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FROM TIME TO TIME – A Quarterly Report on the Activities
Of the New Jersey League of Municipalities
October – December, 2005
We have advocated for municipalities in Trenton by …
- Working to educate members of the Legislature on the importance of local governments’ authority to exercise the power of eminent domain, in a fair and equitable manner.
- Urging the Acting Governor, the Governor-Elect and the Legislative Leadership to act immediately to reform, reauthorize and replenish the Transportation Trust Fund, and to increase funding for the Local Aid program.
- Opposing an initiative that would make it mandatory for courts and agencies to automatically require arbitration irrespective of the line of court and PERC cases establishing appropriate venues for unresolved public sector labor disputes.
- Testifying on the need for greater flexibility in the Local Government Cap Law, so that essential services and programs can be effectively delivered.
- Working to expand and strengthen the Citizens’ Convention Coalition, in anticipation of next year’s push for progress towards property tax reform.
- Provided testimony to members of the Corzine Transition Team.
We have advocated for municipalities in Washington by …
- Continuing to work with our State Delegation to protect the Community Development Block Grant program, the Section 8 Housing Voucher program and other programs vital to our constituents and to community and economic development.
- Cooperating with the National League of Cities (NLC) and other New Jersey and National Associations to educate Members of Congress on the importance of local governments’ authority to manage and collect revenue for the use of their local rights-of-way.
- Working to defeat the Gasoline for America’s Security Act, which would preempt local governments from exercising authority over the siting of refinery plants.
- Working with NLC and our Delegation to protect our authority to exercise eminent domain for economic development and to minimize new federal restrictions on the use of eminent domain.
- Educating local officials on the activities of the President's Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform, which issued its final report November 1, in which it called for the elimination of the federal income tax deduction for state and local taxes, as well as: eliminating the Alternative Minimum Tax; reducing the Mortgage Interest Deduction; consolidating the number of individual Income Tax brackets from six to four; and establishing an 411,500 per year family cap on employer-provided Health Insurance
We have strengthened local leadership capacity by …
- Conducting a program on Preserving the Public Trust, which was attended by 350, on October 14 in Holmdel.
- Conducted a joint forum with the Highlands Council on the implementation of the Highlands Regional plan on October 21 in Morris Township.
- Convening the 90th Annual League Conference, which provided 20,333 local government officials with the opportunity: to establish League policy directions for the coming year; to attend over 100 educational sessions and workshops, dealing with topics like intergovernmental relations, budgets, taxes, healthcare costs and many more; making audio recordings of conference sessions available to local officials; to visit an extensive display of products and services for municipalities, featuring more than 1,100 exhibits; and to network with fellow officials from all around the State.
- Hosting an Ethics Update seminar on December 6 in Freehold.
- Administering a session on Website Management in Holmdel on December
We have provided municipal officials with resources for problem solving by …
- Through the Bureau of Municipal Information, sending out sample ordinances on request, offering informational legal consultations, making bid specifications available, and providing interlocal services consultations upon request.
- Published the update 2005 Municipal Salary Survey
- Published the 2005 Police and Fire Labor Data Service Selected Contract Provisions & Selected Salaries.
- Published the final Arbitration Reporter for this year.
- Hosting and Administering year-round education seminars to help local officials deal with and solve issues and problems at the municipal level.
- Our first year working with Pat Bohse of Bohse & Associates, Inc. in collaborating on our new and improved Grants Resource Center was a success. Twelve separate articles relating to grant writing and research were published at the beginning of each month, and these articles have been archived for our members’ convenience in our Grant Seeker’s Toolkit. The Grant Resource Center was one of the most viewed pages on the League’s Web site throughout 2005. It has recently been determined that this collaboration with Bohse & Associates, Inc. will continue in 2006, in which we plan to increase the number and quality of services offered to our members.
We have promoted municipal government by …
- Inducting 21 Mayors into the Mayors Hall of Fame
- Recognizing, in cooperation with DCA, 15 municipalities through the Innovation In Governance Awards
- Conducting the Municipal Public Information Contest, in cooperation with Rutgers and the New Jersey Municipal Management Association
- Issuing 51 press releases an
NJLM - Quarterly Report - 4th Quarter 2005
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FROM TIME TO TIME – A Quarterly Report on the Activities
Of the New Jersey League of Municipalities
October – December, 2005
We have advocated for municipalities in Trenton by …
- Working to educate members of the Legislature on the importance of local governments’ authority to exercise the power of eminent domain, in a fair and equitable manner.
