The Walsh Act is a piece of legislation in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

that permits

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

to adopt a

non-partisan Nonpartisanship, also known as nonpartisanism, is a lack of affiliation with a political party and a lack of political bias. While an ''Oxford English Dictionary'' definition of ''partisan'' includes adherents of a party, cause, person, etc., ...

commission form of government. The legislation was signed by

Governor of New Jersey The governor of New Jersey is the head of government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. The office of governor is an elected position with a four-year term. There is a two consecutive term limit, with no limitation on non-consecutive terms. The ...

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat to serve as president during the Prog ...

on April 25, 1911. The commissions in Walsh Act municipalities are composed of either three or five members elected for four-year concurrent terms. The commissioners also serve as department heads in addition to their legislative functions. The commissioners elect one commissioner as

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

, who serves as chair of the commission. With few exceptions, Walsh Act mayors have no powers over and above their fellow commissioners, and are only responsible for their specific department(s). The Walsh Act was modeled on the commission system that was set up in

Galveston, Texas Galveston ( ) is a Gulf Coast of the United States, coastal resort town, resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island (Texas), Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a pop ...

, in the wake of the devastating

hurricane of 1900 The 1900 Galveston hurricane, also known as the Great Galveston hurricane and the Galveston Flood, and known regionally as the Great Storm of 1900 or the 1900 Storm, was a deadly and catastrophic Atlantic hurricane which became the deadliest ...

. As part of its reconstruction efforts, the city reorganized itself to a government system in which each elected official had a specific area of responsibility, combining executive and legislative responsibilities. The Walsh Act was enacted in 1911, and specified that commissioners would be elected at large in nonpartisan elections, and would serve four-year, concurrent terms of office. The Walsh Act was the first charter law in New Jersey to include options for ballot initiatives, referendums and recall. The popularity of the Walsh Act form of government declined from a peak of about 60 in the early years after it was created to a total of approximately 30 statewide in 2018, of which six in

North Jersey North Jersey, also known as Northern New Jersey, comprises the northern portions of the U.S. state of New Jersey between the upper Delaware River and the Atlantic Ocean. As a distinct toponym, North Jersey is a colloquial one rather than an a ...

and the remainder are largely in

Jersey Shore The Jersey Shore, commonly called the Shore by locals, is the coast, coastal region of the U.S. state of New Jersey. The term encompasses about of shore, oceanfront bordering the Atlantic Ocean, from Perth Amboy, New Jersey, Perth Amboy in the n ...

communities.Proctor, Owen; and Sobko, Katie
"Town commissions have become a New Jersey rarity"

The Record (Bergen County) ''The Record'' (also called ''The North Jersey Record'', ''The Bergen Record'', ''The Sunday Record'' (Sunday edition) and formerly ''The Bergen Evening Record'') is a newspaper in New Jersey, United States. Serving Bergen, Essex, Hudson and ...

'', April 30, 2018, updated May 6, 2018. Accessed October 6, 2019. "Commissions rose in popularity, up to 60 statewide in the early part of the last century, from large cities and older suburbs to seaside resorts.... Today, only about 30 of New Jersey’s 565 municipalities are commissions, including six in North Jersey. There are North Bergen, Union City and West New York in Hudson County, Lyndhurst and Ridgefield Park in Bergen County, and Nutley in Essex County."

Municipalities with a five member commission

These communities have five commissioners: *Commissioner of Public Affairs * Commissioner of Public Safety *Commissioner of Public Works *Commissioner of Parks and Public Property *Commissioner of Revenue and Finance

Municipalities with a three member commission

These communities have three commissioners: *Commissioner of Public Affairs and Public Safety *Commissioner of Public Works, Parks and Public Property *Commissioner of Revenue and Finance

References

{{Reflist

External links

The Commission Form of Municipal Government (PDF)A History of Municipal Government in New Jersey Since 1798 (PDF)
Local government in New Jersey 1911 in American law 1911 in New Jersey Local government legislation History of local government in the United States

Municipalities with a five member commission

Municipalities with a three member commission

See also

References

External links