LAVALLETTE — Following the passage of the Elections Transparency Act in the state legislature, the Lavallette Council adopted an ordinance that ends “pay-to-play” restrictions in the borough.
The new state law, passed in April, makes the entirety of Chapter 20A of Lavallette’s borough code obsolete, which was deleted by the ordinance’s passing Monday night.
According to the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, “A municipality…may now award a non-fair and open contract over $17,500 to a business entity making reportable contributions…toward any municipal committee of a political party in that municipality.”
Originally, in the municipal ordinance that was passed in 2006, it was established that “the Borough of Lavallette shall not enter into an agreement or otherwise procure professional, banking, insurance coverage and/or any other consulting services from any professional business entity if that entity has made any contribution of money, including in-kind contributions, to any Lavallette Borough municipal candidate or holder of the public office having ultimate responsibility for the award of the contract.”
Essentially, this meant that the council was not allowed to award a contract to any person or company that had made a political donation to one or more members. However, this municipal ordinance was overridden by the passage of the Elections Transparency Act, a state law.
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