Duties of the Municipal Clerk:
The official duties of the Municipal Clerk in New Jersey are established by N.J.S.A. 40A:9-133, which was significantly clarified by legislation in 1991 to define the "core" duties of the office. The statute is organized around seven key roles:
Secretary of the Municipal Corporation
The clerk acts 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, however, provide by ordinance that any other specific officer shall have custody of any specific other class of record.
Secretary to the Governing Body
The clerk acts as secretary to the governing body, prepares meeting agendas at the discretion of the governing body, is present at all meetings of the governing body, keeps a journal of the proceedings of every meeting, retains the original copies of all ordinances and resolutions, and records the minutes of every meeting.
Chief Administrative Officer for Elections
The clerk serves as the chief administrative officer in all elections held in the municipality, subject to the requirements of Title 19 of the Revised Statutes.
Chief Registrar of Voters
The clerk serves as chief registrar of voters in the municipality, subject to the requirements of Title 19 of the Revised Statutes.
Administrative Officer for Licenses and Permits
The clerk serves 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.
Records Manager and Coordinator
The clerk serves as coordinator and records manager responsible for implementing local archives and records retention programs as mandated pursuant to Title 47 of the Revised Statutes.
Other Duties
The clerk performs such other duties as are now or hereafter imposed by statute, regulation, or by municipal ordinance or regulation.
A few additional points worth noting:
- The Municipal Clerk holds one of the most important positions in municipal government — the position is statutory (one of only four statutory positions in NJ municipal government), Municipal Clerks may attain tenure in office, and they must achieve and maintain certification through education and testing.
- No person shall be appointed or reappointed as a municipal clerk unless that person holds a registered municipal clerk certificate issued pursuant to state law.
- Under the Municipal Land Use Law (N.J.S.A. 40:55D-3), the clerk is also designated as the default "Administrative Officer" for land use purposes unless a different official is designated by ordinance — though in practice, most municipalities assign those duties to planning/zoning board staff.
The following licenses and forms are available in this office: