40A:9-134 Tenure for municipal clerks.

40A:9-134. On or before December 31, 1985, any person holding the office of municipal clerk in any municipality and having held such office continuously for five years from the date of his original appointment shall have tenure in such office and shall not be removed therefrom except for good cause shown after a fair and impartial hearing.

For the purposes of this section, the definition of good cause for removal of a municipal clerk may include the failure of the clerk to meet the continuing education requirements set forth in section 8 of P.L.1997, c.279 (C.40A:9-133.10).

In the case of a shared service agreement between pilot municipalities, a tenured municipal clerk may be dismissed to effectuate the sharing of a service entered into pursuant to the provisions of P.L.2007, c.63 (C.40A:65-1 et seq.) and such dismissal shall be deemed to be in the interest of the economy or efficiency of the participants in the shared service agreement. The removal of a municipal clerk under this subsection shall not require the pilot municipality to fulfill the requirements of section 7 of P.L.1985, c.174 (C.40A:9-133.7). Instead, the pilot municipality shall provide the clerk with a written copy of the shared service agreement entered into by the pilot municipality, and a letter stating that the position of municipal clerk in the municipality is being eliminated for reasons of economy or efficiency as the result of the shared service agreement.

Any such shared service agreement shall be subject to the provisions of section 4 of P.L.2007, c.63 (C.40A:65-4) and section 3 of P.L.2013, c.166 (C.40A:65-4.2).

amended 1981, c.394, s.3; 1985, c.174, s.1; 1986, c.181; 1997, c.279, s.6; 2013, c.166, s.9.