January 28, 2022

I. State Issues
II. COVID-19 Update

Municipal Clerks: Please forward to your Mayor, Governing Body and Department Heads.

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I. State Issues

a. Legislation Restoring Energy Tax Receipts Advancing

On Thursday the Senate Community and Urban Affairs committee unanimously approved S-330, which increases distribution to municipalities from the Energy Tax Receipts Property Tax Relief Fund over five years to restore municipal aid reductions and requires the additional aid to be subtracted from the municipal property tax levy. The bill is now 2^nd referenced to the Senate and Budget Committee for its consideration. The Assembly companion, A-1012, awaits consideration by the Assembly Community Development and Affairs Committee.

The League supports the advancement of the legislation and urges you to contact your Senator and Assembly representatives expressing support.

Energy Tax Receipts is a tax for public utilities for the use of the public right of way in lieu of property taxes. Originally, these taxes were assessed and collected by municipalities; however, the law changed to have the State collect the revenue for the convenience of the public utilities. The State was supposed to transmit the funds to the municipalities, much like how the municipalities transmit the funds it collects on behalf of the school district and county. However, in 2008 funds were diverted to the State’s general fund. This practice has continued under both Republican and Democratic Administrations.

Since 2008, approximately $14 billion has been diverted from municipalities to the State’s general fund. As a result, municipalities have had to eliminate or reduce services, increase fees or property taxes or a combination of the same. The time has come to restore to local budgets the millions in property tax relief that have been annually diverted to meet State needs. To see how much revenue has been diverted from your municipalities, please use the 2021 ETR Impact Calculation individual sheet. Simply insert the annual amount of aid your municipality received and the sheet will update to reflect the shortfall over time.

We thank Senator Singleton and Senate President Scutari for sponsoring this legislation, and for their efforts to restore important assets to local government.

Contact: Lori Buckelew, Deputy Executive Director, lbuckelew@njlm.org, 609-695-3481, x112.

b. Recently Adopted Changes to Daniel’s Law

In November of 2020, Governor Murphy signed Daniel’s Law, amending the Open Public Records Act (OPRA) and other statutes intending to protect certain people in public service. Despite its laudable goals Daniel’s Law, as initially adopted, created a variety of uncertainties and unintended consequences making implementation extremely challenging for local governments and their records custodians. With these concerns in mind, the legislature moved to adopt clean-up legislation to make implementation of Daniel’s Law more reasonable. On January 12, 2022, Governor Murphy signed legislation amending Daniel’s Law, which became effective immediately and retroactive to December 10, 2021.

In response to a number of questions regarding Daniel’s Law and the recent amendments, the League has prepared a blog to provide additional information to our members. We hope you find this to be a helpful resource and encourage you to rely on your municipal attorney and other professionals for additional guidance on specific questions.

Contact: Frank Marshall, Esq., Associate General Counsel, fmarshall@njlm.org, 609-695-3481, x137.

c. DEP Accepting Applications for Stormwater Grants

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is seeking applicants for its latest round of grant funding, which prioritizes projects that will restore and protect New Jersey’s watersheds while better managing stormwater runoff and reducing flooding risks in communities.

Projects that may be eligible for grant funding include those that:

Use green infrastructure to reduce stormwater runoff in communities with aging combined wastewater-stormwater infrastructure, especially in overburdened communities;
Improve suburban stormwater management systems;
Help agricultural operations reduce nonpoint source pollution;
Implement water quality improvements and support and expand watershed and lake management planning in the Lower and Upper Delaware River and Northeast watershed regions;
Construct living shorelines;
Improve water quality in lakes;
Promote environmental education.

The deadline for submitting proposals is 5 p.m., Monday, February 28, 2022. More information on the grant and the application process can be found on the DEP website.

Contact: Frank Marshall, Esq., Associate General Counsel, fmarshall@njlm.org, 609-695-3481, x137.

