Chapter 1: Local Government

ByAmari Allah Posted on Updated on

What You Need To Know For The Test Types of Local Government The Four Forms of Local Government Counties, Municipalities, School Districts, Special Districts Acronym: C-M-SD-SD Another Name For Local Governments Creatures of the State What Does “Creatures of the State” mean? That municipalities may be created, altered, or abolished by the State Government Who…

What You Need To Know For The Test

Types of Local Government

The Four Forms of Local Government

Counties, Municipalities, School Districts, Special Districts

Acronym: C-M-SD-SD

Another Name For Local Governments

Creatures of the State

What Does “Creatures of the State” mean?

That municipalities may be created, altered, or abolished by the State Government

Who Has the Authority to create, alter, or abolish local governments?

The State Legislature

What Specifically Dictates the Authority Of A Local Official?

State Statutes

Counties

What is the new name for the Board of Chosen Freeholders or what is the name of the county government officials?

Board of County Commissioners

How Many Counties Are In New Jersey?

21

Tip: Age to drink in NJ = How many counties

What Defines A County Class?

Size, Location and Population Density

Tip: SLPD – How big is the land, where is the land, how many live in the land

How Many Classes Of Counties Are There?

6

What Are The County Classes

First Class: Over 550,000 with a density of over 3000 per square mile
Second Class: All other counties over 200,000 NOT bordering on the Atlantic Ocean
Third Class: 50,000 – 200,000 not bordering the Atlantic Ocean
Fourth Class: Less than 50,00, not bordering on the Atlantic Ocean
Fifth Class: Over 125,000 bordering on the Atlantic ocean
Sixth Class: 125,00 or less bordering on the Atlantic Ocean

Tip: Only first class has no mention of the Atlantic Ocean and deals with population density
Tip 2: Second through fourth class require you to not border the Atlantic Ocean while fifth and sex do require so
Tip 3: The fourth class is less than 50,000, times that by 4, and you get the minimum of the second class

Organization of County Government

How long are the terms of county officials?

Three years

What Is The Optional County Charter Law

Enables voters to select one of four plans of organization that limit the board to policymaking and legislative functions

Forms of County Government

  • County Executive: Has an elected county executive supervising an appointed administrator.
  • County Manager: appoints a manager
  • County Supervisor: appointed administrator supervised by counter supervisor
  • Board President: appointed administrator supervised by the president of Commissioners
  • Tip: Think of the popular management titles regarding names
  • Tip 2: Regarding defining, remember that the manager is the simplest, and all others have a county administrator who is supervised by the name of the governing type (Executive supervises administrator, supervisor supervises administrator and etc)

In all forms of county government, the following is true

  1. The board consists of 5, 7, or 9 members
  2. Is elected for concurrent or overlapping terms
  3. Is elected at large, from districts drawn within the county, or through a combination of distracts and at large

Source of Money

Property taxes, miscellaneous revue, state aid, and institutional revenue

What does the county use the money for?

Current expenses, improvements, acquisitions of property, obligations and debts

Municipalities

What Is A Municipality?

A corporation

How many municipalities are in NJ

564

Does the name of a municipality have to match its form of government?

No

What are the original forms of government?

City, Town, Township, Village, and Borough

Types of Municipal Government

  • Special Charters: A form of government approved by the Legislature that, if modifications are desired, need to be recommended by a charter study commission and petition the legislature
  • Commission aka Walsh Act
    • Non-partisan forms of government where elected members of three or five elect one commissioner as mayor and all have specific departments they are commissioners over
  • Municipal Manaer
  • Optional Municipal Charter aka Faulkner Act (KNOW BOTH NAMES)
    • Mayor-Council: The mayor is elected separately from governing body – Strong Mayor type (know for test)
    • Council-Manager: Council appoints manager to be Chief Executive and Administrative Officer, while council are policymakers
    • Small Municipalities: Hybrid of borough and township form of government – exclusively for towns with less than 12,000 residents
    • Mayor-Council-Administrator: Council has legislative power, mayor is executive, Administrator is appointed and supervises employees
      • At large, non-partisan form of government, with 3,5,7, or 9 members, with 4 year concurrent or staggered terms, with the mayor elected by the council and a manager handling the chief executive and administrative official role of the municipality
        1. Includes preparing budget, managing, appointing, and removing department heads, and attends and speaks at council meetings but has no vote

What are the powers of the municipal governing body?

It can regulate its internal affairs, adopt and enforce fines and laws, sue and be sued, contract, spend money, make resolutions, as well as tax, borrow, and do eminent domain.

What are the sources of revenue for a municipality?

  1. Property Taxes
  2. Miscellaneous revenue
  3. Public utility tax
  4. Surplus appropriations
  5. State Aid

School Districts

What Are The Different Types Of School Districts?

Type 1 School Districts
  1. Members appointed by the mayor
  2. School tax levy determined by the board of ed
  3. School debt is municipal debt
  4. School tax levy approved by board of school estimates – Mayor, two members of the school board, and two members of the governing body
Type 2 School Districts
  1. Members voted by the public
  2. The school tax levy is submitted to voters for approval, but it goes to the governing body if it is defeated.
  3. School debt sticks to school district
Regional (Type II)

Encompassing two or more municipalities

  1. Representation of BoE is apportioned among participating districts
  2. BoE is considered type-2, and board members are elected, and tax levy approved by voters

How is money raised for school districts?

