Michael A. Cerone, Jr., Esq.
840 Van Houten Avenue
Clifton, NJ 07013
973-778-1601
Email MACJRESQ@VERIZON.NET
Beyond Library Law
NJ Library Trustee Institute
September 13, 2014
Establishment of Public Libraries
•Municipal Libraries are established by referendum
•Joint Libraries are established by referendum after the
participating governing bodies enter into a joint library agreement
•County library systems are established by referendum with two
exceptions
•Can only be dissolved by referendum
•Association libraries are established according to the Nonprofit
Corporation Act and
•Once Association Library accepts public funds, it must be open
and free to the public at such reasonable hours as are agreeable
to the governing body
Organization
Municipal Libraries



Board consists of 5-7 citizens appointed by Mayor directly or
with consent of Council
4 of these must reside in the town
 Must be a United States Citizen
 May not be an employee of the town or a council person
Mayor and Superintendent of Schools
 Alternates
•
Five Year Staggered Terms of Office
•
Must Start at the Same Time of Year e.g. January 1
•
Vacancies are filled for the remainder of term
ORGANIZATION
Joint Municipal Libraries
Board consists of 3 citizens appointed by Mayor of each
participating municipality

2 of these must reside in the town
 Must be a United States Citizen
 May not be an employee of any of the towns or a
councilperson
Mayors and Superintendents of Schools of each town are
members
 Alternates
• Five Year Staggered Terms
• Must start at the same time of year e.g. January 1
• Vacancies are filled for the remainder of the term

ORGANIZATION
County Libraries
Generally 5 members appointed by freeholders
Five year staggered terms
At least 3 members must be residents of the
municipalities supporting the county library
Oath of Office

Written Oath

Municipal and Joint Municipal Libraries

Usually done by the Municipal Clerk

May be done by President of the Board

Must be filed with Municipal Clerk
 County Libraries
Filed with County Clerk
Attendance
Municipal and Joint Municipal Libraries



If absent for 8 consecutive weeks or 4
consecutive regular meetings, without
excused absence, board can declare office
vacant and notify the Mayor
Mayor and Council, by ordinance, can reduce
the time frame to 6 weeks or 3 meetings
Board has discretion to excuse absences but
must excuse for legitimate illness
Officers
Municipal and Joint Municipal Libraries


President, Treasurer, Secretary

One year term and until successor is elected

Statute does not spell out duties of each but ByLaws can
Bonding

Statute requires bond for Treasurer

Recommend 2 signature checking account and
that all trustees with signing authority be bonded
By-Laws




Board should adopt By-Laws
 May not override statute
Officers and their responsibilities
 Many add VP, but avoid top heavy board
Committee Structure
 Building and Grounds
 Finance
 Personnel
 Policy
Parliamentary Authority
 – Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised Current Edition
Powers of Board
Municipal and Joint Municipal Libraries

Purchase Books, Papers, Reading Matter

Hire Librarians

Hire other necessary personnel

Fix compensation of employees

Rent rooms or construct buildings for library use

Adopt rules and regulations

Do whatever is necessary to maintain library
Powers of Board
County Libraries




Elect a Chairperson
Adopt rules and regulations for establishment
and maintenance of library
Hire librarians and other necessary personnel
Purchase such supplies and equipment and
incur such expenses as it may deem
necessary to carry out the provisions of the
statute
Relationship with Director




Director is your CEO
Establish Job Description/Goals for Director and
Evaluate Director annually
Board has hiring authority – but rely on Director to
 Identify the need for a position
 Interview candidates and recommend hire
Trustees should not talk to staff about Library
Operations
 Staff communicates with the Director and the
Director communicates with you
Funding
Municipal Libraries

Municipal Library must receive 1/3 mill

Separate line on tax bill


Municipality can appropriate more money


But this will be subject to town’s budget cap
Statute requires the money be paid to the
Library quarterly


No longer subject to town’s budget cap
DLGS recommends w/in 20 days of tax due date
Regs allow municipality to hold the money in a
library controlled account
Funding
Joint Municipal Libraries




Library Trustees must certify the amount needed
If a governing body doesn’t agree, a joint meeting of
the participating governing bodies is called to adjust
differences
Director of Local Government Services resolves any
differences
CFO of one of the municipalities is the disbursing
officer
Funding
County Library


Amount set by Freeholders
Must be a minimum of 1/15 mill of equalized
valuation

Not a Separate line on tax bill

County Treasurer is the custodian of funds
Eligible Costs vs. Ineligible Costs
Municipal and Joint Municipal Libraries



Eligible Costs – reasonable and necessary
costs incurred in connection with the direct
operation of a free public library to provide
library services.
Ineligible Costs 
Cannot pay rent to the Town

Cannot pay for debt service
Capital Expenses only if written Capital Plan
Excess Funds Statute
Municipal and Joint Municipal Libraries


