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2009 Annual Report In the annual report of activities, I often take the opportunity to single out particular people whose work during the past year has advanced the mission of the League. This year, your League has been very active helping municipal officials across the state deal with an economic crisis, new to most of us. And in dealing with that, we have, more than ever, been reminded of the importance of working together to achieve goals. Teamwork—A Bridge to Brighter Horizons, this year’s conference theme, offers a touchstone in these trying times. We know the League can only advance the cause of good government if we all work together to shoulder the load. And we certainly hope we are advancing to a brighter horizon. This year all 566 municipalities again chose to join the League and keep the team together. Working together in committees, more than 250 mayors and other municipal officials advanced the goals of the League. A fuller listing of these committees or “teams” is included later in this report. On the legal front we also came together as a team to challenge the COAH methodology. More than 200 municipalities contributed to a legal fund while others joined smaller groups to create a coordinated front to challenge COAH in court. A brighter horizon should include affordable housing that does not compromise our communities. As prospects for brighter horizons seemed to dim with each new economic report, the League took steps to guard municipal finances and provide information to overcome what seem to be ever evolving obstacles to sound financial planning. These steps included training on grant writing, grant advisory services; magazine articles on cost savings; working on flexible approaches to pension deferrals, working through the NJLM Educational Foundation to produce an economic white papers and symposium, and many more initiatives. If New Jersey’s communities are to achieve a brighter horizon, it will be because of the municipal teamwork you make possible. The local elected and appointed team deserves more respect and recognition than they are likely to receive from the average citizen. New Jersey’s citizens expect the best from you. And they are rarely disappointed. Thank you for your commitment, your compassion and your dedication to making municipal government the best it can possibly be. Below is the annual report of the activities of your League of Municipalities for 2009. LEGAL ADVOCACY The League Staff Attorney and the League General Counsel monitor court decisions that may have an impact on municipalities. Important decisions are brought to the attention of municipal officials. The Staff Attorney monitors proposed state regulations and court rules, and together with outside counsel, has arranged for and prepared comments on those with municipal impact. The Staff Attorney also maintains the Bureau of Municipal Information and responds to legal questions and issues from municipal officials, through the NJLM Legal Consultation Service. These queries cover a broad range of municipal subjects, including new laws like the Permit Extension Act and the application of older laws like the Open Public Meetings Act, the Open Public Records Act, and conflicts of interest, just to name a few. The entire legal team works with the League Staff on a wide range of legislative and regulatory issues. On the regulatory front, the legal staff has commented on proposed regulations with municipal impact. One of these was the pre-proposal on identity theft/computer security rules issued by the Division of Consumer Affairs, revised after the League joined with other stakeholders and convinced the Division to reconsider the most burdensome part of these regulations last year. The League also commented on proposed changes by the Division of Pensions and Benefits concerning State Health Benefit Plan regulations. The League considers requests from municipalities or municipal attorneys for intervention in court cases on behalf of specific local governments. Intervention requests are submitted to the League General Counsel and are considered by the Amicus Curiae Committee. The policy underlying the review of intervention requests provides that the committee can recommend that the League intervene and file a brief in appropriate cases of broad municipal importance. The League does not generally participate in cases at the trial court level, but has found that cases involving broad municipal issues which justify League intervention as amicus curiae are more likely to be those pending in the Supreme Court and Appellate Division. The League was pleased to participate as amicus in the successful challenge before the Council on Local Mandates to the budget law, requiring cost sharing with the state for the first time by those rural municipalities served by the State Police. This State Police protection is provided for by statute, and since no source of funding, other than property taxes, was given for this new municipal expense it was a new state mandated cost for these municipalities. The Council agreed with the challenging municipalities and the League in its decision, and the budget provision was declared invalid. In addition to those cases which are reviewed by the Amicus Curiae Committee, there are cases where the officers or the Board of Directors of the New Jersey State League of Municipalities may authorize intervention or even may initiate litigation