Hopewell Township voters will decide this November whether to create a five-member commission to examine the municipality’s form of government and recommend whether it should change.
Residents will face two related questions on the general election ballot Tuesday, Nov. 3. One asks whether the township should create a five-member Charter Study Commission under New Jersey’s Faulkner Act. The other asks voters to select the commission’s members if the proposal is approved.
Voters will not choose a new form of government in November. They will decide only whether to establish the commission and who should serve on it.
If approved, the commission would study the municipality’s government and issue a report and recommendations within nine months. It could propose an alternative structure, suggest other charter changes or conclude that the township’s current system should remain unchanged.
If the commission recommends adopting an alternative form of government, the proposal would have to be approved in a separate public referendum before taking effect. The vote could be held at the next general or regular municipal election at least 60 days after the commission files its report, or at a special election held 60 to 120 days after the filing.
Officials began considering a change in the form of government in March. They announced plans to determine whether the current structure still meets the needs of a community that has evolved significantly since the Township Committee was established more than two centuries ago.
An organization called Chart New Course, composed of five Hopewell Township residents, supports changing to one of the forms of government outlined by the Faulkner Act, also known as the Optional Municipal Charter Law. The group favors the council-manager form, but that proposal will not appear on the November ballot. The Charter Study Commission, if approved, would examine the available options and make its own recommendation.
This is not the township’s first consideration of a charter change. The township went through the process in 2004, when voters approved and elected a charter study commission. That group recommended the council-manager form of government, but voters rejected the proposal.
The Faulkner Act, enacted in 1950, allows residents to change their form of government through a public referendum. More than half of New Jersey’s population lives in one of the roughly 127 municipalities operating under a Faulkner Act charter, including several of the state’s largest cities.
The law allows municipalities to choose from four principal forms of local government — mayor-council, council-manager, small municipality and mayor-council-administrator — instead of the state’s traditional township, borough and city structures.
A Charter Study Commission, as outlined by the Faulkner Act, is a temporary body created to examine a municipality’s current form of government and consider whether an alternative would better suit residents’ needs. The commission’s five members would be elected by voters at the same election. Candidates must be registered voters of Hopewell Township and qualify through nominating petitions.
Separate from the proposed commission, Hopewell Township is conducting an independent review through the state Department of Community Affairs’ Management Enhancement Review Program, or MERP. The township was awarded a $60,000 state grant to help fund the study.
MERP provides grants to local governments to hire qualified consultants to conduct management and efficiency reviews and recommend ways to streamline operations and reduce costs. According to state guidelines, the reviews may examine organizational structures, technology, shared services, duplication of services, service delivery and other opportunities to improve efficiency.
The MERP review and the proposed Charter Study Commission are separate, township officials stress. The two processes have different purposes and legal authority.
The MERP grant funds a consultant-led examination of municipal efficiency, operations, service delivery and organizational practices. A Charter Study Commission would be an elected statutory body empowered to study the township’s form of government and recommend whether its charter or governmental structure should change.
Hopewell Township is currently governed by the five-member Township Committee, which is elected by voters. The committee then selects one of its members to serve as mayor for a one-year term. The Township has been governed under the traditional township form since the New Jersey Legislature passed the Township Act in 1798.
Township officials revisited the question in 2016 and again during the COVID-19 pandemic. At the time, they decided they were not ready for a change.
“This has been something that we have talked about for a number of years,” Township Committee member Kevin Kuchinski said during the May 4 meeting. “You always want to welcome change and you want to welcome questions. This is what this process does.”
Since the Faulkner Act was enacted, a number of municipalities have gone through the charter study process. Communities that have changed their forms of government include Ewing, Hamilton, Robbinsville, West Windsor, Asbury Park and Burlington. In addition to Hopewell Township, Millburn is also studying its government.
Officials say they want residents to have all the information they need about the process before casting their ballots in November. The committee plans to hold town halls in the fall leading up to the vote so residents can engage directly in the process.
“Our only goal is to give you, the residents, the information, the choice and the voice you deserve,” Mayor David Chait said during the May 4 meeting. “And so we are making sure that you, the residents of Hopewell Township, have a clear choice every step of the way.”
Township officials are not alone in trying to inform the public. Chart New Course is speaking with residents and advocating for the council-manager form of government as defined by the Faulkner Act.
Under the council-manager plan, an elected council establishes policy and appoints a professional municipal manager to serve as the municipality’s chief executive and administrative official. The manager carries out council policy, oversees municipal administration and may be removed by a majority vote of the council through the procedure established in the Faulkner Act.
The plan can provide for either a mayor elected directly by voters or one selected by the council from among its members.
“It seemed to be that, given the things that we were looking for — transparency, professional leadership and an elected mayor — that’s kind of the direction that we decided on,” Chart New Course member Michael Markulec said.
While discussions about forming Chart New Course had been underway for some time, the organization crystallized earlier this year around the belief that the Township’s government needs to be modernized.
“I’m a big believer in transparency in government, not just locally, but statewide and federally,” Markulec said. “Given the change in the demographics, the growth in the town and the new developments, I think it’s time to reconsider how we choose a mayor.”
Chart New Course is petitioning and informing Hopewell Township residents about the process before the November vote. Residents appear receptive to the possibility of a new form of government, Markulec added.
“I can’t say that everybody is attuned to all the dynamics and the options and everything that’s out there, but as I have these conversations, I think people are open to a process and open to re-examining how things are done,” Markulec said.
Some township officials, however, are hesitant to endorse a particular form of government before a Charter Study Commission has examined all the available options. They want the process to proceed step by step.
“I have some concerns about the town-manager form of government,” Township Committee member Courtney Peters-Manning said during the May 4 meeting. “My friends in Lawrence Township have some challenges when it comes to the town-manager form. I believe it puts a lot of power in an unelected person.”
The committee believes residents should be informed about all the options before deciding which form of government is best, Peters-Manning added.
Township Committee member Michael Ruger expressed a similar sentiment.
“This is democracy in action. It creates an independent body, it invites public input and it recognizes that changing the form of government is a serious discussion that should never be rushed,” Ruger said at the May 4 meeting.
He added: “There is no need for speed. While this would seem to be a common-sense approach, there is a small group that disagrees. They want you, the voter, to listen to them, agree with them and sign their petition. No need to bother with discussing facts, no need to explore options, just do what they say.”
Chart New Course members say their outreach is intended to encourage residents to consider whether the township’s current form of government remains appropriate and to participate in the charter study process.
Now that the grant has been secured, the MERP review will be funded through a combination of the $60,000 state award and local matching money previously set aside by the Township Committee. The committee must next determine when to begin the review and whether it should start immediately or after the November election.
In the meantime, the Township Committee is focused on providing residents with more information about the two separate processes and whether changes should be considered in the future.
“This is about following through, responsibly and transparently, on a question our community has returned to for years,” Chait said in a statement announcing the award. “We are giving residents the choice and the decision-making power on something this important, and we are making sure that choice is backed by real data and analysis.”