Requires Library to transfer to the
municipality any unrestricted funds in excess
of 20% of last year's audited operating
expenses
For example – If 2013 audited operating
expenses were $100,000 and the Library has
year end unrestricted surplus of $25,000, it
would be required to return $5,000 to the
Municipality
Excess Funds Statute
Municipal and Joint Municipal Libraries
Continued
o
o
o
Must be approved by State Librarian
Download the Packet for Proposed Return of
Taxpayer Funds at the State Library website
http://lss.njstatelib.org/library_law
Funds previously restricted for capital and
donations are excluded from the calculation
Excess Funds Statute
Suggestions
Hire your own auditor
o
o
o
Do not rely on the town’s auditor
Always adopt a capital plan
o
Adopt a resolution whenever transferring
money into a capital account
o
Separate bank account for donations
o
Separate bank account for capital funds
Autonomous

Library Board runs the Library

Not the Mayor or Council

Not the Freeholders

Attorney General Opinion 1959 No. 10

Library Statute excludes any interference by the
governing body with the exercise of the powers
granted to trustees
Confidentiality of Library Records

Library records containing names or other
personally identifying details re users are
CONFIDENTIAL and cannot be disclosed
unless:

Necessary for operation of Library

Disclosure is requested by User

Pursuant to court order or court subpoena
Sunshine Law

Public Notice of Meeting






At least 48 hours in advance
Notice must give date, time, location and to the
extent known the agenda
Must be posted in a prominent location
Mailed, phoned or hand delivered to at least 2
newspapers which have been designated by the
board
Filed with municipal/county clerk
In lieu of notice for each regular meeting, board
can adopt a meeting schedule at annual meeting
and then provide that schedule as above
Sunshine Law
Continued

Emergency Meetings




When you must meet and cannot provide 48
hour notice
Board must adopt, by affirmative vote of 3/4s of
members attending, a resolution stating that the
subject of the meeting was so urgent that a delay
to provide adequate notice would likely result in
substantial harm
Meeting is limited to action on the urgent matter
Must provide notice of the meeting as soon as
possible thereafter
Sunshine Law
Continued


Quorum, i.e. majority of board to conduct business
 Law does not apply to meetings of less than an
effective majority of the board
Minutes
 Must contain the time and place of the meeting,
the members present, the subjects considered,
the actions taken, the vote of each member
 Public session minutes must be made promptly
available to the public
 Must keep minutes of closed sessions
Sunshine Law
Continued

Closed Sessions




Requires a resolution to go into closed session
Collective Bargaining
Litigation/Attorney Client Privilege
Personnel Matters

Rice Notice

Beware of Email/Internet Violations of the Law

Penalties


Injunction undoing action of the board
Knowing violations civil penalty of $100/$500
Local Government Ethics Law

Financial Disclosure Statement


Must be filed within 30 days of appointment and
thereafter annually by April 30th
Conflict of Interest

You and your immediate family cannot engage in
any business or activity which is in conflict with
your duties as a trustee
New Jersey First Act



Employees hired after September 1, 2011
must reside in New Jersey
New hires have 365 days to establish the
principal residence in New Jersey
Court can enter an order ousting the employee
from the job
Civil Service





Civil Service – if your town is a civil service
town, your employees are civil service
If title is ‘classified’ must hire from list
Working test period of 3 months after
appointment to permanent title
May dismiss for unsatisfactory work
performance during the working test period
If employee is dismissed at end of working test
period, employee has the right to appeal
Civil Service
Civil Service employees can only be terminated for cause
1. Incompetency, inefficiency or failure to perform duties;
2. Insubordination;
3. Inability to perform duties;
4. Chronic or excessive absenteeism or lateness;
5. Conviction of a crime;
6. Conduct unbecoming a public employee;
7. Neglect of duty;
8. Misuse of public property, including motor vehicles;
9. Discrimination that affects equal employment opportunity
10. Violation of New Jersey First Act
11. Other sufficient cause.
Open Public Records Act
•
Designed to increase public accessibility to
government
Broadly defines a government record
Provides a compliance process via Government
Records Council and Superior Court
Provides penalties for anyone who knowingly violates
the law
Provides for attorneys fees for a successful requestor
•
Appoint a Records Custodian
•
•
•
•
Local Public Contracts Law


Local Public Contracts Laws

Bid Threshold $17,500/$36,000

Quote Threshold $2,625/$5,400

Library Materials not subject to Bid Threshold
Pay to Play applies to all contracts in excess of
$17,500

Fair and Open Process – sealed bid or sealed RFQ

Non-Fair and Open Process – Contractor must complete
forms in advance of contract award and cannot have
given more than $300 to any candidate or office holder
serving the constituents of the Library
Insurance
•Directors and Officers Liability Insurance
•Employment Practices Liability Insurance
•Fidelity Bond
•Liability Insurance
•Hazard Insurance
• Contents and Replacement Cost Coverage
•Worker’s Compensation Insurance
•Unemployment Insurance