in order to protect municipal interests. To facilitate municipal participation in the League amicus program, the standards for League amicus intervention are now posted on our web site, under “Services.” We encourage municipalities facing litigation to consult them. The League General Counsel has been appointed as one of the 11 members of the Governor’s Local Government Ethics Task Force, charged with reviewing the provisions of the Local Government Ethics Law and submitting recommendations to the Governor and the Legislature. In August, the League’s first Staff Attorney, Deborah Kole, resigned. We appreciate her professional and valuable contributions to our service program. Her replacement, Matthew Weng, joined us in September. LEGISLATIVE ACTIVITIES In such an environment, our citizens expect all their elected officials at all levels of government to work together. They deserve nothing less. Of immediate concern were the new COAH Third Round regulations. The League’s challenge of the regulations centered on what we believed to be a flawed methodology and a flawed vacant land analysis, which resulted in inflated projections of growth for both households and commercial development; on the economic imbalances in the regulations, which would create a burden on property taxpayers and make the State less affordable overall; the inconsistencies between the COAH regulations and other state planning efforts, including the State Plan, the Highlands and Pinelands Plans, among other concerns. As we announced our legal challenge, the League made it clear that the litigation was not a challenge of the “Fair Housing Act,” or what is commonly referred to as the “Mount Laurel” doctrine. Further, while the League opposed A-500, which was signed into law just two days after our announcement, we also made it clear that our challenge was not a challenge of that particular bill. At our Annual Luncheon in Atlantic City, Governor Corzine unveiled his Pension Payment Deferral proposal. The original proposal offered no real option for municipalities that wanted to meet their full funding requirements. Accordingly, we entered into discussions with the Governor’s Office and with Legislative Leadership. The final bill permitted the 50 percent deferral for this year only. Any municipality that paid the full 100 percent would be appropriately credited and their future liabilities would not be affected by the decision of others to avail themselves of the deferral. The option to fully fund the pension obligation had been included in the previous deferral bills, at our request. We were gratified that it was carried forward into this version. Those that needed to use the 50 percent deferral this year will begin to fund their resultant unfunded liability with the payments due in 2012. And the pay-back will be accomplished with level annual payments, adjusted on the basis of the systems’ rate of return on investments, over a 15 year period. In order to use the deferral, a municipality had to demonstrate the need to do so, and have the deferral approved by the Local Finance Board. As the State’s Budget spun out of balance, municipal property tax relief funding took further hits. In January, as a part of New Jersey’s FY ‘09 ‘mid-course correction’ spending cuts, which totaled $2.1 billion, the Governor announced new reductions of more than $15 million in Special Municipal Aid and Extraordinary Aid. These come on top of relief cuts included in the budget signed in June. From FY 2008 funding levels of $153 million (Special Municipal Aid) and $34 million (Extraordinary Aid), the FY 2009 Appropriations Act, as signed by the Governor in June, deducted $10 million and $9 million, respectively. The further cuts of $15 million, which the Governor announced in January, brought aggregate FY 2009 Special Municipal Aid and Extraordinary Aid losses to $34 million. Special Municipal Aid is provided to municipalities faced with structural deficits, wherein essential service demands exceed the ability of the resident property taxpayers to support. Extraordinary Aid provides short-term assistance to municipalities experiencing a catastrophic loss of tax ratables or other fiscal difficulties. In his State of the State address, the Governor looked to the Local Unit Alignment, Reorganization and Consolidation Commission (LUARCC) for cost saving recommendations. He asked LUARCC for specific recommendations regarding consolidations. In March, the Local Unit Alignment, Reorganization and Consolidation Commission (LUARCC) adopted its first biennial report, as required by the Legislature. In less than a year since its organization, the Commission, which was created to discover more cost efficient means of delivering vital local services, had made great progress. But recognizing the complexity of its mandate and the need for further study, this report did not include the ‘concrete recommendations’ requested by the Governor. Nor did it include specific calls for consolidations, mergers or service sharings. It, instead, exhibited thoughtful patience, which will allow the Commission to proceed in a careful and professional manner, respecting the magnitude of its charge and the importance of its findings to the people of our State. In an effort to help builders and developers, legislation was advanced to lift age restrictions from housing approved on that condition. Companion bills, which allowed for the change of a proposed age-restricted development to market