July 6, 2018

I. State Issues
II. League Conference
III. Also of Interest

I. State Issues

a. State Shutdown Averted, SFY 2019 Budget Adopted

Late Sunday, Governor Phil Murphy signed into law the State’s FY 2019 budget after reaching a compromise the day before with Senate President Sweeney and Assembly Speaker Coughlin.

For more on this, please see the League’s July 2 Urgent Alert.

Contact: Michael F. Cerra, Assistant Executive Director, mcerra@njslom.org, 609-695-3481 x120.

b. S-5 Concerning PFRS Governance Signed into Law

On Tuesday, Governor Murphy signed S-5, regarding the governance of the Police and Fire Retirement System (PFRS.)

If you recall, the Governor previously conditionally vetoed this bill and this new law reflects his recommendations, which include a number of taxpayer protections such as the independent actuarial review, the setting of the rate of return by the State Treasurer and the maintenance of the Treasurer as the custodian of funds.

Please click here for the League’s May 10 Urgent Alert for a summary of the changes to S-5.

The League will continue its involvement as the new board organizes and convenes, regulations are proposed and adopted to help protect the public’s interests.

Contacts:

Michael F. Cerra, Assistant Executive Director, mcerra@njslom.org, 609-695-3481 x120.
Lori Buckelew, Senior Legislative Analyst, lbuckelew@njslom.org, 609-695-3481 x112.

c. DLGS Certification of Calendar Year Municipal Budgets

We would like to call your attention to the Tuesday GovConnect notice, sent by the Department of Community Affairs, Division of Local Government Services (DLGS), to your municipal clerk, CFO and Tax Collector. This notice states that as a result of the change in school funding associated with the State’s newly adopted FY 2019 budget, that certain school districts will be receiving increased aid. Since the Department of Education has yet to name these districts, the DLGS will delay the certification of municipal budgets to the County tax boards.

Unfortunately, this could delay property tax bills across the state, extending the payment date while increasing administrative costs to municipalities. This is happening at the same time that municipalities have mandatory payment of the county and schools for the levy collection. The League is communicating these concerns to the respective state agencies and we would suggest advising your Legislators of the same.

Contact: Michael F. Cerra, Assistant Executive Director, mcerra@njslom.org, 609-695-3481 x120.

II. League Conference

a. Unauthorized Hotel Reservation Services

Every year there are unauthorized firms soliciting housing and hotel reservations from attendees at the 103^rd Annual League Conference. We assure you that the only firm authorized to handle our conference housing reservations is AC Central Reservations. This information is on the top of the official conference housing form sent to all municipal clerks and posted on our web site.

Using unauthorized reservation services creates real problems for you and the conference as a whole. You cannot be assured your credit card information is secure and your room reservation may not actually be made. Using unauthorized services means your room will not be part of the official conference housing block so you won’t get emergency housing information (which happened in both 2011 and 2012) nor will there be adequate shuttle bus services to your hotel.

As always, the League is available to answer your questions on any aspect of the annual conference and we strive to make your participation both enjoyable and highly productive.

Contact: Michael J. Darcy, CAE, Executive Director, mdarcy@njslom.org, 609-695-3481 x116.

b. Exhibits at the Annual Conference

Do you know a vendor that would be a good fit for the Annual Conference? If so, ask them about being an exhibitor or have them contact Kristin Lawrence, Exhibit Manager at 609-695-3481 x125 or klawrence@njslom.org. Information is also available on njslom.org/exhibit.

III. Also of Interest

a. Brownfield Marketing Assistance

The NJ State Office for Planning Advocacy (OPA) would like to assist municipalities and counties by marketing brownfields for redevelopment and to bring them back to the Tax Roll. OPA is responsible for the Brownfields Redevelopment Task Force that created SiteMart, www.njbrownfieldsproperties.com, which is an online searchable database for brownfield properties in New Jersey. The SiteMart database can help market the inventory of brownfields to prospective developers.

By working with OPA you can help implement Smart Growth strategies by cleaning up and creating infill redevelopment which turns underutilized properties into viable assets for both the community and property owner. Infill also helps prevent sprawl by building upon land with existing infrastructure.

OPA is asking municipalities and property owners to access the SiteMart database and provide us with updated information on properties in your community so that it can be more useful to all parties. New brownfield properties should also be added to the SiteMart database.

Start by searching SiteMart so that you can better understand the resource available and then contact Barry Ableman at Barry.Ableman@sos.nj.gov or Colleen McGurk at colleen.mcgurk@sos.nj.gov to discuss how we will update the information. Any questions please call Barry Ableman at 609-292-3228.

b. The League is Now Accepting Applications for the Innovation in
Governance Program!

The New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA) and the New Jersey League of Municipalities will again acknowledge and promote Innovation in Governance through our annual recognition program. This is a great opportunity to showcase innovative solutions to any problems that have cropped up – either suddenly or over time – in your municipality. It can also be an opportunity to let your peers in on innovations that prevented problems from even arising.

Visit our awards page to see previous years of impressive ideas created by our winning municipalities as well as the full invitation and application to this year’s program by clicking here.

Contact: Ciara Bradley, Legislative Administrator, CBradley@njslom.org, 609-695-3481 x128.