A city in the context of

local government in New Jersey Local government in New Jersey is composed of counties and municipalities. Local jurisdictions in New Jersey differ from those in some other U.S. state, states because every square foot of the state is part of exactly one List of municipalities ...

refers to one of five types and one of eleven forms of municipal government. Despite the widely held perception of a

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

as a large,

urban area An urban area, built-up area or urban agglomeration is a human settlement with a high population density and infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas are created through urbanization and are categorized by urban morphology as cities, t ...

, 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 A hamlet is a human settlement that is smaller than a town or village. Its size relative to a parish can depend on the administration and region. A hamlet may be considered to be a smaller settlement or subdivision or satellite entity to a lar ...

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 a 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 A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution. The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional are ...

(1897: elected; 1899: appointed by the council). By 1987, there were only eleven cities under these City Acts (including

East Orange East Orange is a city in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 69,612. The city was the state's 20th most-populous municipality in 2010, after having been the state's 14th most-po ...

, 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.

Municipalities

In a July 2011 report, the

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's ...

Center for Government Studies listed 15 municipalities as operating under the city form of government: *

Absecon, New Jersey Absecon (, ) is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population was 8,411,

Beverly, New Jersey Beverly is a city in Burlington County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population was 2,577,Corbin City, New Jersey Corbin City is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city's population was 471, a decrease of 21 (−4.3%) from the 2010 census count of 492, which in turn reflected an increase of 24 ...

East Orange, New Jersey East Orange is a City (New Jersey), city in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 69,612. The city was List of municipalities in ...

Egg Harbor City, New Jersey Egg Harbor City is a City (New Jersey), city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city's population was 4,396, an increase of 153 from the 2010 Census.

(though source on city website says that Faulkner Act form is used)Egg Harbor City Government
Egg Harbor City, backed up by the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

as of April 12, 2010. Accessed August 12, 2020. *

Linden, New Jersey Linden is a city in southeastern Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the New York Metropolitan Area, located about southwest of Manhattan and bordering Staten Island, a borough of New York City, across the Arthur Kill ...

Linwood, New Jersey Linwood is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population was 7,092,Northfield, New Jersey Northfield is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population was 8,624,North Wildwood, New Jersey North Wildwood is a city located on the Jersey Shore in Cape May County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the Ocean City metropolitan statistical area. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 3,621, a decr ...

Pleasantville, New Jersey Pleasantville is a city in Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 20,629, which was an increase of 380 from the 2010 census count of 20,249, which reflected an increase of 1,237 ...

Port Republic, New Jersey Port Republic is a city on the Mullica River, located in Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 1,101, a decrease of 14 (−1.3%) from the 2010 census count of 1,115, whi ...

Salem, New Jersey Salem is a city in Salem County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, the city's population was 5,146,

Somers Point, New Jersey Somers Point is a city that is the oldest settlement in Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It was settled by Europeans in 1693 and was incorporated as a borough in 1886. Somers Point was incorporated as a city in 1902. As of the 2 ...

Summit, New Jersey Summit is a city in Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The city is located on a ridge in northern- central New Jersey, within the Raritan Valley and Rahway Valley regions in the New York metropolitan area. At the 2010 United Sta ...

Woodbury, New Jersey Woodbury is the county seat of Gloucester County, New Jersey, Gloucester County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the South Jersey region of the state.

References

External links

New Jersey State League of Municipalities
{{authority control Local government in New Jersey

History

Municipalities

See also

References

External links