Township Committee

It is helpful for all residents of our community to have a basic knowledge and understanding of how your local government operates, and the duties and responsibilities of your elected officials. In this respect, the following is a summary of the duties and functions of the Township Committee, and the services provided by the various departments in delivering services to the community.

Form of Government

The Township of Hanover is organized as a Township form of municipal government as set forth under NJSA 40A:63-1 et seq. The elected officers of every Township are the members of the Township Committee, the governing body of the municipality. The Township has a five-member Township Committee whose terms of office begin on January 1st following the preceding general election. Each member holds office for a term of three years. Since the Township is not divided into wards, the five members of the governing body serve at large and represent all of the people of the Township and not any one particular section or area.

Annual Reorganization Meeting

Every year during the first seven days of January, State law requires that the Township Committee convene a reorganization meeting. The purpose of this meeting is to reorganize the government whereby the governing body makes appointments of individuals to various boards, commissions, and committees for the purpose of conducting the business of the Township. Other business matters also take place at this annual meeting.

It is during the annual Reorganization Meeting that the members of the governing body elect one of their number as Chairman of the Committee whose responsibility it is to preside at all meetings of the Township Committee and who shall be known as the Mayor of the Township. However, as an equal member of the Township Committee, the Mayor has no additional authority by virtue of his/her designation as Mayor, except as may be provided by State law.

Member Assignments

With the advice and consent of the Township Committee, it is customary for the Mayor to assign governing body members to head Township departments and serve as the liaison to the various boards, commissions, and committees. These assignments are made at the annual Reorganization Meeting during the first week of January. A listing of the Township Committee assignments is available on the "Member Assignments" tab. While a member of the governing body may be appointed to serve as a department head, such as the Director of the Department of Administration, it is the full Township Committee that ultimately bears responsibility for the operations of all departments.

In serving as liaisons to Township boards and commissions, members of the governing body attend meetings of the:

• Board of Health
• Board of Recreation Commissioners
• Cultural Arts Committee
• Environmental and Landmark Commissions
• Garden Club
• Hanover Sewerage Authority
• Open Space Advisory Committee
• Whippanong Library (which is funded by the Township but a private non-profit organization)

In accordance with the Municipal Land Use Law, the Mayor serves as a Class I member to the Planning Board, and the Township Committee member serving as Director of Planning also serves as a Class III Planning Board member.

Township Committee Responsibilities

As the policy-making board, the Township Committee’s responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Adoption of ordinances (i.e, Township laws)
• Approval of resolutions
• Preparation of the calendar year operating budget
• Management of finances
• Establishing the municipal tax rate
• Appointing such officers as may be necessary to perform those duties required by law and ordinances
• Execute and perform all the executive responsibilities of the municipality not placed, by general law or statute in the Office of the Mayor