Title
Dept/Agency: Office of the Municipal Council/City Clerk
Action: ( ) Ratifying (X) Authorizing ( ) amending
Type of Service: Legal Services
Purpose: Retention of outside legal counsel to challenge the Ward boundaries approved by the Newark Ward Commission.
Additional Information: N/A
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WHEREAS, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:44-9 et seq., the “Municipal Ward Law”, the Newark Ward Commission, comprised of the four Commissioners of the Essex County Board of Elections and the City Clerk of the City of Newark engaged in a process of adjusting ward boundaries of the City of Newark’s five wards; and
WHEREAS, on November 4, 2011, at its final meeting, the Ward Commission considered three plans and adopted a new plan, designated as Plan #3; and
WHEREAS, the Municipal Council of the City of Newark hereby evidences its disapproval of the process employed by the Ward Commission and the plan that was approved, fixing and determining new ward boundaries, as being arbitrary and capricious and not in conformity with the requirements, intent and purposes of the applicable statute.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MUNICIPAL COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY, THAT:
The Municipal Council does hereby authorize the institution of legal action to challenge the Ward Plan that was approved by the Newark Ward Commission and the process which was employed in connection therewith.
STATEMENT
This Resolution gives authorization to prosecute a legal challenge to the plan approved by the Newark Ward Commission adjusting the Ward boundaries of the City of Newark