First Ringwood Minutes

A Commemorative Reprinting of Ringwood's First Council Minutes

The first meeting for the organization of the Borough Council, of the Borough of Ringwood, was held at the Council Chamber in said Borough at 7:30 o'clock P.M., in the afternoon on May 6th, 1918.

Upon roll call it appeared that the following gentlemen, who had been elected councilmen for the Borough, were present, together with W. Dudley Carleton, Mayor Elect, to-wit, Guy E. Carleton, Julien J. Durand, William E. Rice, William S. Sly, Jonathon C. Stevens and James Stewart, being all said Councilmen.

The Mayor, W. Dudley Carleton, called the meeting to order.

Upon motion of Mr. Rice, duly seconded, Mr. Oliver H. Roome, was unanimously appointed temporary clerk.

Upon motion, by Mr. Rice, duly seconded, and by unanimous vote of the Councilmen, the following resolution was adopted and duly approved by the Mayor:

RESOLVED, that the compensation of the Borough Clerk be and the same is hereby fixed at the sum of One hundred and fifty Dollars per year.

A communication addressed to the Council was presented by the Mayor appointing Oliver H. Roome, Clerk of the Borough, to serve until January 1st, 1919, a copy of which communication is appended to these minutes.

Upon motion by Mr. Sly, duly seconded, the said nomination and appointment by the Mayor of Mr. Roome was consented to and confirmed by the unanimous vote of the Councilmen.

Mr. Oliver H. Roome, thereupon took his oath of office which was duly filed, and he thereupon entered upon the performance of hid duties as Borough Clerk.

The Clerk thereupon administered the oath of office to the Mayor and each member of the Council, which together with the certificate of election were thereupon ordered filed.

Upon motion by Mr. Sly, duly seconded, Mr. Julien J. Durand was nominated for president of the Council, and there being no other nominations, he was unanimously elected president of the Council for a term ending January 1, 1919.

Upon motion by Mr. Rice, duly seconded, and by the unanimous vote of the Council, the following resolutions were adopted and forthwith approved the Mayor, to wit:

RESOLVED, That the regular meetings of the Council be held on the second Tuesday of each month at eight o'clock P.M. at the Council Chamber in the Borough.

FURTHER RESOLVED, that the crier of business to be followed at such meeting shall be as follows:

ORDER OF BUSINESS.

1. Roll call.

2. Reading of unapproved minutes.

3. Presentation of communications, petitions, bills, etc.

4. Reports of committees and officers.

5. Unfinished business -

Final passage of ordinances.

6. New Business -

Introduction of ordinances.

7. Adjournment.

FURTHER RESOLVED, that the following standing committees be appointed to be composed of three Councilmen, to wit:

COMMITTEE

composed of three members each.

1. Committee of Finance.

2. Committee on street and highways.

3. Committee on ordinances.

4. Committee on police, fire and water.

5. Committee on street lighting.

6. Committee on miscellaneous business.

FURTHER RESOLVED, (1) All committees shall be appointed by the Mayor and shall make their reports in writing. (2) They shall consider and act upon any matter especially referred to them by the Council or the Mayor. (3) The Mayor shall be the head of all committees, both standing or special, when present at committee meetings and in his absence the chairman of the committee shall preside. (4) The Mayor, or chairman of the committees, may call committee meetings at any time by giving the other members thereof two days' notice by mail.

Upon motion, by Councilman Carleton, duly seconded, and by the affirmative vote of all the Councilmen, the following resolutions were adopted and duly approved by the Mayor:

RESOLVED, that the bonds of the Borough Officials be fixed as follows:

The Recorder $100.

" Collector 5,000.

" Treasurer 5,000.

FURTHER RESOLVED, That all moneys collected or received by the collector, or treasurer, belonging to the Borough shall be deposited in the First National Bank of Pompton Lakes in the corporate name of the Borough and be subject to drafts thereon signed by the treasurer, countersigned by the Mayor and attested by the Borough Clerk.

Upon motion, by Councilman Sly, duly seconded, and by the affirmative vote of all the Councilmen, the following resolution was adopted and duly approved by the Mayor, to wit:

RESOLVED, That Councilmen Guy E. Carleton, William E. Rice and Julien J. Durand be and hereby are appointed a committee of the Borough of Ringwood to meet with a like committee from the Township of Pompton in the County of Passaic, the Borough of Pompton Lakes, the Borough of Wanaque and the Borough of Bloomingdale to appraise, state an account of, allot and divide between the Borough of Ringwood and said township and boroughs, all of the money on hand, property assets and liens of any kind, and all of the indebtedness of the Township of Pompton in the manner provided by law.

A communication was presented to the Council by the Mayor appoint-

ing on the Finance Committee Guy E. Carleton, William E. Rice, Julien J. Durand, and on the committee of streets and highways William E. Rice, Julien J. Durand and William H. Sly and such appointments were duly confirmed by the unanimous vote of all the Councilmen, a copy of which communication is appended to the minutes of this meeting:

To the Council of the Borough of Ringwood:

Gentlemen:

I appoint the following standing committees for the year 1918.

The first gentleman named will act as chairman of his respective committee.

Committee on Finance.

Guy E. Carleton, William E. Rice, Julien J. Durand

Committee on Street and Highways

William E. Rice, Julien J. Durand, Wm. H. Sly

W. DUDLEY CARLETON,

Mayor.

The mayor presented a communication nominating and appointing Edward J. Brown as Borough Recorder, which nomination was duly confirmed by the unanimous vote of the Council. A copy of said communication is appended to these minutes.

Upon motion, duly made and seconded, the Borough Clerk was directed to get the necessary books and stationery for the Council and Borough Officials and also to procure a Borough Seal.

Upon motion by Mr. Rice, duly seconded, the following resolution was adopted by the affirmative vote of all the Councilmen and thereupon duly approved by the Mayor, to wit:

"RESOLVED, that the Borough pay the charges for the bonds required by the Borough Officials".

The Clerk reported the filing of the oaths of office of the collector, James H. Vreeland, and the assessor, George R. Colfax, and the oath of office and bond of the constables Joel Redner and Clifton L. Rice.

A communication addressed to the Council was presented by the Mayor appointing Frederick Ricker, Fire Warden to serve until January 1st, 1919, a copy of which communication is appended to these minutes.

Upon motion of Mr. Sly, duly seconded, the same was consented to and confirmed by the unanimous vote of the councilmen.

There being no further business by the Council, it was regularly moved and seconded that the Council adjourn to the next regular meeting, to wit, on Tuesday May 14th, 1918.

/s/ Oliver H. Roome

Borough Clerk.