An Act concerning municipal emergency management coordinators and amending P.L.1953, c.438.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 8 of P.L.1953, c.438 (App.A:9-40.1) is amended to read as follows:
8. a. In every municipality of this State, the mayor or, in the case of a municipality which has adopted the commission form of government pursuant to the provisions of the "commission form of government law" (R.S.40:70-1 et seq.), the commissioner serving as director of the department to which the responsibility for emergency management has been assigned, shall appoint a municipal emergency management coordinator [and, except as otherwise provided in this section, such appointment shall be made from among the residents of the municipality]. Any qualified individual appointed as a municipal emergency management coordinator who is not a resident of the municipality shall reside within a reasonable proximity of the municipality to ensure a prompt response or coordination of municipal resources for any local incident. The municipal emergency management coordinator, subject to fulfilling the requirements of this section, shall serve for a term of three years. As a condition of his appointment and his right to continue for the full term of his appointment, each municipal emergency management coordinator shall have successfully completed at the time of his appointment or within one year immediately following his appointment or the effective date of this act, whichever is later, the current approved Home Study Course and the basic Emergency Management workshop. The failure of any municipal emergency management coordinator to fulfill such requirement within the period prescribed shall disqualify the coordinator from continuing in the office of coordinator and thereupon a vacancy in said office shall be deemed to have been created.
b. The provisions of this section shall not bar a municipality from entering into an agreement pursuant to the "Uniform Shared Services and Consolidation Act," sections 1 through 35 of P.L.2007, c.63 (C.40A:65-1 through C.40A:65-35) to designate (1) a municipal emergency management coordinator to serve two or more municipalities jointly, or (2) the county emergency management coordinator appointed pursuant to section 12 of P.L.1953, c.438 (C.App.A:9-42.1) for the county in which that municipality is located as the municipal emergency management coordinator, subject to approval of the governing body of the county. A municipality entering into such an agreement shall notify the State Emergency Management Coordinator.
c. [In a municipality with a population of less than 5,000 persons according to the most recent federal decennial census, the mayor or commissioner, as applicable, may appoint a nonresident, who is a resident of the county in which the municipality is located, as the municipal emergency management coordinator if a qualified resident of the municipality cannot be recruited.] (Deleted by amendment, P.L. , c. )(pending before the Legislature as this bill)
(cf: P.L.2021, c.50, s.1)
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill permits municipal emergency management coordinators to reside within a reasonable proximity to the municipality in which they are employed.
Under the bill, the emergency management coordinator must reside near enough to the municipality to ensure a prompt response or coordination of municipal resources for any local incidences.
Under current law, municipal emergency management coordinators are required to be a resident of the municipality in which they are employed, except that a municipality of less than 5,000 persons may appoint a nonresident who is a resident of the county in which the municipality is located if a qualified resident cannot be recruited.
Permits municipal emergency management coordinators to reside within reasonable proximity to municipality in which they are employed.