CLERKS AND LAWYERS

 Before next Mondays Council Agenda session I plan to explain my suggestions on at least three essential changes in the structure of our city government. Two are essential if we can have a working Mayor/Council format; our present form. 

The third is logical and concerns the appointment of the City Clerk.

If the City Clerk remains a Mayor’s appointment he can still function although it will be incongruous with article 2.13 of the Charter which reads in part:”The Council shall appoint the city clerk or some other qualified person to serve as clerk of the Council”. 

3.5(a) of the Charter “The mayor shall appoint and remove officers and employees as authorized by the Charter or administrative code and with the advice and consent of the council, make all appointments for which no other provisions is made by or  pursuant to the charter”. This apparently has been the authorization for the Mayor to appoint the Clerk. 

However according to NJ State 40A:9-133. a. In every municipality there shall be a municipal clerk appointed for a three-year term by the governing body of the municipality. Commencing January 1 following the third anniversary of the effective date of P.L.1997, c.279 (C.40A:9-133.9 et al.), no person shall be appointed or reappointed as a municipal clerk unless that person holds a registered municipal clerk certificate issued pursuant to section 3 or section 4 of P.L.1985, c.174 (C.40A:9-133.3 or C.40A:9-133.4).

The key phrase “by the governing body” can mean the Council who passes Resolutions and Ordinances. The Mayor supposedly “administers” those “laws which the Council has passed.

Although Charter 2:13 states that the Council shall appoint the City Clerk or some other qualified individual as its secretary; a clerk’s duty noted in 40A:9-133.

Also in the Faulkner Act in the description of the Mayor/Council form of government 40:69A-38 reads: “The council shall appoint a municipal clerk **”. 

Even if we remain independent of the Faulkner Act; since such municipalities are not bound by its provisions, it is justification to have a similar regulation.

Therefore the Charter should be made consistent with NJ40A:9-133a and specifically require the City Clerk to be appointed by the Council of which he is an officer. This is a logical and should be a not debatable change

More critical is the need to revise the Corporation Counsel office and the Department structure. The Department structure is more complex and will be subject of a separate blog.

 Our Charter calls for (4.7) a Corporation Council appointed by the Mayor with “advice and consent” “who shall be the chief legal advisor to the mayor and the council”.  

This is nonsense! The counsel’s status and income is beholden and dependent on the mayor who hired and can fire him without cause. In case of dispute between Council and Mayor he will be in a conflict of interest position and it would be an unusual individual that would rule against his employer.   

I could find no state regulation that requires the mayor to provide the legal representative of the Council. It may exist other then our specific charter representation. 

The Council can be empowered to have separate legal advice and the charter should so reflect. There are municipalities in which the Council does have its own counsel.   It is not prohibited under any legislation. Therefore our Charter should provide for a separate Counsel for the Council.

The entire structure of Plainfield’s legal services must be reexamined. We have no proof of need of a full time Corporation Counsel who is a generalist and we employ some on retainer, specialist for various legal functions. The exact costs for all legal services including insurance perks were given should be analyzed and determined if  a part time  service based or retainer contracted attorney will be  more cost effective.

That may be a recommendation of a Charter Study Commission.It may be addressed after the adoption of any Charter revisions.

To Summarize: (1) City Clerk to be appointed by Council (2) Separate legal Counsels for Administration and Common Council. (3) Restructuring of legal services to eliminate full time “Corporation Counsel”