units without age restrictions, passed both Houses of the State Legislature. The legislation stated that up to 20 percent of the market rate units could be set aside as part of a municipality’s fair share plan and the converted development itself does not trigger an obligation. The legislation further stated that this option is available to developers for two years after the effective date of the bill. It fundamentally ran contrary to the MLUL and thirty years of case law supporting it, and undermined the discretion of local land use boards and governing bodies. We urged the Legislature to provide incentives to local governments under the existing provisions of the MLUL, instead of diminishing the discretion of local boards and local governments, whose charge is to defend the interests of the public, even if it is “only” for a two year period. Hearing our concerns, the Governor issued a conditional veto. While the bill was not outright vetoed, your efforts made a difference, as the conditional veto mitigated several objectionable portions of the bill. Legislation to require the employment of a Qualified Purchasing Agent was advanced. We protested this obvious unfunded mandate. This bill was amended in attempts to render it more acceptable. However, in the end, it remained an unfunded mandate on certain local units. Under its provisions, each contracting unit would be required to appoint a qualified purchasing agent within three years of the bill’s enactment. Amendments allowed the local unit to apply to the State for a two year extension upon certifying and showing documented proof of good faith recruitment efforts to appoint a QPA. Through further amendments, local units with minimal purchasing activities were granted a temporary waiver, but are still required to appoint a QPA after this time runs out. Local units having an annual operating budget of less than $2.5 million are exempt from the requirement to appoint a QPA. The added burden of certification, training, increased spending by governmental agencies, increased salary requirements for purchasing agents (that are certain to follow) and replacing a flexibility now provided to local units with a mandate, remain most difficult for municipalities. Accordingly, we urged the Governor to veto the legislation. Site Remediation Reform was considered. The Legislature advanced a bill that would significantly improve how the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) processes approvals for site cleanups. The new approach was modeled on a highly successful Licensed Site Professional program used in Massachusetts. In Massachusetts, most cleanups occur within 1-2 years as opposed the average 10 years it takes in New Jersey. As you look around your own municipality you undoubtedly observe the remnants of New Jersey’s long industrial history or the consequences of our high-density population. Far too many contaminated sites such as these continue to scar our communities. Not only are they potential health threats but they impede economic growth opportunities. We all know that these sites present potentially boundless redevelopment opportunities, ways to grow the economy and build a better future by taking development pressure off areas that should be protected such as farms and forests. Senator Smith and Assemblyman McKeon, the Chairmen of the Senate and Assembly Environment Committees, worked very closely with the DEP and a large, diverse group of stakeholders over 2 ½ years to develop the Site Remediation Reform Act. Together, they proposed a system that will allow the DEP to make substantial progress in paring down the backlog of contaminated sites and better protect our communities. The bill was signed into law, in early May. A bill to make alternative energy technologies inherently beneficial uses gained traction. The proposal, which defined “…the term “inherently beneficial use” for the purposes of zoning use variance, specifically included facilities that supply electrical energy produced from wind, solar, or photovoltaic technologies.” While the League supports the development of alternate energies, we believe that defining in statute “inherently beneficial use,” for the purposes of these efforts sets a bad precedent. If a use is deemed to be “inherently beneficial,” it presumptively satisfies the criteria for a use variance under subsection d of section 57 of the MLUL, (i.e., a nonconforming use.) The League has opposed past efforts to introduce a definition for “inherently beneficial use” because special interests have sought additional amendments to exempt their constituencies. If indeed a project is beneficial to the community, the applicant has the option to go through the normal regulatory and democratic process. No such change in the statute is necessary. This legislation needlessly interferes with local planning and discretion. The Governor’s FY 2010 budget proposal brought more bad news for property taxpayers. Though never welcome, cuts of municipal property tax relief funding are no longer surprising—certainly not at this time. However, they, inevitably, put upward pressure on property taxes. This year, we, again, were asked to do more with less, as the budget cut some $32 million from State revenue replacement programs. We asked the Legislature to recognize that fact and to give us the tools we will need to relieve that upward pressure. We hoped they would be able to find the means to help us on the revenue side. But beyond