Woodridge Township is a municipal government located in Middlesex County of New Jersey, covering 24.6 square miles and 100,421. The township has ten distinct communities, most of which are census-designated places recognized by the United States Census Bureau. Woodbridge Township's council is governed under the Faulkner Act model that comprises an elected mayor and nine council members serving four-year terms. Of the nine members, five are elected representatives of each of the five wards, while the other four members represent the whole population.
The mayoral election, alongside the four nonspecific members, is conducted together with the five representative ward elections alternating after two years. The current mayor John E. McCormac has the responsibility to approve the budget and policies passed by the council members and guide the township's vision. The council acts as the legislative body led by a Council President, which carries out the responsibility of resolving public disputes and discussing and formulating policies that concern the public. Woodbridge Township also has a municipal clerk who oversees the relationship between the people and the government. The municipal clerk's office is currently held by John M. Mitch, who manages administrative matters concerning elections, public records, and permit and licenses.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Before a council meeting, Woodbridge Township receives a list of input from the public, the council members, the clerk's office, and the various administrative departments documented in the agenda documents. The action items and agendas are discussed in the council meeting, and resolutions are passed. After the motion discussing the agenda, the concerned and approved matters are documented in meeting reports and archived for public access. Members of the public get a chance to give their input in the agenda and see the meeting document's motions' outcome.
The first meeting of the year 2021 was a reorganization conducted on January 5th at 6.00 pm. The agenda's action items included the president and vice president's appointment following the recent council elections (Woodbridge Township, 2021). There were also two ordinances about lease agreement and amendment of land use. The office of municipal clerk also presented administrative resolutions to be discussed. The discussion record meetings that both essential items of appointments were conducted and Councilman-at-large, Brian Small was selected Council President with Councilman representing Second Ward, Howie Bauer selected as Vice-President. The two ordinances in the agenda were passed for second reading in the subsequent meeting. Most of the listed 80 resolutions were also resolved by the council as the meeting progressed to discuss other motions.
The second council meeting was regular and took place on January 19th at 6.00 pm. The agenda items included second reading for the previous meeting's ordinances and five first reading ordinances (Woodbridge Township, 2021). Twenty-three resolutions from the municipal clerk's office were also on the agenda, and they included items from finance, police, and public works departments. One of the ordinance items was adopted and submitted for approval to the mayor, while other resolutions were passed for further discussions in the next meeting.
The agenda council meetings are essential to the public since they allow challenges affecting the residence to be discussed and solutions adopted. The Woodbridge Township is responsible for various health, public works, security, and housing matters. The ordinances and policies passed during the council meetings address these challenges. Additionally, the public can contribute to policy matters and sustainable development directly through the council meeting. The local government has the closest proximity to the people and makes the people have an obligation in improving their welfare.
The council of Woodbridge Township also affects my fellow Woodbridge residents and me since they handle local taxation, police, health, and various permits. These are issues that directly influence the residence of Woodbridge in their daily lives. Security of the community is of utmost importance to everyone, and the ordinances of the police department will likely determine the strength of security in the township. Public works and engineering issues discussed in the council meetings will also reinforce roads and infrastructure in my county. The council's licenses are also crucial in promoting individuals' and families' economic standards in the community.
Middlesex county of New Jersey has a population of 825,000 and covers 322.8 square miles (Reynolds, 2021). Middlesex's government is structured with seven elected commissioners with no distinct are representation who form a Board of Commissioners body. The commissioners are elected on three-year terms with Commissioner Director and Deputy Director's annual selection from within the board. The New Jersey constitution mandates County Clerk, County Sherrif, and Deputy Surrogate as part of the county government. Within the Board of Commissioners, chairpersons of the different departments are appointed.
Each of the County Commissioners in Middlesex County plays different roles. The current Commissioner Director Ronald Rios's part is to oversee county commissioners’ meetings and appoint the various county departments' chairpersons. The Commissioner Deputy Director is currently Kenneth Armwood. He also acts as the chairperson of the Innovation, Education, and Opportunity Committee, which addresses the business community's needs and provides leadership in the county's education sector. County Commissioner Clary Azcona-Barber currently serves as the chairperson of the community service committee and is responsible for coordinating community programs that aim at improving the resident’s quality of life.
Commissioner Leslie Koppel acts as the finance committee chair tasked with handling financial administration affairs such as procurement, revenue collection, and payroll management. County Commissioner Charles Tomaro plays the role of chair of the infrastructure management committee that oversees Middlesex residents' safety and health. The transport committee addresses the county's transportation system's safety and is chaired by County Commissioner Charles Kenny. Finally, County Commissioner Shanti Narra is the chairperson of the public safety and health committee that promotes services and programs that improve all residents' health.
The Middlesex County Clerk is a position stipulated in the state's constitution whose office bears the responsibility of overseeing state elections, administrative handling of real estate and documents, passport application and acceptance, and the recording of business names. The position of County Clerk, which Nancy Pinkin currently holds, is vital in government. It provides a structure and system for proper record management of government documents, which streamlines transparency.
In the first regular meeting of the year for Middlesex County on January 21st, the main agenda was to acquire and improve equipment (Middlesex County, 2021). This ordinance was passed for a second reading alongside several other resolutions. One of the paramount importance of the county's residents' ordinances is to provide, purchase, maintain, and evaluate resources for public utilization. Middlesex County has various departments and committees that oversee the improvement of its residents' quality of life through programs and services that address general needs. The decision of freeholders during these meetings vital since they improve the economic and social wellbeing of residents. Through the freeholders, public issues affecting the sections of the county can be debated and addressed effectively.
References
County Clerk - Passports . Middlesex County. (2021). http://www.middlesexcountynj.gov/Government/Departments/CS/Pages/County%20Clerk/County-Clerk---Passport.aspx.
Meeting Portal - Middlesex County, New Jersey. (2021). http://middlesexcountynj.iqm2.com/Citizens/default.aspx.
Reynolds. (2021). Official Site of The State of New Jersey . The Official Web Site for The State of New Jersey | Municipal and County Government. https://www.nj.gov/nj/gov/county/.
Woodbridge Township, NJ: Official Website . Woodbridge Township, NJ | Official Website. (2021). http://www.twp.woodbridge.nj.us/.
