GOVERNING BODY
Elected Officials
Common Council

OFFICE ADDRESS:
City Hall Municipal Offices
525 High Street
Burlington NJ 08016

OFFICE HOURS:
M–F 9am–5pm

MAP: City Hall Location
TEL: 609-386-0200 ext. 100
FAX: 609-386-0214
CELL:
E-MAIL:

THE GOVERNING BODY:
E L E C T E D  O F F I C I A L S
Mayor
Common Council
Ward 1
Ward 2
Ward 3
Ward 4
At-Large A
At-Large B
At-Large C
A P P O I N T E D  O F F I C I A L S
Business Administrator
Municipal Clerk

City Govt. Organization Chart
Map of Voting Wards
City Administration
City Official Telephone Directory

Location, City Hall, High Street

CITY OF BURLINGTON COMMON COUNCIL

DOUGLAS GHAUL, PRESIDENT
SUZANNE WOODARD, VICE-PRESIDENT

ON THIS PAGE:
Council Members
Introduction to What the Council Does
Duties Officially Defined
Regular Council Meeting Schedule
Council Work Sessions Schedule

Jump to Clickable City Organization Chart

CITY COUNCIL PUBLIC MEETINGS:
1st & 3rd Tues. each month 7:00pm
City Hall Council Chamber
525 High Street
Burlington NJ 08016
All interested individuals are invited to attend and comment. Anyone in need of special accommodations or access due to disability, should contact the Municipal Clerk’s Office, at 609-386-0200 ext. 101, prior to the meeting.
MAP: New City Hall Location

MEETING SCHEDULE:
See Meeting Calendar or
See Council Meeting Schedule
See on this page: Regular Council Meeting Schedule
See on this page: Council Work Sessions Schedule

Council Members  |  page top

WARD REPRESENTATIVE TITLE	ADDRESS	TERM EXPIRES	CITY HALL TEL. EXT. & HOME OFFICE TEL.
Ward 1 Barry Conaway	478 St. Mary St.	2013	609-386-0200 ext. 103
Ward 2 Jeanette Mercuri	114 Talbot St.	2013	609-386-0200 ext. 109
Ward 3 Helen F. Hatala	862 US Rte. 130	2013	609-386-0200 ext. 104 609-386-9684
Ward 4 Ila Marie Lollar	150 Farner Ave.	2013	609-386-0200 ext. 106
At-Large David Babula	515 Rutgers Ave.	2011	609-386-0200 ext. 107
At-Large Doug Ghaul President	812 Bordentown Rd.	2011	609-386-0200 ext. 105
At-Large Suzanne Woodard Vice President	3 E. Federal St.	2011	609-386-0200 ext. 108

Click on individual Council Ward above for further details.

What Common Council Does – An Introduction  |  page top

The Common Council of the City of Burlington will hold its regularly scheduled meetings on the 1st & 3rd Tuesday of each month beginning at 7:00 PM. Work Sessions, including Executive, will commence at 7:00 PM or 8:00 PM on the 2nd, 4th (and, if deemed necessary, the 5th) Tuesday of each month, except August.

The City of Burlington operates in accordance with the Mayor-Council form of government, as authorized in the Optional Municipal Charter Law (NJSA 40:69A).

The Common Council consists of seven (7) members:
three at-large Councilpersons
and one from each of the four wards,
who shall serve for a term of four years.
(See Voting Ward Map)

The function of the Common Council is summarized out of OMCL NJSA 40:69A as:

• Exercises Legislative Power of the municipality by Ordinance
• May act with Authority by Resolution when Mayoral action is not required
  • Resolutions are placed in force without Mayoral signature
  • Resolutions are not subject to Mayoral veto
  • Overrides Mayor’s veto by 2/3 vote of all members
  • Disapproves removal of department heads by 2/3 vote of all members
  • Expresses advice and consent to Mayoral actions
  • Removes any municipal officer, except Mayor or Council, for cause and with hearing
  • Form Council as a committee of the whole
  • Delegate any members as an ad hoc committee
  • Declares emergencies
  • Appoint, set salaries of and remove Council officers and employees
    within the scope of civil service requirements and the municipal budget
  • Approves contracts presented by Mayor
  • Expresses Council policies and opinions not requisite of Mayoral action
  • Acts as specified in Local Budget Law and Local Fiscal Affairs Law
• Adopts rules for Council
• Establishes Council Meeting place and time
• Approves appointment of department heads
• Designate official newspapers for Public Notices
• Appoints Municipal Clerk to serve as Clerk of the Council
• Induces reduction of any item of Mayoral budget by majority vote

Council has also been designated the City’s Redevelopment Authority.

All this for an annual salary of $3,133.00 with no expenses.

OFFICIAL NJSA 40:69A-36 DESCRIPTION OF COUNCIL’S DUTIES  |  page top

Definitively, 40:69A-36 places “the legislative power of the municipality in the municipal council”, to be “exercised by ordinance”, or “exercised by resolution” when approval by the mayor is not required, including, but not limited to:

1. “The override of a veto of the mayor;
2. The exercise of advice and consent to actions of the mayor;
3. The conduct of a legislative inquiry or investigation;
4. The expression of disapproval of the removal by the mayor of officers or employees;
5. The removal of any municipal officer for cause;
6. The adoption of rules for the council;
7. The establishment of times and places for council meetings;
8. The establishment of the council as a committee of the whole and the delegation of any number of its members as an ad hoc committee;
9. The declaration of emergencies respecting the passage of ordinances;
10. The election, appointment, setting of salaries and removal of officers and employees of the council, subject to any pertinent civil service requirements and any pertinent contractual obligations, and within the general limits of the municipal budget;
11. Designation of official newspapers;
12. Approval of contracts presented by the mayor;
13. Actions specified as resolutions in the "Local Budget Law" (N.J.S. 40A:4-1 et seq.) and the "Local Fiscal Affairs Law" (N.J.S. 40A:5-1 et seq.); and
14. The expression of council policies or opinions which require no formal action by the mayor”

Additionally, Statute 40:69A-37 vests investigative and removal powers to:

1. “Require any municipal officer, in its discretion, to prepare and submit sworn statements regarding his official duties in the performance thereof, and otherwise to investigate the conduct of any department, office or agency of the municipal government;
2. Remove, by at least two-thirds vote of the whole number of the council, any municipal officer, other than the mayor or a member of council, for cause, upon notice and an opportunity to be heard”

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2010 Common Council Regularly Scheduled Meetings  |  page top (formal action will be taken) Schedule of the Regular Meeting Dates of the Common Council of the City of Burlington (which may include executive sessions) for 2010, beginning at 7:00 pm, except where specifically set forth otherwise herein: January 5, 2010 January 19, 2010 February 2, 2010 February 16, 2010 March 2, 2010 March 16, 2010 April 6, 2010 April 22, 2010 (School Board election 4/20/10) May 4, 2010 May 18, 2010 June 1, 2009 (Primary Election 6/8/10) June 15, 2010 July 6, 2010 July 20, 2010 August 3, 2010 September 7, 2010 September 21, 2010 October 5, 2010 October 19, 2010 November 9, 2010 (General Election 11/2/10) December 7, 2010 December 14, 2010		2010 Common Council Scheduled Work Sessions  |  page top (formal action may or may not be taken) Schedule of the Work Session Meeting Dates of the Common Council of the City of Burlington (which may include executive sessions) for 2010, beginning at 7:00 pm, except where specifically set forth otherwise herein: Jan. 12, 2010 February 9, 2010 March 9, 2010 April 13, 2010 May 11, 2010 July 13, 2010 September 14, 2010 October 12, 2010

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