Author: craig

An important and often under appreciated part of any government is the bureaucracy. This is the structure and people who carry out the work of the government and understanding who they are, what they do, and how well they are funded provides a lot of insight into the priorities and goals of the government. Cherry Hill’s bureaucracy is made up of nine departments. These are specified in the charter as the Department of Administration, Law, Public Works, Engineering, Police, Recreation, Health and Welfare, Community Development, and Construction Code Enforcement. As far as I can tell though the Department of Health and Welfare doesn’t exists as there is no mention of it on the town’s website or in the budget.

Continue reading “Township Government 201: Budget / Departments”

In the last post I gave an overview of the structure of Cherry Hill’s government. This explained the legal structure of the government but doesn’t really explain how the government currently functions. In recent history (and maybe always?) the Mayor and the Council have all been member of the Democratic Party. This has contributed to very little public discussion of politics.   At the 4/24/17 Council meeting Rena Margulis stated “she has attended or watched on live stream every meeting of council since May 23, 2016…” and that “she has never seen deliberation by this governing body.” From what I can find published this is absolutely true. This is not to say debate doesn’t occur however it is clear that it happens outside the public eye. To the public the Council and Mayor present a unified front. So what is going on?

Continue reading “Analysis: Township Government 101”

Ok this may be a bit dry but I think it’s important to understand the rules of the game:

Cherry Hill has a Mayor-Council as defined by the Faulkner Act. The Faulkner Act is a state law that outlines the structure of local governments. You can read the complete text here. The specifics of Cherry Hill’s government are defined by the charter which is ordinance 81-41. The charter was adopted in 1981.

Continue reading “Township government 101: Structure”