54:1-35.31 Reappointment or re-election; term; removal; dismissal.

7. a. Notwithstanding the provisions of any other law to the contrary, every person

(1) who, upon reappointment or re-election subsequent to having received a tax assessor certificate and having served as tax assessor or performed the duties of assessor for not less than four consecutive years immediately prior to such reappointment or re-election, or

(2) who, on or before June 30, 1969, shall have received a tax assessor certificate while actually in office as assessor or performing the duties of an assessor, and who, on or before June 30, 1969, shall have served as assessor or performed the duties of assessor for not less than four consecutive years,

shall hold his position during good behavior and efficiency and compliance with requirements for continuing education pursuant to section 1 of P.L.1999, c.278 (C.54:1-35.25b), notwithstanding that such reappointment or re-election was for a fixed term of years, and he shall not be removed therefrom for political reasons but only for good cause shown and after a proper hearing before the director or his designee after due notice. A person who was formerly an assessor, a secretary of a board of assessors or a member of a board of assessors who shall have become by virtue of this amendatory and supplementary act, P.L.1981, c.393, a deputy tax assessor or an assessor, and who has not met the requirements of (1) or (2) above shall not be removed during his term in office for political reasons, but only for good cause shown and after a proper hearing before the director or his designee after due notice. In municipalities operating under forms of government where the assessor served at the pleasure of the appointing authority for an unlimited term of office, receipt of a tax assessor certificate and continuance in service as assessor after completion of 4 consecutive years of service shall be deemed the equivalent of reappointment. The provisions of this section shall apply to every person actually in office as assessor or performing the duties of an assessor whether in the classified service under Title 11A, Civil Service, or in a municipality which has not adopted Title 11A, Civil Service. For the purpose of this section, "good cause" shall include the failure of a tax assessor to meet the continuing education requirement required by section 1 of P.L.1999, c.278 (C.54:1-35.25b), and such failure shall render a tax assessor ineligible for service as a tax assessor.

b. In the case of a pilot municipality, a tenured tax assessor 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 tax assessor under this subsection shall not require the pilot municipality to fulfill the requirements of subsection a. of this section. Instead, the pilot municipality shall provide the tax assessor with a written copy of the shared service agreement entered into by the pilot municipality, and a letter stating that the position of tax assessor in the pilot municipality is being eliminated for reasons of economy or efficiency as the result of the shared service agreement.

L.1967, c.44, s.7; amended 1981, c.393, s.29; 1999, c.278, s.2; 2013, c.166, s.15.