populated districts, four are elected at-large Freeholder president and vice president serve one-year terms; popularly elected Essex County Executive [10]
Gloucester 7 Staggered elections Elected at-large Freeholder director and freeholder deputy director
Hudson 9 Concurrent elections Nine freeholders represent equally populated districts Popularly elected Hudson County Executive
Hunterdon 5 Staggered elections Elected at-large Freeholder director and freeholder deputy director elected from board at annual reorganization meeting in January [11]
Mercer 7 Staggered elections Elected at-large Board has a chair and vice-chair, these positions are rotated among board members each year; popularly elected Mercer County Executive [12]
Middlesex 7 Staggered elections Elected at-large In January of each year, the board reorganizes, selecting one freeholder to be freeholder director and another to be freeholder deputy director; freeholder director appoints freeholders to serve as chairpersons and members on the various committees which oversee county departments
Monmouth 5 Staggered elections Elected at-large Freeholder director and freeholder deputy director elected from board at annual reorganization meeting in January
Morris 7 Staggered elections Elected at-large Freeholder director and freeholder deputy director elected from board at annual reorganization meeting in January
Ocean 5 Staggered elections Elected at-large Appointed county administrator
Passaic 7 Staggered elections Elected at-large Freeholder director and freeholder deputy director elected from board at annual reorganization meeting in January
Salem 5 Staggered elections Elected at-large In January of each year, the board reorganizes, selecting one freeholder to be freeholder director and another to be freeholder deputy director; eliminated county administrator position at its 2014 reorganization meeting[13]
Somerset 5 Staggered elections Elected at-large Appointed county administrator
Sussex 5 Staggered elections Elected at-large [14]
Union 9 Staggered elections Elected at-large Appointed county manager
Warren 3 Staggered elections Elected at-large Freeholder director and freeholder deputy director elected from board at annual reorganization meeting in January; appointed county administrator [15]

See also

References

  1. ^ s:New Jersey Constitution of 1776
  2. ^ "What does a freeholder do? 9 things you might not know about N.J. county officials". NJ.com. November 2014. Retrieved October 16, 2017.
  3. ^ Rinde, Meir (October 27, 2015). "Explainer: What's a Freeholder? NJ's Unusual County Government System". NJ Spotlight. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  4. ^ Board of Chosen Freeholders, Atlantic County, New Jersey. Accessed January 30, 2008.
  5. ^ Board of Chosen Freeholders, Bergen County, New Jersey. Accessed November 5, 2016.
  6. ^ Board of Chosen Freeholders, Burlington County, New Jersey. Accessed November 5, 2016.
  7. ^ GovernmentAbout the Freeholder Board, Camden County, New Jersey. Accessed November 5, 2016.
  8. ^ Freeholders Home Page Archived 2006-06-07 at the Wayback Machine, Cape May County, New Jersey. Accessed January 30, 2008.
  9. ^ What is a County Freeholder? Archived 2007-12-23 at the Wayback Machine, Cumberland County, New Jersey. Accessed February 3, 2008.
  10. ^ Definition of a Freeholder, Essex County, New Jersey. Accessed January 30, 2008.
  11. ^ About the Hunterdon County Freeholders, Hunterdon County, New Jersey. Accessed November 5, 2016.
  12. ^ Elected Officials, Mercer County, New Jersey. Accessed November 5, 2016.
  13. ^ Young, Alex (January 9, 2014). "Salem County freeholders look to 2014 at annual reorganization meeting". South Jersey Times. Retrieved November 24, 2014. He replaces Evern Ford, who will leave county government after the board also voted to abolish his county administrator position with a unanimous vote.
  14. ^ Board of Chosen Freeholders, Sussex County, New Jersey. Accessed November 5, 2016.
  15. ^ About Warren County...Governmental Structure, Warren County, New Jersey. Accessed November 5, 2016.
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