that, we also hoped that they would give us back the tools that we can use to address the pressures that unfunded mandates put on the expenditure side. As a run-up to the Governor’s March 10 budget address to the legislature, we launched a State-wide campaign for State mandates relief. The 1995 amendment to the State Constitution limited the ability of the State’s Legislative and Executive branches to impose NEW mandates. We saw the importance of that amendment last year, when the State tried to impose new costs on municipalities served by State Police rural patrols. But as effective as the amendment has been in limiting new mandates, it left us saddled with decades worth of old ones. These mandates drive up the costs of local government and force local budget makers to address a laundry list of State priorities, before they can even begin to plan on how best to meet the local need for vital municipal programs and services. Sex offender residency restrictions became problematic. In response to the New Jersey Supreme Court’s May 7 decision, which affirmed the Appellate Court’s invalidation of the Cherry Hill and Galloway Township residency restriction ordinances, we wrote to the sponsors of several bills relating to this matter. In that letter, we asked to meet, in order to present our concerns and advance legislation that would, most likely, withstand a legal challenge. The Supreme Court had based its decision solely on the issue of preemption. It did not consider other Constitutional questions. Those questions would be subject matter for future litigation that could delay and invalidate future local residency restriction ordinances. Our goal was a bill that would set statewide standards for appropriate residency restrictions on those sex offenders that present a real danger to our most vulnerable citizens. Federal Courts have upheld such standards in Iowa and Illinois. And we were eager to see such standards put in place, here in our Garden State. Our League Legislative Relations staff continues their defense of our interests—the interests of those who live in municipalities, and count on municipalities for a whole host of vital services and programs, designed to maintain and enhance their lives and interests. But the staff is only a part of our equation. Our thanks goes out to all who took the time to try to influence their legislators, on behalf of local government in our Garden State. Your letters, phone calls and personal contacts are the League’s best insurance of influence on the development of policy in the corridors of power. And, special thanks are reserved for the members of our Legislative Committee. The members of this body, and of the many special committees convened for specific reasons, generously volunteer their irreplaceable time, their considerable talents and their unequaled expertise. They do so enthusiastically and altruistically, wanting nothing other than that which they believe to be best for the current—and future—generations, which call this State their home. FEDERAL RELATIONS We worked with our Congressional Delegation and with the NLC on some broad legislative policies. In the midst of the global economic calamity, those have included the following.
NLC has been an invaluable partner in efforts to maximize the benefits of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 for New Jersey municipalities and property taxpayers. Many of the resources that the NLC has put together on ARRA can be found on the NLC Stimulus Funding webpage at www.nlc.org/Recovery/. These include key ARRA websites, archives of NLCTV webcasts, implementation guidance on various ARRA grant programs and services available for grant applicants. Legal advocacy on behalf of municipalities is an important part of NLC’s mission in Washington. The impact of court decision and federal administrative rules affecting local government is growing rapidly. Through the work of the NLC Legal Advisory Program, NLC serves its membership by being an advocate for the interests of municipal governments on legal issues of national importance to cities and towns. Supreme Court cases, in which NLC represented our interests, include matters relating to the False Claims Act (U.S. ex rel Wilson v. Graham County Soil and Water Conservation District), Attorneys’ Fees (Pope v. Flowers), the Fourth Amendment (Pearson v. Callahan), and Civil Immunity (Van de Kamp v. Goldstein). Important Appellate Court cases, in which NLC has been involved, relate to the Clean Air Act (California v. EPA), the Clean Water Act (Friends of the Everglades, Inc. v. South Florida Water Management District), and Preemption (New York State Restaurant Association v. New York City Board of Health and California Restaurant Association v. City and County of San Francisco and the San Francisco Department of Public Health). On regulatory matters, NLC was successful in winning, for us, a six month delay in the enforcement of the FTC’s “Red Flag” (identity theft) rules. And NLC has been working, on our behalf, with various Federal Departments and Agencies, on speeding the applications process for ARRA and other grants funding. In addition to this, and among many other regulatory matters, NLC has submitted comments on the pending IRS Three Percent Withholding Requirement Rules (on public contracts), pursuant to the Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act of 2005. With the State Budget in shambles and municipal revenue replacement programs