City (New Jersey)

Despite the widely-held perception of a city as a large, urban area, cities in New Jersey have a confused history as a form of government and vary in size from large, densely populated areas to much-smaller hamlets.

1 History
2 Image
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] History

The 1897 and 1899 city charter laws applied only to areas with a population under 12,000, and provided for a directly-elected mayor, who served a two-year term and had strong executive powers. Both featured a council elected from wards to staggered three-year terms, plus one councilman elected at-large for a term of two years. The Mayor had veto power, which could be overridden by a two-thirds vote of the Council. The two acts differed in a number of ways, including the process for selection of a Board of Education (1897: elected; 1899: appointed by Council).

By 1987, there were only eleven cities under these City Acts (including East Orange, which effectively operated under a special City charter). As in other forms, many amendments, revisions and changes had been made over the years, leading to confusing and often conflicting legislation.

The City Act of 1987 provides for a directly-elected mayor who serves a four-year term and for a council that consists of seven members; six elected from two wards for staggered three-year terms and one elected at large for a four year term. There are three councilmen in each ward with one councilmember from each ward up for election every year. The mayor is the chief executive and votes only to break a tie. The Mayor has veto power over all or portions of any ordinance, subject to override by a two-thirds vote of the Council. The Act also provides for the delegation of executive responsibilities to a municipal administrator.

Those cities operating under pre-1987 charters could retain the characteristics of their structure of government regarding terms of office, number of positions and other powers. Provisions of the 1987 Act can then be adopted through a petition and referendum process by the electorate.

[edit] Image

Municipalities that are designated as cities in New Jersey have a certain socioeconomic stigma attached to them. The main reason for this has to do with the fact that most New Jersey municipalities that are designated as cities (such as Paterson, New Jersey, Newark, New Jersey, Perth Amboy, New Jersey and Camden, New Jersey) have a low-income, socioeconomically disadvantaged minority-majority (mostly consisting of African-Americans and Hispanics). Discrimination and disenfranchisement has led to very high crime rates in many New Jersey cities, and many of these cities often are listed as the most dangerous in the United States according to Morgan Quitno. Ironically, some of the townships and boroughs (such as Brick Township) are often listed as the safest communities in the United States by Morgan Quitno. Other factors, such as urban decay and white flight have affected all but the smallest municipalities in New Jersey that have a city form of government. Some municipalities, such as Orange, New Jersey, have attempted to change their form of government from a city to a township, which has enabled access to additional funding and eliminated some of the stigma associated with the "city" title. A series of riots in the 1960s devastated many New Jersey cities, and as a result white flight occurred to the boroughs and townships surrounding the cities. Although attempts have been made to revitalize New Jersey cities, there is still an extremely significant divide between the wealthy boroughs and townships and the impoverished cities.