I. State
a. COVID-19 Update
Today Governor Murphy announced that there were 313 new positive cases and an additional 13 confirmed deaths resulting from COVID-19. To date, there have been 188,817 confirmed cases, and 14,112 confirmed deaths. There are also 1,839 probable deaths associated with the virus. The rate of transmission is at 1.04. Since our last update, Governor Murphy issued the following executive orders:
Executive Order 177: Executive Order to Protect Public Health by Mailing Every Active Registered Voter a VBM Ballot Ahead of the General Election.
Please see our Town Crier blog post for more on this order. Executive Order 178: Executive Order Extending Certain Statutory Deadlines Across State Government
On Tuesday, the Governor will present a new budget message for Fiscal Year 2021 (October 1, 2020 through June 30, 2021) at SHI Stadium, Rutgers University in Piscataway. The League will provide an overview to you by Wednesday.
The New Jersey unemployment rate dropped 3% in July. During that time the State added nearly 130,000 new jobs. However, there was a net loss of 16,800 jobs in the public sector, attributed mostly to local governments.
Contact: Michael F. Cerra, Executive Director, mcerra@njlm.org, 609-695-3481 x120.
b. NJ Supreme Court Issues Ruling on Civilian Oversight Boards
The New Jersey Supreme Court, on Wednesday, issued its ruling in Fraternal Order of Police, Newark Lodge No. 12 v. City of Newark, a case which examined municipal authority to create by ordinance a civilian oversight board to provide a greater role for civilian participation in the review of police internal investigations and the resolution of civilian complaints. In a 6-1 decision, the Court affirmed a municipality’s legal authority to create civilian oversight boards, but set limits on the type of powers a civilian oversight board can be imputed with, in two critically important ways.
First, the Court found that a civil oversight board cannot exercise its investigatory powers when a concurrent investigation is conducted by the municipal police department’s own internal affairs unit. Finding that an investigation by the internal affairs unit is a function carefully regulated by law, which must be conducted under the careful guidelines of the police chief and comply with mandatory guidelines established by the State Attorney General. Further, the Court noted that concurrent investigation would interfere with the police chief’s statutory responsibility over the internal affairs functions.
The second limitation set by the Court involved the subpoena power that had been granted to the oversight board. The Court ruled that a review board cannot, through municipal ordinance, be conferred with subpoena power. While pointing out that the municipal council has subpoena power and that power may be conferred to a subcommittee, there is no inherent authority for a council to delegate its subpoena power to a non-legislative body of its creation, such as a civil oversight board.
This decision by the NJ Supreme Court will become critically important as many municipalities across the state look to establish police oversight boards. This decision should be carefully reviewed by any municipality looking to create such a board, and the limitations set within carefully considered. You may also be interested in a statement from Newark Mayor, Ras Baraka, regarding the Court’s decision.
Contact: Frank Marshall, Esq., Associate General Counsel, fmarshall@njlm.org, 609-695-3481 x137.
c. BPU Seeking Comments on Improvements to ESIP Program
This week the Board of Public Utilities (BPU) announced that they are seeking comments and hosting stakeholder meetings, looking to evaluate and refresh the Energy Savings Improvement Program (ESIP). The goal of the review is to improve the overall process, streamline submission of required documents, and develop transparent, easily understandable rules. As part of this process the BPU has released a Straw Proposal which contains questions to which the public is encourage to respond.
In 2009, ESIP was first signed into law as a financing method for New Jersey’s boards of education, public institutions of higher education, local government units, and State contracting agencies to implement energy conservation measures (ECMs) as set forth under energy savings plans. The ESIP allows for improving and retrofitting public facilities with ECMs without requiring that those public facilities provide new capital investments.
The ESIP program accomplishes this by using the future value of energy savings to finance the up-front investment. Instead, the pre-qualified Energy Services Companies provide the up-front financing and are paid back, over time, from the savings that accrue to the public entity through reduced energy bills. Approved applicants can execute contracts up to 15 years in length (20 years with combined heat and power or cogeneration projects) that ensure that efficiency upgrades are installed in such a way that annual payments are lower than the savings projected, thus allowing entities that lack significant capital resources to finance the reduction of their energy consumption and energy bills.
Those interested may participate in a virtual stakeholder meeting to discuss this Straw Proposal and the ESIP process as a whole on Tuesday, September 8, 2020 from 10:00 a.m. to 1 p.m. You should register for this webinar by noon on September 2, 2020. Written comments may also be submitted by September 21, 2020 at 10 a.m., with instruction for how to do so found in the BPU’s public notice.
While guidelines for the ESIP are currently in place, Staff is looking to update the program and re-establish program rules. The League is reviewing the Straw Proposal and we anticipate submitting comments.
Contact: Frank Marshall, Esq., Associate General Counsel, fmarshall@njlm.org, 609-695-3481 x137.
d. NJ Future Launches Stormwater Utility Resource Center
This week, NJ Future in partnership with Flood Defense NJ launched the Stormwater Utility Resource Center. The website, designed for municipal and county officials and utilities, offers information to help determine if a stormwater utility is right for your municipality. In addition to stormwater utility basics, the website also includes technical, legal, and financial information, case studies, and guidance on stormwater solutions, community process, and public engagement.
Contact: Frank Marshall, Esq., Associate General Counsel, fmarshall@njlm.org, 609-695-3481 x137.
e. Applications Now Being Accepted for Small Landlord Emergency Grant Program
This week, the application portal for the Small Landlord Emergency Grant (SLEG) Program opened and the NJ Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency (NJHMFA) began accepting applications. The program will reimburse small residential rental property owners for lost rent revenue due to COVID-19 between April and July 2020.
Although applications are not first come, first served they are only open for a week – closing Wednesday, August 26 at 1 p.m. Qualifying landlords are urged to prepare their documents and apply as soon as possible.
Municipal officials may want to share this information broadly to ensure their residents are aware of this opportunity for financial relief. Questions regarding the SLEG Program should be referred directly to the NJHMFA. Program representatives can be contacted at 866-280-9756 or by email at sleg@njhmfa.gov.
Contact: Frank Marshall, Esq., Associate General Counsel, fmarshall@njlm.org, 609-695-3481 x137.
f. Local Finance Notice Issued on Federal Debarment- Consequences for Certain Public Works Contracts
Yesterday, the Division of Local Government Services issued Local Finance 2020-18 regarding Federal Debarment – Consequences for Certain Public Works Contracts. Under P.L. 2019, c. 406 a contractor or any affiliates are prohibited from contracting any public work with the State or any local unit if the contractor or any affiliates, are debarred with a federal government agency. Prior to awarding a contract the contractor must provide a written certification that neither the contractor nor their affiliates are debarred by the federal government from contracting with a federal agency. Under an emergency, a contract may be awarded without receiving the non-debarment certification if the contractor agrees to provide such certification within two weeks. We suggest you review this Local Finance Notice with your procurement official.
Contact: Lori Buckelew, Assistant Executive Director, lbuckelew@njlm.org, 609-695-3481 x112.
Share on Facebook
Share on Twitter
Share via Email