Money is raised via property taxes, state aid, and federal aid

Special Districts

What do special districts provide (or are examples of special districts)?

Provide government services like fire protection, garbage collection, and street lighting.

How are special districts funded?

Either the special district governing body getting approval from voters or the municipal governing body decides, and it is administered by appointed personnel.

What Are the Sources Of Basic Law?

Chapter Law: Are laws passed during a legislative session and signed by the governor, bound together in numerical order and indexed by subject matter

New Jersey Statutes: An unofficial compilation of legislation currently in effect concerning the same subjects grouped into 59 titles

New Jersey Administrative Code (NJAC): Official publication of rules, regulations, how-to guides, and other documents issued by state agencies – published by the State of New Jersey

Case Law: Created by court decisions

Statute And Administrative Code Laws

  1. Alcoholic Beverage Control – NJSA 33 and NJAC 13.2
    1. Tip: ABC is three letters and Plenary retail Consumption License is number 33
  2. Assessment Search: NJSA 54:5-14
  3. Board of Health/ Vital Statistics: NJSA 26
  4. Board of Education: NJSA 18A
  5. Civil Service/ NJ Personnel: NJSA 11
  6. Civil Service: NJAC 4A
  7. Dogs (Agriculture): NJSA 4
    1. Tip: Remember four-legged animals
  8. Elections: NJSA 19
  9. Faulkner Act: NJSA 40:69A-1
  10. Legalized Games of Chance: NJAC 13.1
  11. Local Public Contracts Law: NJSA 40A:11
  12. Local Budget Law: NJSA 40A:4
  13. Local Bond Law: NJSA 40A:2
    • Tip: Bond laws
  14. Municipal Land Use Law: NJSA 40:55D
  15. Non-Partisan Elections: NJSA 40:45
  16. Open Public Meetings Act: NJSA 10: 4-6
    • Tip: Open (4) and Public (6)
  17. Public Records: NJSA 47:1A-1
  18. Reorganization Meetings: NJSA 40:45A-1

What You Need To Know For The Job of Municipal Clerk Or To Be In The Clerk’s Office

  • Not a damn thing

Chapter 1 Quiz

Welcome to your chapter1localgovernment

Questions and Answers Are Based On Revision 9/2018

1. 
What are the forms of local government? (Please Write Answer In Singular Form)

The forms of local government are , , . and .

2. 
What are all forms of local government considered?

All forms of local government are considered .

3. 

4. 
How Many Counties Are In New Jersey?

Deselect Answer

5. 
How Many Classes Of Counties Are There?

Deselect Answer

6. 
What Defines A County's Class?

Counties are classified by their , , and .

7. 
Match The County Classes To Their Description

Sixth Class
Fifth Class
First Class
Second Class
Fourth Class
Third Class
Over 550,000 with a density of over 3,000 per square mile.
Over 125,000 bordering the Atlantic Ocean
Over 200,000 but less than 550,000 not bordering on Atlantic Ocean
Less than 50,000 and not bordering the Atlantic Ocean
More than 50,000 but less than 200,000, and not bordering the Atlantic Ocean
125,000 or less and bordering the Atlantic Ocean
8. 
No Matter The Form Of County Government, How Long Are County Commissioner Terms?

Deselect Answer

9. 
Name The Plans Enabled By The Optional County Charter Law

10. 
In All Four Plans Under The Optional County Charter Law, a County Commission Has (Multiple Answers)

11. 
Sources of Revenue For A County Include

, , , and

12. 
How Many Municipalities Are There? (Type the number)

There are municipalities in New Jersey (per the book – Pine Valley and Pine Hill merged in January 2022, so the book is technically off by 1).

13. 
The form and operation of local government is authorized by:

Deselect Answer

14. 
What Are The Original Forms Of Municipal Government?

The original forms of municipal government are: , , , , and .

15. 
What Are The Different Types Of Modern Governments?

16. 
What's The Other Name For A "Faulkner Act" Type of Government?

17. 
What's The Other Name For A "Walsh Act" type government?

18. 
Match The Different Types Of Municipal Charters

Mayor-Council-Administrator Plan
Small Municipalities Plan
Mayor-Council
Council-Manager
Only available to municipalities with a population of less than 12,000, it is a hybrid of the borough form and the township form of govemment organization.
Known as the “Strong Mayor” form of government, the mayor is elected sepertely from the governing body and is elected as Chief Executive
The council is elected as policymaker, and appoints the Manager who acts as Chief executive and administrative officer for the municipality.
The Council exercises the legislative power, the Mayor exercises the Executive power, and the appointed Municipal Administrator supervises the administration.
19. 
Which Of The Following Is Not A Power Of A Municipality? (Multiple Responses)

20. 
What Aren't Ways (Noted In The Book) A Municipality Can Collect Revenue

21. 
In a Type 1 School District, who decides the Board of Education Members?

Deselect Answer

22. 
In a Type 2 District, who decides the Board of Education Members?

Deselect Answer

23. 
What Is The Same Between Type 1 and Type 2 School Districts?

Deselect Answer

24. 
What Are The Sources Of Revenue For A School District?

25. 
Regional (Type II) Districts Are Considered Special Districts

Deselect Answer

26. 
How Are Members Of A Regional (Type II) School District Chosen?

27. 
Name Some Services (From The Book) A Special District May Offer

28. 
What Are Sources of Basic Law? (Answers Quoted From The Book)