once again being cut, the Federal Government was the surest source of new property tax relief funding, this year. We are grateful to Senators Menendez and Lautenberg, to our House Delegation and to the Legislative Relations Staff of NLC for their strong support. And we commend all of you, who took the time to contact our Senators and Congressmen on matters important to you and your fellow citizens. BUREAU OF MUNICIPAL INFORMATION On the League’s website, the Bureau’s web pages provide links to relevant sites for those interested in timely research into local laws. The Bureau’s main page can be found at www.njslom.org/bureau_mun_info.html. These pages also include various resource and informational centers, and links to informational websites and various tools, such as descriptions of New Jersey’s forms of government. The resources that we offer are continually being expanded and improved. The Bureau maintains the largest collection of ordinances in the State. We offer an electronic ordinance library that can be accessed on our website. If members cannot find the sample ordinance they are looking for online, additional ordinances may be obtained by our members via telephone or e-mail. Another function of the Bureau is the publishing of reports and data, and the listing of publications available to our members has continually been expanded throughout the last several years. These publications are updated regularly. The League publication on the Open Public Records Act and the Elected Officials Handbook were both revised by the League Staff Attorney in 2009 and contain much new material. Our bi-annual Municipal Salary Report was updated and published in the fall of 2009, and the annual update of our Police and Fire Contract Labor Data Service will be completed around this same time. The full list of publications is available on the League’s web site (www.njslom.org/Publications.html). The League’s Grant Resource Center is our online resource for grant research. In continuing our Grant Consultation Service, the League continues its partnership with Triad Associates. Members may contact Triad via telephone or email with grant questions. Each month, the Grant Resource Center highlights a new monthly article on a topic pertinent to grants in the State’s current environment. The site also features grant links to pertinent grants with upcoming application deadlines. At the end of each month, featured monthly articles are archived in the Grant Seeker’s Toolkit for future reference. The Center also includes a Grants New & Information page, which was updated regularly throughout 2009 to publicize current grant news and announcements. The League has recently expanded its Interlocal Advisory Center to include a Shared Services Board, which enables local government employees to post requests, questions and ideas with regards to sharing services with other municipalities. The Interlocal Center is an online ready-reference informational center for interlocal service agreements and joint consolidation, and includes links to sample shared service agreements, New Jersey’s interlocal statutes and various other references that may be utilized in the preparation and implementation of agreements in a municipality. In addition, the Center offers articles outlining successful collaborations in other municipalities and a general consultation service with a contract professional who has first-hand experience in consolidation agreements. In 2009, the League, in conjunction with the New Jersey Municipal Management Association, launched its new Recruitment Advisory Service to offer guidance on the best methods to be used by local officials to accomplish their recruitment goals, and to help them avoid some of the pitfalls that can occur during the transition period between Administrators/Managers in a municipality. This service does not make specific candidate recommendations or recruitments for you, but it provides information and reference materials, as well as the availability of a retired manager to meet with elected officials to discuss the overall recruitment process and answer questions. The above resource centers are coordinated by League Staff Member Taran Samhammer, Bureau Services and Research Coordinator for the Bureau of Municipal Information. Taran updates these research tools on a regular basis, and is available to assist communities in making arrangements for the utilization of our consultation services. The Bureau also runs a number of other specialized services available to our membership. These include, but are not limited to, the following:
To visit the Bureau of Municipal Information’s website, visit www.njslom.org/bureau_mun_info.html. NEW JERSEY MUNICIPALITIES With a large selection of articles, New Jersey Municipalities’ monthly issues provide the news and information you need to govern in your local community. Members of the state and national legislatures also read the magazine to keep abreast of municipal issues. By writing for the magazine, League members share their views and ideas with a wide range of managers and policymakers. I’m happy to report that for the second year in a row a record number of New Jersey Mayors submitted articles this year! In addition, to your articles, New Jersey Municipalities includes a mix of articles by state commissioners and other experts—as well as informative columns, opinion pieces and advertising by some of the state’s leading providers of products and services.
