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The City of Paterson operates under the Faulkner Act (Optional Municipal Charter Law), Plan D – Mayor–Council form of government, which voters adopted in 1974. This system separates executive and legislative powers, with a directly elected mayor serving as chief executive and a nine-member City Council serving as the legislative body.
Executive Branch
Mayor
The Mayor is the City’s Chief Executive Officer and is elected to a four-year term. The Mayor’s responsibilities include:
- Administering all municipal operations
- Enforcing city ordinances and state laws
- Appointing department directors and the Business Administrator (subject to City Council confirmation where required)
- Preparing and submitting the annual municipal budget
- Supervising city departments and agencies
- Recommending policies and legislation to the City Council
Business Administrator
The Business Administrator serves as the City’s Chief Operating Officer and manages the day-to-day administration of municipal government.
Duties include:
- Coordinating all city departments
- Implementing mayoral policies
- Overseeing municipal operations
- Preparing administrative reports
- Representing the administration before the City Council
Legislative Branch
The Paterson City Council consists of nine members:
Six Ward Council Members
- First Ward
- Second Ward
- Third Ward
- Fourth Ward
- Fifth Ward
- Sixth Ward
- Three At-Large Council Members
The Council:
- Adopts ordinances and resolutions
- Approves the municipal budget
- Confirms mayoral appointments where required
- Sets municipal policy
- Conducts oversight of city government
- Council members are elected to four-year terms.
Principal Municipal Departments
Under Paterson’s Administrative Code, municipal government is organized into the following major departments:
- Department of Administration
- Personnel
- Purchasing
- Information Technology
- Risk Management
- Human Resources
- Department of Finance
- Tax Collector
- Tax Assessor
- Treasury
- Budget
- Accounting
- Department of Economic Development
- Business Development
- Redevelopment
- Planning
- Economic Incentives
- Department of Health and Human Services
- Public Health
- Vital Statistics
- Social Services
- Environmental Health
- Department of Law
- Corporation Counsel
- Litigation
- Legal Advice to Departments
- Contract Review
- Department of Public Works
- Streets
- Sanitation
- Recycling
- Parks Maintenance
- Engineering
- Fleet Maintenance
- Department of Public Safety
- Police
- Fire
- Emergency Management
- Code Enforcement
- Department of Community Development
- Housing Programs
- Community Development Block Grants (CDBG)
- Homeless Assistance Programs
- Neighborhood Revitalization
These departments are established by the City’s Administrative Code.
Other Municipal Offices and Agencies
Paterson’s government also includes:
- Municipal Clerk
- Municipal Court
- Planning Board
- Zoning Board of Adjustment
- Historic Preservation Commission
- Parking Authority
- Paterson Museum
- Paterson Free Public Library
- Recreation Division
- Office of Emergency Management
- Board of Health
- Various advisory boards and commissions
Historical Note
Prior to 1974, Paterson operated under a system established by the 1907 Municipal Charter, which divided authority among several independent boards, including:
- Board of Aldermen
- Board of Finance
- Board of Health
- Board of Public Works
- Board of Fire and Police Commissioners
Following voter approval in 1974, the city adopted the Faulkner Act Mayor–Council form, centralizing executive authority in the Mayor while strengthening legislative oversight through the City Council.
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