Stay Tuned For More Meetings On Red Bank Charter Change

RED BANK, NJ — The first informational meeting about the upcoming vote to change the borough's form of government took place Wednesday night at the Red Bank Library and more meetings will be planned, the commission members say.

Nancy Blackwood, who served as chairperson of the study commission, said the group is planning more informational meetings in various locations and appreciates any suggestions for other meeting sites. The group will also develop written information to distribute to voters and give visual presentations, she said.

She and commission member Kathryn Okeson spoke to a group of six residents Wednesday night at the library and responded to questions during the hour-long session. They explained the roles of the "legislators" - the Borough Council - and that of the staff led by a manager, who would implement council initiatives.

They also stressed how a manager would be accountable to the council and be evaluated on a regular basis.

The Charter Study Commission in July presented its recommendation for a nonpartisan, Council-Manager form of government in the borough.

The proposal for the change will be put before voters in the Nov. 8 general election, Blackwood has said in a previous Patch article, and, if adopted, voters will elect a new government in May 2023.

"After reviewing the options available to it, the Commission recommends that Red Bank adopt the Council-Manager form of government with nonpartisan elections, as further detailed in this report," the commission said in July.

The report explains that the "Council-Manager form allows a directly elected mayor to serve as the head of government and as a voting member of the council – not just a tie-breaker. The mayor and council exercise all legislative powers and set the policy for Red Bank.

"In turn, the mayor and council hire a manager to run the day-to-day municipal operations. The manager carries out the executive functions, and the mayor and council are required to act through the manager.

"The Commission believes this structure will directly address and rectify the micromanagement issues that have been seen in the current Borough form," the report says.

In November of 2021, voters in town established the Charter Study Commission by a 70 percent margin, the report notes. Apart from Blackwood, the commission was comprised of Mark Taylor, vice chairperson; Michael DuPont; Benedict Forest and Kathryn Okeson. The vote on the recommendations was unanimous.

Here is what voters will see on the November election ballot:

"Shall the COUNCIL-MANAGER PLAN of the Optional Municipal Charter Law, providing for SEVEN (7) council members to be ELECTED AT LARGE for STAGGERED terms at NON-PARTISAN elections to be held in MAY, with the MAYOR ELECTED DIRECTLY BY THE VOTERS, with run-off elections to be held thereafter if a sufficient number of candidates fail to attain a majority of votes, be adopted by the Borough of Red Bank?"

The following explanatory statement will accompany the public question:
"The voters of the Red Bank are asked whether to approve a change to Red Bank’s form of government from the Borough form to the Council-Manager form under the Optional Municipal Charter Law, commonly known as the Faulkner Act.

"If approved, Red Bank will be governed by a council of seven (7) members, which includes a directly-elected Mayor, who serves as a voting member of the Council. The Council will exercise legislative powers and set municipal policy for Red Bank.

"The Council shall appoint a Municipal Manager, who will exercise all executive and administrative powers. The Municipal Manager shall serve at the will of the Council, subject to removal by a simple majority vote.

"The Mayor will be directly elected by the voters for a term of four (4) years. The remainder of the Council members will be elected for staggered terms of four (4) years each. In order to initiate staggered terms, four (4) of the council members elected under the new form of government shall serve for only two (2) years, to be determined by lot at the organization meeting of the first Council. The remaining two (2) Council members and Mayor would serve an initial four (4) year term, with a municipal election held every two (2) years.

"The council shall be elected at large through nonpartisan elections held on the second Tuesday in May. If a sufficient number of candidates for mayor and/or council fail to attain a majority of votes, a potential runoff election for that office would be held in June. After the new Council is installed, it may choose to move subsequent nonpartisan elections to the day of the general election in November, with potential runoff elections in December.

"If the change of government is approved by the voters, the first municipal election will be held on May 9, 2023, and the new Mayor and Council members will be installed on July 1, 2023."