Finding Aid to the Morristown Charter Study Commission Records, 1969-1974 Finding Aid to the Morristown Charter Study Commission Records, 1969-1974 North Jersey History and Genealogy Center
The Morristown and Morris Township Library One Miller Road Morristown, NJ 07960
Overview of Collection Morristown Charter Study Commission HM5 MSS Char Study Morristown Charter Study Commission Records, 1969-1974 1 linear feet in 1 manuscript box History of the Morristown Charter Study Commission

The Morristown Charter Study Commission held their first meeting November 9, 1971. The function and duty of the elected Commission was to study the town's government, compare it to other such governments in the state of New Jersey, and to make recommendations on how to improve it. More specifically, the Commission was charged with examining the structure, efficacy and economy of the Mayor-Alderman form of governing that had been in use since 1895. After eight months of analysis the Commission found the Mayor-Alderman format ineffectual for Morristown's changing needs. The July 5, 1972 report recommended Mayor Council Plan F of the Optional Municipal Charter Law to best meet the complex problems of Morristown's changing communities.

Scope and Content of the Records

The collection contains correspondence, reports, minutes, financial records, campaign materials, vote results, interviews and other documents used to approve and support the Charter Study findings. Members of the five person Commission contributed materials to this collection, though the majority of information available includes notes and documents created by Henry Hoyt, Commissioner of the Charter Study group. The bulk of the records date from 1970-1972.

Arrangement of the Records

Folders are arranged according to their original order.

 Important Information for Users of the Collection

These records are open to researchers. Records may be copied for use in individual scholarly or personal research, however, as with all materials in the North Jersey History Center researchers are responsible for obtaining copyright permission to use material from the collection. Material in the Morristown Charter Study Commission Records, 1969-1974, may be photocopied, but because this material is a permanent part of the History Center's collections, researchers are advised to photocopy with care, using only the edge copier for bound material.

Acquisition Information

The Morristown Charter Study Commission records were donated to the Morristown Library in 1991.

 Preferred Citation

Morristown Charter Study Commission Records, 1969-1974. North Jersey History and Genealogy Center, The Morristown and Morris Township Library.

 Processing Information

Finding Aid arranged, described and encoded by North Jersey History and Genealogy Center Archivist, Fall 2009.

 Container List level="file"> 1 1 Campaign notes, 1969-1971. 1 2 Campaign publicity, 1971; 1972. 1 3 Vote return, 1971. 1 4 Optional Municipal Charter Law and Act to amend it, with correspondence to legislators and notes by Hoyt, 1972. 1 5 Report of meetings with Housing Authority, Parking Authority, Airport Commission and Legal memo representing Civil Service employees, 1971-1972. 1 6 Rules and regulations, not dated. 1 7 Minutes, 1971-1972. 1 8 Abstracts of testimony by officials and interviews with former mayors, 1971. 1 9 Financial records, 1971-1972. 1 10 Final report, 1972. 1 11 Support documents, 1972. 1 12 Resignation of Commissioner and dismissal of Town Engineer, 1971-1972; 1974. 1 13 Notes and correspondence [1 of 2], 1971-1972. 1 14 Notes and correspondence [2 of 2], 1971-1972.