40:68A-43. Powers of municipalities; finances; ordinance

a. Any municipality shall have power, in the discretion of its governing body, and pursuant to ordinance:

(1) To appropriate moneys for the purposes of the municipal port authority, and to loan or donate such moneys to the municipal port authority in such installments and upon such terms as may be agreed upon with the municipal port authority;

(2) To covenant and agree with the municipal port authority to pay to, or on order of, the authority annually or at shorter intervals as a subsidy for the promotion of its purposes, amounts not to exceed those stated in the ordinance;

(3) To unconditionally guarantee the punctual payment of the principal and interest of bonds of the authority; and

(4) Upon authorization by it in accordance with law of the performance of any act or thing which it is empowered by law to authorize and perform, and after appropriation of the moneys necessary, if any, for such performance, to covenant and agree with the authority to do and perform that act or thing and concerning the time, manner and other details of the action or performance.

b. Any guaranty of bonds of an authority made pursuant to this section shall be evidenced by endorsement thereof on the bonds, executed in the name of the municipality and on its behalf by the officer designated in the ordinance authorizing such guaranty, and the municipality shall thereupon and thereafter be obligated to pay the principal of and interest on the bonds in the same manner and to the same extent as in the case of bonds issued by it. Any guaranty of bonds of the authority and any ordinance authorizing the guaranty is subject to all statutory or other debt limitations including particularly any limitation or requirement under or pursuant to the "Local Bond Law" (N.J.S. 40A:2-1 et seq.), and the principal amount of bonds guaranteed pursuant to the ordinance shall be included in the gross and net debt of the municipality for the purpose of determining the indebtedness of the municipality under or pursuant to that law. Any payment made by a municipality pursuant to a guaranty shall be considered "debt service" for purposes of the municipal spending limitations in P.L.1976, c. 68, s. 3 (C. 40A:4-45.3).

c. Every municipality which shall make any contract, covenant or agreement with an authority or pledge to an authority pursuant to this section is hereby authorized and directed to do and perform any and all acts or things necessary, convenient or desirable to carry out and perform the same and to provide for the payment or discharge of any obligation thereunder in the same manner as other obligations of the municipality. Every authority is hereby empowered to accept, and make and enter into, any of the contracts, covenants, agreements or contractual provisions referred to in this section and is hereby authorized and directed to do and perform any and all acts and things necessary, convenient or desirable to carry out and perform the same. The contract, covenant, agreement or pledge, and any instrument making or evidencing the same, may be pledged or assigned by the authority to secure its bonds and thereafter may not be modified except as provided by the terms of that instrument or by the terms of that pledge or assignment.

L.1960, c. 192, p. 817, s. 15, eff. Feb. 15, 1961. Amended by L.1981, c. 547, s. 1.