Borough Clerk
Core Responsibilities
New Jersey Statutes define the Municipal Clerk’s responsibilities as:
- Secretary of the Municipal Corporation
- Secretary to the Governing Body
- Chief Administrative Officer of all elections
- Chief Registrar of Voters
- Administrative and Licensing Officer
However, these core duties reflect just a portion of the many responsibilities and activities of the Municipal Clerk’s Office.
I would like to learn more about . . .
Term of Office
The office of municipal clerk is created by State Statute N.J.S.A.40A:9-133a and provides that in every municipality a municipal clerk be appointed for a 3-year term by the governing body of the municipality. The re-appointment of an incumbent municipal clerk within 60 days of the expiration of the prior term is considered a re-appointment and shall date back to the expiration date of the initial term for the purposes of tenure.
Duties & Responsibilities
The Municipal Clerk serves as secretary to the governing body, secretary to the municipal corporation, Chief Administrative Officer of all elections, custodian of all minutes, ordinances, resolutions, contracts, deeds and archival records of the municipality. The Borough Clerk’s office issues liquor, taxi, social affairs and raffles licenses; registers voters and provides general information to the public.
The duties of the municipal clerk are set out in State Statute N.J.S.A. 40A:9-133.e, and direct the clerk to perform the following duties:
- The Borough Clerk is to act as secretary of the municipal corporation and custodian of the municipal seal and of all minutes, books, deeds, bonds, contracts, and archival records of the municipal corporation. The governing body may provide by that any other specific officer shall have custody of any specific other class of record.
- The Borough Clerk is to act as secretary to the governing body, prepare the meeting agenda at the discretion of the governing body, be present at all meetings of the governing body, keep a journal of the proceedings of every meeting, retain the original copies of all ordinances and resolutions, and record the minutes of every meeting.
- The Borough Clerk is to serve as the chief administrative officer in all elections held in the municipality, subject to the requirements of Title 19 of the Revised Statutes.
- The Borough Clerk is to serve as chief registrar of voters in the municipality, subject to the requirements of Title 19 of the Revised Statutes.
- The Borough Clerk is to serve as the administrative officer responsible for the acceptance of applications for licenses and permits and the issuance of licenses and permits, except where statute or municipal ordinance has delegated that responsibility to some other municipal officer.
- The Borough Clerk is to serve as coordinator and records manager responsible for implementing local archives and records retention programs as mandated pursuant to Title 47 of the Revised Statutes.
- The Borough Clerk is to perform such other duties as required by statute, regulation or by municipal ordinance or regulation.
Permits, Forms & Licenses
Link here for forms and applications.
Public Records
With few exceptions, all written and/or electronic public records are available to the general public. Some personnel, police and court records are specifically exempt under state law.
Requests
You can obtain any public record by submitting a request to the Borough Clerk. Request forms can be obtained at Borough Hall, but the easiest way is to download Open Public Records Act (OPRA) General Requests from Forms