September 29, 2021
Municipal Clerks: Please forward to your Mayor, Governing Body, and Department Heads
Updated Health & Safety Protocols - 2021 NJLM Annual Conference
Dear Municipal Officials:
On behalf of the NJLM Officers and Executive Board, we are looking forward to seeing you in person this November at the 106th NJLM Annual Conference. Indeed, our registration numbers are running ahead of 2019 figures and the exhibit floor is already 80% sold out, so we know the anticipation of the Conference is high.
As part of our preparation for the Annual Conference, the League will implement policies and procedures to create a healthy and safe environment for all attendees. In doing so, we have monitored guidance from the CDC and the State Department of Health while communicating with the Murphy Administration regarding appropriate safety measures to best assure a successful event.
To that end, the League will implement the following measures for the in-person 2021 NJLM Annual Conference:
- Masks will be required for all Conference participants upon entry to the Atlantic City Convention Center and for League-sponsored events held at the Sheraton Hotel. Upon entry, all those entering the venue will be required to wear a facial covering or mask at all times, except as necessary to consume food or beverage. Disposable masks will be available, courtesy of the League, onsite.
- Proof of full vaccination or a negative COVID test will be required for all Conference participants during Conference hours. This policy includes any event held in the Atlantic City Convention Center and all League-sponsored events at the Sheraton Hotel. The League is currently developing a plan to help implement this verification process and on-site testing and will announce the details shortly.
Further, the League has designed the registration area, exhibit hall floor plan, meeting rooms, session schedule, and all aspects of the Conference with safety in mind. There will be hand sanitizer stations throughout the Atlantic City Convention Center, and all meeting rooms and facilities used will be routinely disinfected.
Just a few short months ago, we all hoped to be in a better place come November; but the emergence of the Delta variant forces us to implement these important safeguards to best protect the health and safety of all League Conference participants. The decision to implement these protocols was not done lightly. The League is certainly cognizant of and respects the deep-rooted feelings regarding this issue, but these steps are being taken so that we can offer the safest possible environment for all of our attendees and supporters, just as local governments have been doing so for their residents since March 2020.
League staff is currently developing how the vaccine and testing verification process will work, and will share this information as soon as it is available.
For more information on the League’s Health and Safety Plan, which will be periodically updated, visit the 106th NJLM Annual Conference website, www.njlm.org/ConferenceHealth.
Please also reference our Health and Safety Plan FAQs for more information on vaccine and testing requirements. The FAQs will also be added to as additional information becomes available.
I look forward to seeing you in Atlantic City and thank you for your understanding and patience as we navigate an in-person Conference during COVID.
Very truly yours,
Mike F. Cerra
Executive Director