About the Office of the Municipal Clerk

The Office of the Municipal Clerk in New Jersey is considered the hub of all municipal operations.  The Municipal Clerk serves the public and acts as a liaison officer between the Governing Body and the general body of the municipal departments.

• The Office of the Municipal Clerk prepares all of the Board of Commissioners meeting agendas and meeting minutes.
  • The meeting agenda serves as guide for the board to conduct their business.
  • Meeting minutes serves as permanent records of any and all action that took place at a public meeting of the board.
• This office handles the distribution, advertising, filing and retention of all ordinances and resolutions.
• The Municipal Clerk is the Election Official for the municipality, therefore questions pertaining to elections should be directed to this office.
• This office handles and issues various licenses i.e., Bingo, Raffle, Limousine, Liquor, Dogs, Cats, Ice Cream Vendors, Video Machines.
• Additionally, the Municipal Clerk’s Office provides Notary Services free of charge to Nutley residents.
• The Municipal Clerk is the records custodian for the Township of Nutley. All requests for public records under the Open Public Records Act (OPRA) are processed through the Municipal Clerk’s Office.

The Municipal Clerk’s Office is located in the Municipal Building, 1st floor. Office hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Administrative Responsibilities of the Municipal Clerk

Under state statute and as required by municipal ordinance the core duties of the Township of Nutley Municipal Clerk are as follows:

• Secretary of the Municipal Corporation
  Custodian of the municipal seal; maintain custody of all minutes, bonds, contracts and archival records; conduct opening of bids, attest to the signatures of the municipal officials; maintain receipt of service of legal documents.
• Secretary to the Governing Body
  Prepare Board of Commissioner meeting agenda’s; keep new members of the Governing Body aware of rules of order for conducting a meeting; be present at all meetings of the Governing Body; keep an official record of the proceedings of every meeting; retain original copies of all minutes, ordinances and resolutions; process, record, file and advertise ordinances; administer oaths of office; maintain custody of all official records not specifically handled by other departments.
• Chief Administrative Officer of all Elections
  Maintain receipt of nominating petitions and certification to the County Clerk of local candidates nominated by petition; determine the validity of petitions; conduct the drawing for positions on the local ballot; maintain receipt of election results; certify election of candidates for municipal office; gather and organize election material received from the County for distribution to the election poll workers; conduct voting machine inspection at the machine storage warehouse; direct contact with the County of Essex and State of New Jersey regarding election matters, laws and change in legislation.
• Administrative Officer
  Acceptance of applications and issuance of various licenses and permits, (such as dogs, cats, bingo, raffle, limousine, video machines in establishments, liquor licenses, etc.); maintain all township vehicle information (such as titles, vin #’s, registration, insurance, etc..); conduct other business with other municipal departments at the discretion of the Governing Body; provide information to the public; certify to the municipality’s Bond Counsel as to the proper advertising, filing of Supplemental Debt Statement along with certification of meeting minutes; Council on Affordable Housing Liaison; maintain the code books for the municipality.
• Records Coordinator
  Responsible for implementing local archives and records retention programs as mandated by the State of New Jersey Department of Archives and Records Management (DARM).