November 15, 2019 Edition. Mental Health Advisory Task Force NJAC is pleased report that the Association will serve on the Mental Health Advisory Task Force created by the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) to address system-wide issues concerning individuals with mental illness.  The Committee met for the first time on November 13th, where Chief Justice Stuart Rabner provided the opening remarks and shared his vision of how collaboratively the State should guide individuals struggling with mental illness to treatment and not into correctional facilities. Department of Human Servi...

October 18, 2019 Edition Vote-by-Mail On September 23rd, the NJ Council on Local Mandates considered NJAC’s complaint that the 2018 vote-by-mail law constitutes an unfunded State mandate and is unconstitutional.  Given that the recently enacted 2019 vote-by-mail law appropriates $2.0 million to offset the direct expenditures imposed by both laws, which we submit is open to interpretation as noted below, the Council requested NJAC and the Attorney General’s office to provide final briefs concerning the actual costs incurred by county governments.  NJAC and the Attorney General’s office mus...

September 20, 2019 Edition NJAC Legislative Policies On September 13th, NJAC’s Board of Directors adopted the Association’s top legislative polices for the 2020/2021 legislative session as recommended by county leaders from the across the State. Permanently extend the 2.0% cap on binding interest arbitration awards. Require interest arbitration awards to include a full financial impact statement. Authorize class 2 special law enforcement officers to provide court security. Provide funding for the regionalization of new and existing county 9-1-1 centers. Authorize local ...

August 23, 2019 Edition Vote-by-Mail On September 23rd, the New Jersey Council on Local Mandates will hear NJAC’s complaint that the 2018 vote-by-mail law imposes an unfunded mandate on county governments and is unconstitutional as it requires county clerks to add to the list of registered voters receiving mail-in ballots in all future elections: all voters who requested and received mail-in ballots for the 2016 general (presidential) election. Last month, NJAC prevailed over the Attorney General’s motion to dismiss the matter before the Council; and, we’re optimistic that the Council wil...

July 19, 2019 Edition Interest Arbitration NJAC, the New Jersey State League of Municipalities (NJLM), the New Jersey Municipal Managers Association (NJMMA), and the Government Finance Officers Association of New Jersey (GFOA)  have joined forces to assemble an outstanding panel of finance officers, labor attorneys, and local governing body administrators that will provide management with effective strategies and recommended best practices on how to navigate the unlevel playing field created by the failure of State leaders to permanently extend the 2% cap on binding interest arbitration a...

June 28, 2019 Edition Statute of Limitations As you may recall, on May 13th, Governor Murphy signed into law Senate, No. 477 (Vitale D-19/Scutari D-22), which eliminates the statute of limitations in certain civil actions for sexual abuse and expands the categories of defendants liable in such actions effective December 1, 2019. In light of the concerns expressed by NJAC, the New Jersey State League of Municipalities (NJLM), and the New Jersey School Boards Association (NJSBA) that this new law would eliminate the safeguards provided local governing bodies under the New Jersey Tort C...

June 14, 2019 Edition Binding Interest Arbitration The failure of State leaders to permanently extend the 2% cap on binding interest arbitration awards in December of 2017 has inequitably altered the collective bargaining process in favor of labor and at the expense of property taxpayers.  With this in mind, NJAC and our partners plan to hold strategy sessions and develop best practices for local governing bodies on how to effectively navigate the unlevel playing field.  Some initial recommendations include: Make sure to utilize general counsel and an experienced labor attorney to ...

May 17, 2019 Edition Binding Interest Arbitration As predicted, the failure to permanently extend the 2% cap on binding interest arbitration awards in December of 2017 has inequitably altered the collective bargaining process in favor of labor and at the expense of property taxpayers. In fact, county and municipal officials from across the State, and on both sides of the aisle, are once again urging State leaders to permanently extend the 2% cap on binding interest arbitration awards as police and fire unions have been aggressively leveraging its expiration to win contracts in excess of ...

March 15, 2019 Edition 911 Fee Diversion On March 5th, Governor Phil Murphy unveiled his $38.6 billion dollar spending plan for State Fiscal Year 2020.  Although we’re still in the process of reviewing the annual budget, it unfortunately does not include any new funding for county and municipal 911 centers as recommended by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Despite our meetings with State leaders, op-ed pieces, press conferences, media coverage, and resolutions from nearly every county, the State will once again divert an estimated 89.0% of the $120.0 million in surcharges it ...