FAQ's

The CSC was established by the Red Bank Borough Council and the voters of Red Bank. In 2021, the Red Bank Borough Council adopted an ordinance (2021-11) authorizing a public question on whether to establish the CSC. In the November 2021 election, Red Bank voters approved the establishment of the CSC and elected its five commissioners.

Under State law, the CSC has the "function and duty" to "study the form of government of the municipality, to compare it with other available forms under the laws of this State, to determine whether or not in its judgement the government of the municipality could be strengthened, made more clearly responsive or accountable to the people or whether its operation could be more economical or efficient, under a changed form of government."

The CSC currently holds meetings on the first Wednesday and third Tuesday of each month at 6:30 PM. All meetings are conducted in accordance with the Open Public Meetings Act (OPMA) and may be accessed by the public. Due to the ongoing pandemic, meetings may be conducted on a remote basis using Zoom.

The CSC accepts public comment at each of its public meetings. Comments may also be e-mailed to csc@redbanknj.org and they will be distributed to all CSC commissioners.

The CSC will have several public dialogue sessions. There will be a public input session as part of each of the three study phases.

After completing its due diligence, the CSC is authorized to make "findings and recommendations" to the citizens of Red Bank regarding the form of government through a formal report.

The CSC must make its recommendations within nine (9) months of its election, which establishes a deadline of August 2, 2022

In its report, the CSC may recommend that: a) voters be asked to consider an alternative form of government, b) that the Borough Council petition the Legislature for a special charter, or c) that the current Borough form of government remain unchanged.

The CSC may recommend any form of government that is authorized under the Optional Municipal Charter Law, commonly known as the Faulkner Act. These forms could include the Mayor-Council Plan, the Council-Manager Plan, or the Mayor-Council-Administrator Plan. Red Bank is not eligible for the Small Municipality Plan because its population exceeds 12,000.

The CSC's recommendation would trigger a referendum on whether Red Bank should change to the recommended Faulkner Act form of government.

The referendum would be held at either the November general election or in a special election, whichever the CSC decides.

No. The CSC was established by the voters and its recommendation to a Faulkner Act form of government (if made) is transmitted directly to the voters in the form of a referendum. The Borough Council does not have any legal involvement in this process.