II. COVID-19 Update

At this week’s briefing Governor Murphy announced the new emergency rescue mortgage assistance program and the opening of new vaccination megasites in Passaic and Bergen counties. The Governor noted that COVID-19 cases are down by roughly two-thirds from two weeks ago and that the State has seen overall hospitalizations drop significantly over the past week. However, the Governor did caution that these numbers are still higher than numbers seen in the prior two surges.

COVID Data for Friday, January 28, 2022:

9,601 new positive cases for a total of 1,817,614 confirmed cases
113 new confirmed deaths for a total of 28,413 confirmed deaths
The rate of transmission is at 0.58
26 new outbreaks linked within the school setting. This brings the statewide total number of outbreaks directly related to in-school activity since mid-August 2020 to 432 outbreaks linked to 2,683 school outbreaks.
13,413,646 vaccine doses have been administered, including 7,548,134 who have received at least one dose, and 6,366,948 who are fully vaccinated. In addition, the following additional doses have been administered: 1,468,160 of Pfizer, 1,220,497 of Moderna, and 58,237 of J&J.

Emergency Rescue Mortgage Assistance Program

Starting Monday, February 8, registration will open for a new Emergency Rescue Mortgage Assistance (ERMA) program from the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency (NJHMFA). This is being made possible through $325 million infusion from the Federal Homeowners’ Assistance Fund that is part of the American Rescue Plan. Under this new program, eligible homeowners can receive up to $35,000 to cover mortgage arrearages, delinquent property taxes, and other housing costs delinquencies for those who were negatively impacted by the pandemic. This can help protect thousands of homeowners from foreclosures and neighborhoods from being impacted.

Free housing counseling will also be available through ERMA to assist homeowners in applying for assistance as well as guide them through all available options, even working with their mortgage companies to get the best possible outcome. The ERMA application portal will open for applications at 9 a.m. on February 8, 2022. Individuals can also call 855-647-7700 for assistance.

To qualify for the ERMA program, homeowners must be New Jersey homeowners with demonstrated COVID-19-related financial hardships occurring after January 20, 2020; own and occupy eligible primary residences; with income below 150% of their Area Median Income (AMI).

Vaccine Information

Two new vaccination megasites have opened. The first site is at the former Lord & Taylor in the Fashion Center, 50 East Ridgewood Avenue, Paramus. This site is open Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays. The second site is located within the former Macy’s department store, 1210 Hamburg Turnpike, Wayne, New Jersey. It is open Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. To find a vaccine site, including booster information, visit www.covid19.nj.gov/vaccine.

The NJ Department of Health and Vault Medical Service have partnered on a free at-home COVID-19 saliva testing program. This free PCR test will be shipped via UPS with next day delivery. Once received, individuals will connect via Zoom with a Vault healthcare professional who will guide them through the test and answer any questions. When completed, the test can be sent back in a prepaid package via UPS next day shipping. Test results are received in 24 to 48 hours after the sample arrives at the lab. Free test kits can be requested at https://learn.vaulthealth.com/nj/.

In addition, the federal government has made available free rapid COVID-19 tests to be shipped within 7-12 days of ordering. Tests can be ordered at www.COVIDTests.gov. Every home is eligible to order four free at home COVID-19 tests.

Homebound residents who have not yet connected with their local health department, or a home health agency and who need an in-home vaccination should visit www.covid19.nj.gov/homeboundvax or contact the call center at 855-568-0545.

The Department of Health is providing access to individuals COVID vaccination records through NJ Docket, a secure and free smartphone app, which is CDC approved.

Mental Health Resources

As a reminder, the Department of Children and Families has put together a new page on their COVID information hub with a wealth of mental health support resources for youth, for parents, and for educators. This all can be found at that website, www.covid19.nj.gov/youthhelp

Contacts:

Mike Cerra, Executive Director, mcerra@njlm.org, 609-695-3481, x120.
Lori Buckelew, Assistant Executive Director, lbuckelew@njlm.org, 609-695-3481, x112.