Editing Colts Neck Township, New Jersey (section)

=== Local government ===
[[File:Colts Neck Town Hall.jpg|thumb|left|Colts Neck Town Hall]]
Colts Neck is governed under the [[Township (New Jersey)|Township]] form of New Jersey municipal government, one of 141 municipalities (of the 564) statewide that use this form, the second-most commonly used form of government in the state.<ref>[https://njdatabook.rutgers.edu/sites/njdatabook.rutgers.edu/files/documents/inventory_of_municipal_forms_of_government_in_new_jersey.pdf ''Inventory of Municipal Forms of Government in New Jersey''], [[Rutgers University]] Center for Government Studies, July 1, 2011. Accessed June 1, 2023.</ref> The Township Committee is comprised of five members, who are elected directly by the voters [[at-large]] in partisan elections to serve three-year terms of office on a staggered basis, with either one or two seats coming up for election each year as part of the November general election in a three-year cycle.<ref name=DataBook>''2012 New Jersey Legislative District Data Book'', [[Rutgers University]] [[Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy]], March 2013, p. 63.</ref><ref>[https://njdatabook.rutgers.edu/sites/njdatabook.rutgers.edu/files/documents/forms_of_municipal_government_in_new_jersey_9220.pdf#page=7 "Forms of Municipal Government in New Jersey"], p. 7. [[Rutgers University]] Center for Government Studies. Accessed June 1, 2023.</ref><ref>Cerra, Michael F. [https://www.njlm.org/809/3982/Forms-of-Govt-Magazine-Article "Forms of Government: Everything You've Always Wanted to Know, But Were Afraid to Ask"], [[New Jersey State League of Municipalities]], March 2007. Accessed January 1, 2025.</ref> At an annual reorganization meeting, the township committee selects one of its members to serve as mayor and another as deputy mayor, each serving one-year terms.<ref name=Committee/>

{{As of|2024}}, the members of the Colts Neck Township Committee are [[Mayor]] Tara Torchia Buss ([[Republican Party (United States)|R]], term on committee ends December 31, 2026; term as mayor ends 2025), Deputy Mayor Michael S. Viola (R, term on committee ends 2026; term as deputy mayor ends 2025), Dan Buzzetta (R, 2027), Sue Fitzpatrick (R, 2025) and Frank Rizzuto (R, 2027).<ref name=Committee>[https://coltsneck.org/township-committee/ Township Committee], Colts Neck Township. Accessed January 27, 2025. "Colts Neck Township is governed by a five-member Township Committee. The Committee selects one of its members to serve as Mayor and Deputy Mayor for a one-year term. The term for each Committee member is three years."</ref><ref>[https://cdn.townweb.com/coltsneck.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/2024-Adopted-Budget-landscape.pdf 2024 Municipal Data Sheet], Colts Neck Township. Accessed January 27, 2025.</ref><ref name=Monmouth2024>[https://results.enr.clarityelections.com/NJ/Monmouth/122857/web.345435/#/summary November 5, 2024 General Election Official Results], [[Monmouth County, New Jersey]], updated December 16, 2024. Accessed January 1, 2025.</ref><ref name=Monmouth2023>[https://results.enr.clarityelections.com/NJ/Monmouth/119047/web.317647/#/summary November 8, 2023 General Election Official Results], [[Monmouth County, New Jersey]], updated January 18, 2024. Accessed January 22, 2024.</ref><ref name=Monmouth2022>[https://results.enr.clarityelections.com/NJ/Monmouth/116246/web.307039/#/summary General Election November 8, 2022 Official Results], [[Monmouth County, New Jersey]] Clerk, updated December 27, 2022. Accessed January 1, 2023.</ref>

Frank Rizzuto was appointed to fill the seat expiring in December 2018 that had been vacated by Michael Fitzgerald.<ref>Wall, Jeanne. [https://www.tapinto.net/towns/holmdel-and-colts-neck/articles/colts-neck-reorganizes-with-bartolomeo-as-mayor-a "Colts Neck Reorganizes with Bartolomeo as Mayor and Orgo as Deputy Mayor for 2018"], TAP into Holmdel & Colts Neck, January 8, 2018. Accessed July 25, 2018. "Next, it was time for the swearing in of newly elected Committeeman Frank Rizzuto.... He noted the leadership of former Committeeman and Mayor Michael Fitzgerald, whose unexpired term he filled."</ref>