Administration

Township Manager
Director of Law

Township Manager

Administration

The Township Manager is the Chief Executive and Administrative Officer of the Municipality and is responsible for carrying out the policies of the Mayor and Council, the enforcement of all laws and ordinances and the administration of all affairs of the township within the jurisdiction of the Township Council. Appointed by Township Council, the Manager serves as the primary liaison between Council members and municipal departments. Our Township Manager oversees 300+ full-time employees in a district with a population of almost 50,000 residents. Under the direction and supervision of the Mayor and Council, the Manager is responsible for the preparation and implementation of the annual municipal and utilities budgets, negotiating contracts, preparing council meeting agendas, representing the township and asserting its interests to State and other political subdivisions, receiving inquiries and complaints concerning township business and providing information and assistance. The Manager also oversees the day to day operations of the township government and is responsible for the appointment, promotion and removal of all employees.

Director of Law

Appointed by the Township Manager, the Director of Law is an attorney who has demonstrated the ability to adequately represent the Township on all matters of government business.

Responsibilities of the Director of Law include:

Ensuring adequate representation of the Township in all judicial and administrative proceedings such as tax board appeals, condemnation hearings and administrative law proceedings
Providing legal advice, counsel and assistance to the Township Council and Manager regarding Township business
Providing legal advice, counsel and assistance to the department of personnel, in cooperation with labor counsel and the Township Manager.

Donald J. Sears Esq. graduated from the University of Tampa, Magna Cum Laude, in 1983 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminology, and from Rutgers School of Law, Newark, in 1986 with a Juris Doctorate degree. He became a member of the New Jersey State Bar and admitted to practice in the United States District Court, District of New Jersey in 1986. After working as an Assistant Essex County Prosecutor both during law school and through April 1988, he entered private practice at the law firm of Busch and Busch in New Brunswick, where he immediately began representing several municipal clients. He was admitted to practice in the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in 1996. While in private practice he also worked as an Adjunct Professor / Visiting Lecturer at Rutgers University in the Administration of Justice Dpeartment, New Brunswick, teaching courses related to the criminal justice system as well as issues confronting police officers. He is the author of a Criminology text book entitled To Kill Again: The Motivation and Development of a Serial Murder (Scholarly Resources, 1991) and is a contributing author to a second textbook entitled Critical Issues in Crime and Justice, Albert R. Roberts, Editor (Sage Publications, 1994; Second Edition 2003).