What is the Faulkner Act?

Washington Township is a township in Gloucester County, New Jersey, United States. In the 2010 United States Census, the township's population was 48,559, reflecting an increase of 1,445 (+3.1%) from the 47,114 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn increased by 5,154 (+12.3%) from the 41,960 counted in the 1990 Census. 

MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT 

The Optional Municipal Charter Law or Faulkner Act (N.J.S.A 40:69A-1, et seq.) provides New Jersey municipalities with a variety of models of local government. 

The Faulkner Act offers FOUR BASIC PLANS:

1) MAYOR-COUNCIL  (*WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP)

2) COUNCIL-MANAGER

3) SMALL MUNICIPALITY

4) MAYOR-COUNCIL-ADMINISTRATOR 

There are 2 procedures by which voters can adopt one of these plans.  Twenty-one percent of the municipalities in New Jersey, including the six most populous cities including Newark, Jersey City, Camden, Trenton, Paterson, and Elizabeth, all governed under the provisions of the Faulkner Act. More than half of all New Jersey residents reside in municipalities with Faulkner Act charters.

In all Faulkner Act municipalities, regardless of the particular form, citizens enjoy the right of initiative and referendum, where proposed ordinances can be introduced directly by the people without action by the local governing body. This right is exercised by preparing a conforming petition signed by 10% of the registered voters who turned out in the last general election in an odd-numbered year. Once the petition is submitted, the local governing body votes to pass the requested ordinance, and if they refuse, it is then submitted directly to the voters.

WHAT DOES INITIATIVE AND REFERENDUM MEAN?

Initiative, referendum, and recall are three powers reserved to enable the voters, by petition, to propose or repeal legislation or to remove an elected official from office. Proponents of an initiative, referendum, or recall effort must apply for an official petition serial number from the Town Clerk. 

FORMS OF GOVERNMENT: DEFINED

There are four forms available to municipalities through the Faulkner Act:

• The  mayor-council form features a mayor with strong powers. Municipalities under this plan establish three to ten executive departments, headed by a director appointed by the mayor with the consent of the council. *THIS IS WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP
• The council-manager plan places complete responsibility for municipal affairs in the council. The council appoints a municipal manager who is the chief executive with broad authority. The Faulkner Act does not provide tenure for the municipal manager, who can be removed by a vote of the council.
• The small municipality plan can be adopted by communities with a population of fewer than 12,000. All legislative powers are vested in the council with the mayor presiding over council sessions and having both voice and vote. The small municipality form is essentially a blend of the features in the traditional borough and township forms of government.
• The mayor-council-administrator form is largely the borough form with the addition of an appointed professional administrator. Unlike the three other Faulkner Act plans, the mayor-council–administrator offers no optional variations in structure. 

WHAT IS WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP'S MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT PLAN? 

Washington Township follows the "mayor-council" system whereby the mayor is elected by the voters. This "mayor-council" system is further broken down into two main variations: weak-mayor or a strong-mayor variation. 

In a weak-mayor system, the mayor has no formal authority outside the council; the mayor cannot directly appoint or remove officials, and lacks veto power over council votes. As such, the mayor's influence is solely based on personality in order to accomplish the desired goals. 

The weak-mayor form of government is found in towns that do not use the more popular council-manager form used in most municipalities that are not considered large or major cities, and the weak-mayor form of government is frequently seen in small municipalities with few or no full-time municipal employees. 

The strong-mayor form of mayor-council government usually consists of an executive branch, a mayor elected by voters, and a unicameral council as the legislative branch.

In the strong-mayor form the elected mayor is given almost total administrative authority and a clear, wide range of political independence, with the power to appoint and dismiss department heads without council approval and little or no public input. In this system, the strong-mayor prepares and administers the city budget, although that budget often must be approved by the council. Abuses in this form led to the development of the council-manager form of local government and its adoption widely throughout the United States. In some strong-mayor governments, the mayor will appoint a chief administrative officer who will supervise department heads, prepare the budget, and coordinate departments. This officer is sometimes called a city manager.  

Reference: https://www.nj.gov/dca/divisions/dlgs/resources/misc_docs/optional_muni_charter_law.pdf

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Township,_Gloucester_County,_New_Jersey