Post by admin on Feb 24, 2010 12:23:39 GMT -5
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Prospective volunteers may apply with town
Information about boards, commissions is expected to be available to residents
BY CLARE MARIE CELANO Staff Writer
FREEHOLD — People who are interested in volunteering their time to serve on a municipal board, commission or committee may soon find it easier to do so.
During a Borough Council workshop meeting on Feb. 16, officials discussed an ordinance that was brought to the table by Councilman John Newman regarding the implementation of New Jersey’ Citizen Service Act.
Newman drafted an ordinance for the council’s review that will offer a new way to bring volunteers to municipal service. He said ordinances to this effect have already been passed in Tinton Falls, Newark and Jersey City.
“It will also help us to fill our (board and commission) vacancies,” the councilman said. “And it will allow us to do something about the people (board members) who are consistently not showing up at meetings.”
The proposed ordinance, which has been scheduled for introduction on March 1, states that its purpose is to “foster the openness of government and provide citizens with information concerning the various appointed municipal positions which exist in Freehold Borough.”
The ordinance quotes the state’s Citizen Service Act which requires municipal clerks “to compile and maintain a roster of its local authorities, boards and commissions in order to provide more easily accessible information for residents interested in serving their towns.”
The act also provides for a one-page citizen leadership form to be provided by the municipal clerk to anyone interested in serving on a municipal authority, board or commission. The applicant will need to provide his or her name, address, telephone number and email.
The form also asks the applicant to record which position on which board or commission is being sought and to list their qualifications for that position.
The list of positions, according to the ordinance put forth by Newman, will be maintained by the clerk and posted on a bulletin board of public announcements in Borough Hall. The ordinance also calls for any applications that are filed by residents to be kept on file so that when a position on a board or commission becomes available the applicants can be notified of the vacancy.
Council members all seemed to approve of the proposed ordinance with one exception — a section addressing the removal of board and commission members who miss multiple meetings without a reason for doing so.
The Citizen Service Act states that a position on a board or commission becomes vacant when a member is absent from meetings for eight consecutive weeks or four consecutive meetings, whichever is longer. The law allows individual towns to adopt an ordinance that sets a stricter policy for dismissal with the caveat that such an attendance policy may not go below six weeks or three consecutive meetings.
The ordinance put forth by Newman included the stricter code of three consecutive meetings.
Councilman Kevin Kane voiced concern over that provision.
“There is a lot of good here John,” Kane said to Newman, “but I have a problem with the punitive aspect of this ordinance. This town has a tremendous volunteer base and the town revolves around those people who volunteer.”
Kane said anytime a member of a board or commission misses more than a couple of meetings of his or her panel without providing an explanation, a member of the Borough Council will speak with that individual to address the situation.
“The volunteers in the town like the first aid squad and the fire department have so many mandates, we don’t want to come across (as being) too authoritative to our volunteers. We don’t want to send a message to our volunteers that we are forcing them (to do something). We have to walk the line with our volunteers and be careful how you word things,” he said.
Mayor Michael Wilson said, “We are discussing something here (board members missing meetings) that is not even an issue.”
The council members agreed to remove the section of the ordinance that dealt with the removal of a member after three unexcused absences and to apply a grandfather clause to those individuals who already sit on Freehold Borough’s committees, commissions and boards. New applicants will have to fill out the citizen leadership form.
An ordinance regarding this issue is expected to be on the March 1 agenda for introduction.
The council members who are liaisons to the borough board’s and commissions will discuss the ordinance with those panels before the ordinance is placed up for a final vote.
Prospective volunteers may apply with town
Information about boards, commissions is expected to be available to residents
BY CLARE MARIE CELANO Staff Writer
FREEHOLD — People who are interested in volunteering their time to serve on a municipal board, commission or committee may soon find it easier to do so.
During a Borough Council workshop meeting on Feb. 16, officials discussed an ordinance that was brought to the table by Councilman John Newman regarding the implementation of New Jersey’ Citizen Service Act.
Newman drafted an ordinance for the council’s review that will offer a new way to bring volunteers to municipal service. He said ordinances to this effect have already been passed in Tinton Falls, Newark and Jersey City.
“It will also help us to fill our (board and commission) vacancies,” the councilman said. “And it will allow us to do something about the people (board members) who are consistently not showing up at meetings.”
The proposed ordinance, which has been scheduled for introduction on March 1, states that its purpose is to “foster the openness of government and provide citizens with information concerning the various appointed municipal positions which exist in Freehold Borough.”
The ordinance quotes the state’s Citizen Service Act which requires municipal clerks “to compile and maintain a roster of its local authorities, boards and commissions in order to provide more easily accessible information for residents interested in serving their towns.”
The act also provides for a one-page citizen leadership form to be provided by the municipal clerk to anyone interested in serving on a municipal authority, board or commission. The applicant will need to provide his or her name, address, telephone number and email.
The form also asks the applicant to record which position on which board or commission is being sought and to list their qualifications for that position.
The list of positions, according to the ordinance put forth by Newman, will be maintained by the clerk and posted on a bulletin board of public announcements in Borough Hall. The ordinance also calls for any applications that are filed by residents to be kept on file so that when a position on a board or commission becomes available the applicants can be notified of the vacancy.
Council members all seemed to approve of the proposed ordinance with one exception — a section addressing the removal of board and commission members who miss multiple meetings without a reason for doing so.
The Citizen Service Act states that a position on a board or commission becomes vacant when a member is absent from meetings for eight consecutive weeks or four consecutive meetings, whichever is longer. The law allows individual towns to adopt an ordinance that sets a stricter policy for dismissal with the caveat that such an attendance policy may not go below six weeks or three consecutive meetings.
The ordinance put forth by Newman included the stricter code of three consecutive meetings.
Councilman Kevin Kane voiced concern over that provision.
“There is a lot of good here John,” Kane said to Newman, “but I have a problem with the punitive aspect of this ordinance. This town has a tremendous volunteer base and the town revolves around those people who volunteer.”
Kane said anytime a member of a board or commission misses more than a couple of meetings of his or her panel without providing an explanation, a member of the Borough Council will speak with that individual to address the situation.
“The volunteers in the town like the first aid squad and the fire department have so many mandates, we don’t want to come across (as being) too authoritative to our volunteers. We don’t want to send a message to our volunteers that we are forcing them (to do something). We have to walk the line with our volunteers and be careful how you word things,” he said.
Mayor Michael Wilson said, “We are discussing something here (board members missing meetings) that is not even an issue.”
The council members agreed to remove the section of the ordinance that dealt with the removal of a member after three unexcused absences and to apply a grandfather clause to those individuals who already sit on Freehold Borough’s committees, commissions and boards. New applicants will have to fill out the citizen leadership form.
An ordinance regarding this issue is expected to be on the March 1 agenda for introduction.
The council members who are liaisons to the borough board’s and commissions will discuss the ordinance with those panels before the ordinance is placed up for a final vote.
