Transportation Trust Fund As previously reported, Senate President Steve Sweeney and Speaker of the General Assembly Vincent Prieto announced that they have reached agreement on a new plan to fund the Transportation Trust Fund (TTF) and to enact a series of tax cuts designed to make New Jersey more competitive. For counties and municipalities, the new plan restores Local Aid Allocations to its original percentage at $400.0 million per year, a long term goal and objective of both NJAC and the NSLOM.  The Senate Budget and Appropriations will consider the matter at its meeting later this morni...

  Criminal Justice Reform The fiscal year 2017 state budget does not include funding for counties to implement and administer Criminal Justice Reform.   With this in mind, NJAC’s board of directors took the following action at its meeting on June 24th. NJAC’s legal counsel, with input from NJAC and county counsels, will prepare a legal memorandum summarizing the course of action NJAC should take in filing a complaint with the New Jersey Council on Local Mandates.  NJAC’s board of directors will review the legal memorandum and make a recommendation accordingly at its next m...

Criminal Justice Reform NJAC recently had the opportunity to meet with legislative leadership in the General Assembly and submit our position statements on Criminal Justice Reform to the Assembly Budget Committee in preparation for its budget hearing with the Judiciary on May 24th.  We were encouraged by the Judiciary’s testimony, which also reviewed our materials, and of which appears on board with some of our recommendations to streamline court facility operations as highlighted below.  In summary, the Judiciary agrees in concept with permitting a risk assessment within 48 hours after a de...

Court Facilities and Criminal Justice Reform As county governments continue to struggle with a restrictive property tax cap levy, a declining ratable base, and mounting unfunded State mandates, county leaders from across the State met on May 6th to identify realistic and achievable solutions for streamlining services and saving valuable taxpayer dollars dedicated to operating and maintaining county court facilities. More specifically, the recommendations and text below offer important and timely solutions that address the growing costs associated with implementing Criminal Justice Reform, pr...

Code Blue Emergencies On April 4th, the Assembly Appropriations Committee amended and favorably reported Assembly, No. 815 (Land D-1/Andrzejczak D-1), which would require county office of emergency management coordinators to develop Code Blue Emergency notifications. More specifically, the measure would require a county governing body, through its office of emergency management, to establish a procedure for issuing a Code Blue alert to provide notice to municipalities, social service agencies, and non-profit organizations that provide services to at-risk individuals and are located within t...

Criminal Justice Reform NJAC is pleased to report that Assemblyman Benjie Wimberly (D-34) has proposed for introduction Assembly, No. 3491 on behalf of the Association.  In summary, this legislation would establish the “County Government Criminal Justice Reform Administration Fund.”  The intent of this important and timely initiative for all 21 counties is to help offset the costs associated with implementing and administering Criminal Justice Reform by modestly increasing certain criminal and civil court fees for individuals and businesses, and dedicating the increases to county governing b...

Criminal Justice Reform NJAC and its twenty-one county members are committed to implementing Criminal Justice Reform as good public policy and as a means for reducing long-term operating expenses at county jails. However, as summarized in the tables and text below, county governments across the State face significant costs with implementing and administering the new law that will impact the delivery of critical services and the use of valuable property taxpayer dollars.  With this in mind, NJAC is respectfully requesting State leaders for the following fair and equitable relief that will ass...

Criminal Justice Reform NJAC and its twenty-one county members are committed to implementing Criminal Justice Reform as good public policy and as a means for reducing long-term operating expenses at county jails. However, as summarized in the tables and text below, county governments across the State face significant costs with implementing and administering the new law that will impact the delivery of critical services and the use of valuable property taxpayer dollars.  With this in mind, NJAC is respectfully requesting State leaders for the following fair and equitable relief that will ass...

Prescription Medications for Inmates NJAC and the New Jersey County Jail Wardens Association (NJCJWA) would like to than Senator Peter Barnes (D- 18) for addressing our main concerns with Senate, No. 384, which would have required correctional facilities to provide inmates with prescription medication that was prescribed for chronic conditions existing prior to incarceration. On January 28th, the Senate Law and Public Safety Committee amended the legislation to authorize county correctional facilities to administer generic prescription drugs “to the extent possible” as is the current practi...

On December 10th, the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee considered a package of county governance bills that would provide governing bodies across the State with vital tools and resources to more effectively and efficiently manage valuable property taxpayer dollars.  Special thanks to Passaic County Administrator Anthony DeNova, Gloucester County Deputy County Administrator Gerald White, and Gloucester County Finance Officer Tracey Giordano for taking the time out of their busy schedules to support NJAC and the package of bills at the committee hearing. Cap on County Entity Budgets ...