To the Editor:
New Jersey Statutes 19:37-1 through 19:37-4: Referendum:
“When the governing body of any municipality or of any county desires to ascertain the sentiment of (its) legal voters . . . (it) may adopt . . . an ordinance or a resolution requesting the clerk of the county to print upon the official ballots to be used at the next ensuing general election a certain proposition to be formulated and expressed in the ordinance or resolution. . . . Such result shall not bind the governing body . . . nor be taken or construed as other than an expression of sentiment by the voters, to be followed or disregarded by the governing body in its discretion.”
These simple laws have been on the books since 1930. They let the officials of every county, city, township, and borough in New Jersey give people a chance to vote their opinions on every public issue that affects them. The results are not binding.
Examples of referendum questions:
1] Should Bayonne enact an ordinance limiting the employment of family members? A restriction upon nepotism.
2] Should the City Attorney be required to post to the internet a summary of all current legal actions against the City of Bayonne?
3] Should the City Attorney be required to post to the internet all settlements made by the City with Plaintiffs, including the monetary amount, for the past ten years?
4] Should the City of Bayonne impose physical fitness standards upon police and firefighters similar to those used by the US Armed Forces?
5] Should government contracts be posted on the internet?
6] Should the Financial Disclosure Statements for all municipal officers, as required by the Local Government Ethics law, be posted to the internet? [NJSA 40A:9-22.1 et seq]
7] Should total City employee compensation be posted to the internet? By “total” we mean the annual amount of base salary, plus payroll taxes, medical and pension contributions, vehicle use and allowances.
The results of referenda can be used as a basis for amending, rescinding or enacting city ordinances. Relying on popular sentiment expressed in these referenda, proposed ordinances can be developed, along with input from the public in the form of hearings.
For example, the issue of an elected school board should not have been placed on the ballot this year. A referendum on this matter should have been placed before the public, and then one year of hearings and debate should have followed. We think that the consequences of an elected school board would be disastrous, and there has yet to be made a persuasive case that the current appointed board is culpable of “intolerable abuses” and an elected school board would ring in a Golden Age of public education for the Peninsula City.
In all cases, putting nonbinding referendum questions on the ballot during general elections adds no cost in terms of paper and ink.
What’s not to like?
BRUCE D. KOWAL