Hopewell Citizens for Better Government
Our Future Deserves A Fresh Look
What a Charter Study Commission actually does
New Jersey's Faulkner Act gives residents a structured, deliberate way to examine local government. Electing a commission doesn't commit the township to anything — it commits us to looking closely, together.
1
Voters elect the Commission
Commissioners are chosen on the November ballot to study Hopewell Township's government.
2
The Commission studies
Commissioners review how the township is structured, staffed, and governed — in public, over roughly a year.
3
Findings are reported
The Commission publishes what it found. If it sees room to improve, it can recommend a specific path forward.
4
Voters decide, if there's a recommendation
Any recommended change goes back to residents at a later election. Nothing changes without a separate vote.
A study is not a verdict. We aren't asking Hopewell to change how it's governed — we're asking for the chance to find out, in the open, whether it should.
Read the record for yourself
We'd rather you check our numbers than take our word for them. A growing library of the research behind this campaign.
BACKGROUND
Understanding the Faulkner Act
A plain-language explainer on how New Jersey's charter study process works, start to finish.
Statewide Picture of NJ
What the form of government do the 564 municipalities NJ have.
Understanding the Faulkner Act
A plain-language explainer on how New Jersey's charter study process works, start to finish.
What is the Faulkner Act?
New Jersey's Faulkner Act — officially the Optional Municipal Charter Law of 1950 — gives towns a legal way to change how their local government is structured, without needing a special act of the state legislature. It's the same law more than 70 New Jersey municipalities have used to restructure their governments over the past 75 years.
How does a charter study commission work?
Voters elect a five-member commission. For several months, that commission studies how the township currently operates and compares it against the other forms of government New Jersey law allows. It holds public hearings so residents can weigh in throughout.
What happens at the end?
The commission has three options: recommend keeping the current government as-is, recommend switching to a different optional form, or recommend no change at all. Nothing is decided by the commission itself — any recommended change only takes effect if voters approve it in a later election. A "yes" vote this November only starts the study. It does not commit the township to changing anything.
The statewide picture:
564 municipalities, 12 forms of government
Every New Jersey municipality — all 564 of them — operates under one of twelve recognized forms of government: five traditional forms dating to the 19th century, and seven optional modern forms, most adopted through the Faulkner Act of 1950.
564
Municipalities in New Jersey — every one under one of 12 forms of government
218
Still operate under the traditional Borough form — the most common in the state
~21%
Of municipalities govern under Faulkner Act charters — including NJ's six most populous cities
50%+
Of all New Jersey residents live in municipalities with Faulkner Act charters