Bylaws

By-laws of the
Plainfield Charter Study Commission

Article I-Name

The name of this entity shall be the Plainfield Charter Study Commission (hereinafter the “Commission”), a charter study commission having been authorized by the passage of Public Question #3 in the general election held November 6, 2012 and certified on November 26, 2012 (the “General Election”). These articles are its bylaws. The Commission is governed by N.J.S.A 40:69A-1 et seq.  None of the provisions of these articles shall conflict with that statute or any other statute of the State of New Jersey. Any provisions of these articles that are in conflict with that statute or any other New Jersey Statute shall be deemed to be superseded by the statute in question. Each section of these articles shall be considered separately, and the illegality or unenforceability of any section shall not affect any other section.
Article II-Statement of Purpose

 The Commission’s purpose is to study the charter of Plainfield City and to consider a new charter or improvements in the present charter and to make recommendations thereon. The Commission is subject to the Open Public Meetings Act (N.J.S.A. 10:4-6 et seq.) (the “Sunshine Law”) and the Commission encourages a broad civic dialogue on the form of government for Plainfield City.

Article III-Members
   
 The members of the Commission shall be those five persons elected in accordance with N.J.S.A. 40:69A-1 et seq. in the General Election. In the event of a vacancy in the Commission, the remaining members of the Commission shall fill it by appointing another properly qualified citizen, as provided in N.J.S.A.40:69A-6.



Article IV-Officers
1.  Officers of the Commission shall be elected by a majority vote of the Commissioners at the organization meeting described in Article V, Section 1. Each officer shall have an equal vote in the transaction of Commission business.

2. Officers of the Commission shall be:
    a. Chair
    b. Vice Chair
    c. Treasurer
    d. Secretary
    e. Assistant Secretary

3. The Chair shall preside at all meetings, except as otherwise provided in Article V, Section 6. The Chair shall appoint such committees and assign research and background work to other Commissioners as necessary.  The Chair shall approve all official communications of the Commission.  The Chair may delegate portions of the meeting agenda to other Commissioners at his or her discretion.

4. The Vice Chair shall assist the Chair in his or her duties and shall be the Public Information Officer of the Commission.  The Vice Chair shall prepare public and press releases and deliver them to print and on-line media outlets with the advance approval of the Chairman.

5.  The Treasurer shall be chair of the Budget Committee, and will participate in the preparation of the budget and the tracking and reporting of the expenditures of the Commission.

6.  The Secretary shall maintain the digital and printed record of the Commission meetings, and shall prepare and distribute written minutes of each meeting. The Secretary shall attend to the notice and scheduling of meetings, and the transmittal of changes in meeting times and dates, if any. The Secretary shall be responsible for preparation of official correspondence of the Commission.

7. The Assistant Secretary shall assist the Secretary in the discharge of his or her duties.      


Article V-Meetings


1.  The organization meeting of the Commission will be held in the Plainfield City Hall Library at 7:00 p.m. on a day that is within 15 days of the General Election. All of the meetings described in this Article V shall be noticed to the public in accordance with the Sunshine Law.

2. The work planning meeting of the Commission will be held in the Plainfield City Hall Library at such time and date decided at the organization meeting described in Article V, Section 1.

3. The balance of the meetings of the Commission will be held in the Plainfield City Hall Library on such dates and at such times as announced at the work planning meeting described in Article V, Section 2.

4. Meetings of the Commission shall be open to the public. Members of the public will be permitted to speak at meetings only during the public participation section as noted on meeting agendas.  Public participation sections of meetings will be limited to a maximum of 30 minutes at the end of the meeting in question. Members of the public shall be limited to 2 minutes of public participation on a “first come, first served” basis, on topics strictly limited to charter study issues discussed at each meeting. The 2 minute participation time may be extended at the discretion of the Chair of the meeting in question.    

5. The Commission shall make its best efforts to make copies of the meeting agendas available at the meetings and to distribute the agenda in advance to the City and to online media outlets.

6. Meetings will be called to order by the Chair at the advertised meeting time. In the event that the Chair is delayed or unavailable to attend the meeting, the meeting will be called to order by the highest ranking officer present in the order set forth in Article IV, Section 2. The officer responsible for calling the meeting to order may delegate portions of the meeting agenda to other Commissioners at his or her discretion.

7. Order of business for meetings:
 a. Call Meeting to Order
b. Pledge of Allegiance
c. Open Public Meeting Act compliance statement
d. Roll call of Commissioners, note reasons for absence, if any
e. Review and approve minutes of last meeting
 f. Correspondence to Commission, if any
g. Treasurer Report, if any
h. Agenda items for current meeting
i. Brief review of work to date, assignment of work for next meeting.
j. Public participation
k. Motion to adjourn

8. As provided in N.J.S.A. 40:69A-5, a majority of the members of the Commission shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business, but no recommendation of the Commission shall have any legal effect pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:69A-15 or 16 unless adopted by a majority of the whole number of the members of the Commission.

9. At meetings of the Commission, the Chair of the meeting in question shall recognize and cede the floor to members of the Commission who wish to comment on agenda items. For transacting business requiring a vote of the Commissioners, the Chair shall entertain motions and seconds from Commissioners and shall call a voice vote on motions. The Chair shall have the authority to end discussion after each Commissioner has been given the opportunity to make such comments as they consider necessary, and the Chair of each meeting shall be vested with the authority to resolve any disputes over procedure that arise at meetings.  Only Commissioners will be permitted to address the Chair during meetings, unless the Commission has invited guests to address the Commission at a meeting in question. 





Article VI-Miscellaneous

1.  These by-laws may be amended by a majority vote of the Commission.

2.   Until publication of the Commission’s formal report, all public statements shall represent the views of the Commission as a whole, and shall be released only with approval of the Chairman, pursuant to Article IV, Section 3.
 
Adopted 12/11/2012