The New Jersey Association of Counties (NJAC) hosted an educational and informative Summit on December 8, 2017 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Trenton Country Club located at 201 Sullivan Way in West Trenton.  Over 250 government officials, with representatives from all 21 counties, and business leaders turned out for this event.  There were two panel discussions which were moderated by Eric Scott of Townsquare Media & NJ 101.5.  The first set of panelists examined the State's alarming opioid epidemic and presented viable strategies for combating this public health crisis. Additionally, th...

During last week's 67th NJAC Annual Conference held at Caesar's Resort and Hotel in Atlantic City, the New Jersey Association of Counties recognized and awarded Somerset County Freeholder Director Peter S. Palmer for his tireless dedication and commitment to the organization and county government on May 12, 2017. Honorable Peter S. Palmer has 55 years of public service which began in 1962 where he served on the Bernardsville Board of Education.  His career as a Somerset County Freeholder started in 1997 after serving on the Bernardsville Borough Council for 17 years and then 10 years as the t...

Check out NJAC Executive Director, John G. Donnadio, Esq. discussing the growing role of county government on State of Affairs with Steve Adubato. You can see the interview on Saturday, July 15th -  6:00 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. on NJTV; 8:30 a.m. on Thirteen; and 11:30 a.m. on FIOS If you missed the interview, you can still view it here.

Michael Russo, Director of Local Aid & Economic Development for the NJ Department of Transportation, released a letter, dated January 10, 2017, to State Local Aid Grant Recipients informing them that the NJDOT will consider requests for additional funding on Transportation Trust Fund (TTF) funded projects that were impacted by Executive Orders 210 and 216. In the letter, Mr. Russo writes that additional funds may be made available for reasonable costs to accelerate project completion as well as costs related to the safe and orderly shutdown of a project under Executive Order No. 210, purs...

by Andrew Schmertz, Correspondent for NJTV News December 29, 2016 - For the bail bond industry, reform could be devastating. But for county taxpayers it could just be very costly. So 20 counties asked a state panel to halt the law. “This is going to cost conservatively between $45 million and $50 million statewide for counties, as they have to hire new officers, new assistant prosecutors, new investigators, we have to make capital improvements to both our county courts facilities,” said John Donnadio of the New Jersey Association of Counties. But the Council on Local Mandates — an independe...

by Joe Hernandez of WHYY Public Media Listen to the interview here . On June 2, 2015, police equipped with a search warrant knocked on the door of Jeannette Santiago's Camden home. Santiago said the target of the warrant was a friend who had been selling drugs out of her house, but that officials went after her too because the deed to the house was in her name. She was charged with eight drug- and gun-related felonies. In no time, Santiago was shipped to the county jail, where she would spend the next 17 months, unable to afford the bail for her release. First bail was set at $700,...

by Josh Cornfield, Associated Press (as printed in the Washington Times and SFGate) Thursday - December 15, 2016 TRENTON, N.J. (AP) - Newspapers in New Jersey and political opponents say Republican Gov. Chris Christie is targeting the media organizations he has long fought with by pushing a measure to allow state and local governments to post public notices on their own websites, rather than in the print publications. State and local government agencies across the country are required to pay to publish the legal notices for public meetings, contract bids and other matters. The lob...

by S.P. Sullivan | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com  on December 08, 2016 at 7:28 AM, updated December 08, 2016 at 8:30 AM TRENTON -- Six months ago, amid concerns about the costs associated with New Jersey's massive bail system overall, Gov. Chris Christie ordered the state's attorney general to study what it could mean for the budgets of county prosecutors, jails and police departments. A new report published by the state Division of Criminal Justice has given the governor his answer: There's no way to know until after the reforms are in place. The sweeping changes that take effect in Jan...

by Caren Chesler for NJ Spotlight.com on November 30, 2016 The state’s massive overhaul of the criminal justice system calls for new technologies and more personnel. The counties want to know where the money will come from. As New Jersey prepares to implement a major overhaul of its criminal justice system in January, county governments will attempt to block the effort, claiming they will be forced to pay millions of dollars for new prosecutors, sheriff’s officers, and capital improvements with no help from the state. The New Jersey Association of Counties estimates the reforms wi...

Attorney General Issues Directive to Guide Prosecutors and Police in Implementing Historic Bail Reform that will keep Dangerous Criminals in Jail and Eliminate Unfair Monetary-Based Bail System For Immediate Release:  October 13, 2016 For Further Information Contact:  Peter Aseltine, (609) 292-4791   TRENTON – Attorney General Christopher S. Porrino today issued a new directive that provides detailed guidance to prosecutors and police in implementing the historic bail reform law and related amendment to the New Jersey Constitution, which for the first time in state history will permit dang...