As always, we welcome your calls, ideas and articles for our premier publication. Contact the magazine’s Managing Editor Kyra Duran at (609) 695-3481 ext. 123 or NJM@njslom.com to contribute an article or to learn more about our premier publication. TRAINING AND IN-SERVICE PROGRAMS Every year the League holds a series of half and full day seminars on timely and key topics, providing up-to-date information to help solve problems and clarification of legislation for better governance by knowledgeable speakers. The venues provide an environment conducive to providing a true learning experience. The objective of the New Jersey State League of Municipalities is to present seminars to broaden, deepen, and increase knowledge or skills of municipal personnel in various professions while collaborating with Affiliate Groups. Approved continuing education seminars provide many municipal professionals the opportunity to renew their respective state license. The League has expanded its sponsorship agreements and works cohesively with numerous accreditation bodies representing 16 government licensees. In 2009, the League offered 40 professional development seminars, educating more than 2,000 attendees. Some of those seminars were:
Visit the League’s website and bookmark the Calendar of Events for a listing of upcoming Professional Development Seminars in FY: 2009/2010. For additional information contact Danielle Holland our Program Meetings Specialist at (609) 695-3481 ext. 118 or by email at dholland@njslom.com. LABOR RELATIONS ADVISORY SERVICE Brian Kronick is available to respond to a broad range of public employer labor and employment law questions as a telephone service of the League. Inquiries to the League Labor Advisory Service over the years have included new issues like furloughs and temporary layoffs and perennial problems municipalities face including police and fire interest arbitration and collective negotiations, Public Employment Relations Commission unfair practices and representation matters, Shared Service Issues, FMLA and NJFLA issues, FLSA and wage and hour issues, Americans with Disabilities Act issues, and Equal Employment Opportunity and New Jersey Law Against Discrimination issues. ANNUAL CONFERENCE
The Annual Conference remains a critical mainstay in the portfolio of services provided by the League. By serving over 20,000 people, it is the single largest local government event in the United States. Offering hundreds of exhibits showing products and services to aid municipalities, it offers a central point for learning what is “out there” to meet local governments’ needs. This conference also showcases the dedicated teamwork of local officials gathering each year to build municipal bridges to a brighter horizon. And it is a chance to celebrate their dedication to public service and the work of their teammates in municipal government across the state. The 2009 Annual Conference provides all these opportunities while, continuing to charge the lowest registration rate of any municipal league in the country. MAYOR’S COMMITTEE FOR A GREEN FUTURE The MCGF joined forces with the Municipal Land Use Center at the College of New Jersey and the New Jersey Sustainable State Institute at Rutgers University to launch the highly successfully Sustainable Jersey™ program. On February 26, 2009, Sustainable Jersey began with a press conference and words of inspiration from Governor Jon Corzine and an impressive list of project sponsors. Sustainable Jersey was set in motion from an idea cultivated from the MCGF. New Jersey is now one of the first states in the nation to have a municipal certification program for sustainability. To learn more about the Sustainable Jersey certification visit www.sustainablejersey.com. In June 2009, fourteen New Jersey municipalities were awarded grants of $10,000 and $25,000 through a Wal-Mart donation to help New Jersey municipalities engage in greening and sustainability activities that are part of their work to achieve the Sustainable Jersey certification. Also, municipalities that successfully become certified will be recognized at the 2009 NJLM Conference. The top-achieving municipalities will be the first recipients of the prestigious Sustainability Champion Awards. Visionary representatives from the MCGF have been speaking at green conferences, local fairs and town councils to rally the troops. The group has made over 40 speaking appearances across the state, in the first few months since the Sustainable Jersey program’s inception. The MCGF is led by Chair Fred Profeta (Maplewood) and Vice-Chair Pam Mount (Lawrence Township—Mercer). Moving forward, the MCGF will be identifying and promoting the highest-priority sustainability issues. The group is committed to helping municipalities take real steps that will lead to a protected environment, a stronger economy, and a better New Jersey overall. Details are posted on the League of Municipalities website at www.njslom.org. LEAGUE COMMITTEES The committees are: * The following individuals represented the League on state-wide committees: MEMBERSHIP AND FINANCE The League’s fiscal year runs from July 1 to June 30. The Budget under which the League is currently operating is set forth to the right. General descriptive brochures covering the range of League services are available at the League Booth and from the League office in Trenton.
New Jersey State League of Municipalities Dues Structure Dues are based on municipal population. Any dues increase must be approved at the annual business meeting which is open to all municipal officials. During the November 2009 business meeting the League leadership recommended no dues increase for 2010 and that recommendation was approved. Dues support approximately 18% of the League’s overall operations. Remaining revenue is raised by various League activities and services. The League services, financial report and budget is available at www.njslom.org under the link “About the League.” The formula for calculating dues is attached along with the amount of dues paid by each member. Audit Actual Revenues & Expenditures for NJLM Fiscal Year End June 2010.
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