- Urging the Acting Governor, the Governor-Elect and the Legislative Leadership to act immediately to reform, reauthorize and replenish the Transportation Trust Fund, and to increase funding for the Local Aid program.
- Opposing an initiative that would make it mandatory for courts and agencies to automatically require arbitration irrespective of the line of court and PERC cases establishing appropriate venues for unresolved public sector labor disputes.
- Testifying on the need for greater flexibility in the Local Government Cap Law, so that essential services and programs can be effectively delivered.
- Working to expand and strengthen the Citizens’ Convention Coalition, in anticipation of next year’s push for progress towards property tax reform.
- Provided testimony to members of the Corzine Transition Team.
We have advocated for municipalities in Washington by …
- Continuing to work with our State Delegation to protect the Community Development Block Grant program, the Section 8 Housing Voucher program and other programs vital to our constituents and to community and economic development.
- Cooperating with the National League of Cities (NLC) and other New Jersey and National Associations to educate Members of Congress on the importance of local governments’ authority to manage and collect revenue for the use of their local rights-of-way.
- Working to defeat the Gasoline for America’s Security Act, which would preempt local governments from exercising authority over the siting of refinery plants.
- Working with NLC and our Delegation to protect our authority to exercise eminent domain for economic development and to minimize new federal restrictions on the use of eminent domain.
- Educating local officials on the activities of the President's Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform, which issued its final report November 1, in which it called for the elimination of the federal income tax deduction for state and local taxes, as well as: eliminating the Alternative Minimum Tax; reducing the Mortgage Interest Deduction; consolidating the number of individual Income Tax brackets from six to four; and establishing an 411,500 per year family cap on employer-provided Health Insurance
We have strengthened local leadership capacity by …
- Conducting a program on Preserving the Public Trust, which was attended by 350, on October 14 in Holmdel.
- Conducted a joint forum with the Highlands Council on the implementation of the Highlands Regional plan on October 21 in Morris Township.
- Convening the 90th Annual League Conference, which provided 20,333 local government officials with the opportunity: to establish League policy directions for the coming year; to attend over 100 educational sessions and workshops, dealing with topics like intergovernmental relations, budgets, taxes, healthcare costs and many more; making audio recordings of conference sessions available to local officials; to visit an extensive display of products and services for municipalities, featuring more than 1,100 exhibits; and to network with fellow officials from all around the State.
- Hosting an Ethics Update seminar on December 6 in Freehold.
- Administering a session on Website Management in Holmdel on December
We have provided municipal officials with resources for problem solving by …
- Through the Bureau of Municipal Information, sending out sample ordinances on request, offering informational legal consultations, making bid specifications available, and providing interlocal services consultations upon request.
- Published the update 2005 Municipal Salary Survey
- Published the 2005 Police and Fire Labor Data Service Selected Contract Provisions & Selected Salaries.
- Published the final Arbitration Reporter for this year.
- Hosting and Administering year-round education seminars to help local officials deal with and solve issues and problems at the municipal level.
- Our first year working with Pat Bohse of Bohse & Associates, Inc. in collaborating on our new and improved Grants Resource Center was a success. Twelve separate articles relating to grant writing and research were published at the beginning of each month, and these articles have been archived for our members’ convenience in our Grant Seeker’s Toolkit. The Grant Resource Center was one of the most viewed pages on the League’s Web site throughout 2005. It has recently been determined that this collaboration with Bohse & Associates, Inc. will continue in 2006, in which we plan to increase the number and quality of services offered to our members.
We have promoted municipal government by …
- Inducting 21 Mayors into the Mayors Hall of Fame
- Recognizing, in cooperation with DCA, 15 municipalities through the Innovation In Governance Awards
- Conducting the Municipal Public Information Contest, in cooperation with Rutgers and the New Jersey Municipal Management Association
- Issuing 51 press releases and advisories to keep the media informed on municipal issues
- Surveying mayors across the state to determine their critical action issues
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