The governing body is set to vote on changing its by-laws at the April 20th Mayor & Council meeting. The matter had been on numerous workshop discussions during meetings but up until the April 6th meeting, the public was not privy to those proposed changes.
The municipal by-laws are subdivided into five (5) sections that cover meeting protocol, rules of procedure, certain duties of the borough clerk, committees, and amendments to the by-laws. In February of this year, the by-laws were amended to include a new agenda format.
Upon request, Borough Clerk Andrew Casais provided information on the three (3) proposed changes. They are listed below:
- Article I, Section 4 (Regular Meeting)
- Move the workshop discussion section to after the mayor & council committee reports and reports of departments.
- Have the passing of ordinances prior to the consent agenda for resolutions.
- Article II, Section 6 (Use of Electronic Communication Devices Prohibited)
- The section will be removed completely and be replaced by a statement read by the mayor at the beginning of meetings.
- Article III, Section 1
- The last line of the section will be changed to reflect that monies for licenses are to be turned over from the clerk’s office to the treasurer within 48 hours of their receipt. It currently reads that reports of fees may be done on a monthly basis.
When first reviewed by the governing body earlier this year, a change was proposed in Article II, Section 4 to have the second public comments portion removed from special meetings, including budget workshops. After consideration and review, the section was left intact with no changes.
The resolution to amend the by-laws is scheduled to be voted on at the April 20th Mayor & Council meeting inside council chambers of the Roselle Park Municipal Complex located at 110 East Westfield Avenue.
A copy of the current by-laws is included below: