History of the League

The Creation of an Organization

In the early 1900's, New Jersey municipalities usually had to solve their problems alone. At best, they might have had the support of a make-shift alliance of neighboring communities when they shared the same difficulty.

Mayor George N. Seger of Passaic got clear evidence of that fact in 1911 when he led a movement to lower gas rates among several cities in northern New Jersey. The mayor's experience pointed up the need for a strong, statewide organization capable of marshaling municipal interests and representing them both before the State Legislature and elsewhere. 

Out of a discussion with Frederick W. Donnelly, then Mayor of Trenton, came a decision to dispatch Clinton J. Swartz, Trenton's Tax Collector, to several national conventions of municipal officials. Mr. Swartz took copious notes during the next few years and reported back accomplishments in other states by municipalities joined in a common cause which convinced several New Jersey mayors that such an alliance in the Garden State was a must.

The groundwork was laid at a meeting in Trenton in February 1915. A bill was subsequently introduced and passed by the Legislature which "authorized municipalities in this State to join or to form and join an organization of municipalities for joint municipal action upon questions affecting the general welfare of such municipalities." The bill was signed into law that April as Chapter 163, Laws of 1915. 

More meetings took place in May, and a final organization session was held in June. Fifty-one charter member municipalities adopted a League Constitution and elected Mayor Donnelly as the fledgling group's first president. 

From these early meetings emerged a spirit of cooperation, coupled with a dedication to good government which has enabled the League to grow literally ten-fold over the next century. A few statistics prove the point: The League's original membership roster listed 51 municipalities. Today the total stands at 565. Thirty-five communities were represented at the first League Conference which convened in 1916, while currently 16,000 people regularly attend the League Conference.

Organizational Structure

When organized, the League's structure consisted of a president, three vice presidents, an executive committee composed of 14 members and an executive secretary who handled daily administration. The present framework is essentially the same; the changes being that the executive committee is now known as the executive board and it consists of 26 members. The executive secretary's title was changed to that of executive director in 1949. 

Other committees have been created over the years to assist in formulating League policy on general or special matters. These have included the Advisory Committee, Legislative Committee, several Conference Committees and numerous others appointed on an ad hoc basis. 

Also rendering invaluable services have been the respective associations of functional and professional municipal officials which are affiliated with the League. Presently numbering 21, these groups are represented on many League committees and their special orientations provide depth and diversity to deliberations on League policy.

Home Rule Advocacy

The League's founders saw clearly that the only hope for the preservation and growth of grass roots democracy lay in municipal unity across the State - unity both in the face of other interests and the State Legislature. The struggle which spawned the League involved a rate dispute with the Public Service Corporation of New Jersey. And soon the organization was serving as the focal point of concerted municipal sentiment in the State House chambers in Trenton.

Originally, the League position on legislation was expressed through the Executive Committee and the Legal Advisory Committee. By 1920, however, a Legislative Committee was functioning as a key body within the organization. This Committee has continued to play a vital role. In recent years the 100-member group has been analyzing more than 400 bills annually at periodic study meetings while the Legislature has been in session. 

The first major piece of legislation aiding municipalities which emerged out of League influence was Chapter 152 of the Laws of 1917 - the Home Rule Act. The Act granted municipalities broader powers than they had ever possessed to enact ordinances and regulations providing for the public welfare and order. The Act still stands as one of the three major sources of authorization for local autonomy in New Jersey.  

Research and Services

Early in the League's creation a focus was placed on the creation of a research and information to provide factual answers to members' questions on all aspects of municipal affairs, leading the creation of the Bureau of Municipal Information. And in 1917, New Jersey Municipalities magazine was born. Over its first 100 years, the magazine has kept up with the many changes in print publication over the years.

There is no better yardstick for measuring the League's growth than the Annual Conference. The first conclave in 1916 was a one-day event which devoted its morning session to a business meeting while the afternoon portion consisted of addresses by 3 out-of-state municipal leaders. The Annual Conference has been held continuously ever since, with the exception of 2012, when Superstorm Sandy devastated New Jersey forcing cancellation just thirteen days before the Conference's planned commencement. 

Today the League can point with pride to its three-day Conference which offers nearly 600 speakers, panelists and consultants who appear before thousands of delegates and guests at approximately 100 programs and workshops. For many years, the yearly Conference has been the largest event of its kind in the United States. Exhibits were not a part of the League Conferences until the mid 30's when they were introduced on an experimental basis. They caught on slowly evidenced by the fact the 35th Annual Conference in 1950 lists only 10 exhibitors. By 1967 the number of exhibits had increased to 91, and to 150 in 1979. In 2025 exhibits reached a zenith of 1,162 booths.

League Headquarters

The League headquarters was moved in 1921 from its original location in Princeton to Trenton to facilitate daily trips to the State House. The Capital City has since been the site of League operations, with the Trenton Trust Building being the address for over 40 years. The need for expanded office facilities brought about a relocation in 1963 to 413 West State Street. Having lost our lease in 1969, the League's offices were moved to 433 Bellevue Avenue, the location from which we operated until 1979. In 1979, the League acquired, for the first time, its own  property when a Victorian brownstone structure at 407 West State Street was purchased. Expanded programming and service activities required by the changing times have transformed the once one-man staff into an efficient team of seventeen full-time employees. During 2005-2006 the League restored the former Ferdinand Roebling Mansion at 222 West State Street as its new headquarters.

We have not only a League of Municipalities, but we have also a fraternity of the men and women in government brought together by municipal interests, a really true municipal brotherhood.