Membership Benefits & Services Introduction Since 1915, municipal officials have received assistance from the New Jersey State League of Municipalities in dealing with local government affairs. The League is a non-profit, voluntary association of municipal governments. Its service program has you in mind. Whether you are serving your community in an elected or appointed capacity, we can make your job easier. Your League staff is always available to answer questions on all aspects of local government. Legislative Activities Whether your municipality has a population of 300 or 300,000, it has a major stake in legislative deliberations in Trenton. Consequently, an important League priority is the defense of home rule autonomy. The League has a long- established reputation as an articulate advocate for municipal interests. Every bill pending before the Legislature which might affect localities is evaluated by the League’s 100-member Legislative Committee, and aggressively opposed or supported by the League’s lobbying team in concert with local officials around the state. The League’s position on the respective measures, which number close to 2,000 in the average session, is reported to officials in every community through the LEGISLATIVE BULLETIN. Alerts and timely updates are provided to League members through letters, faxes and, thanks to the recent “E-Line” Service, e-mail. A quick telephone call will get you up-to-the-minute status reports on pending legislation, copies of bills or laws and general background data on any legislative matter. Edited with the busy local official in mind, the League’s monthly magazine is a source of new ideas and information on state and local programs. In a sense, the pages of NEW JERSEY MUNICIPALITIES serve as a training manual in a continuing education course for local officials, whether they are mayors, governing body members, or administrative and professional members of the municipal management team. Articles span the broad spectrum of local administration, both functionally and geographically. Material of interest to the rural community in South Jersey will appear in the same issue with an article explaining a large municipality’s program in North Jersey. Articles reach the pages of NEW JERSEY MUNICIPALITIES only if they will benefit other communities or officials. The issues are editorially balanced so that a year’s subscription will bring articles of interest to all officials. Readers of the magazine also know that much of its value goes far beyond the ten or twelve feature articles and columns appearing each month. Every issue carries notices of upcoming meetings, announcements of training courses and administrative directives from state agencies, as well as advertisements from suppliers of municipal products and services. Through its monthly editorials, NEW JERSEY MUNICIPALITIES continues to articulate municipal reactions to developments and to crusade for municipal needs. Issues of NEW JERSEY MUNICIPALITIES average 82 pages in length and are circulated to over 8,200 local officials, state administrators and libraries each month. Bureau of Municipal Information We have expanded our ability to provide service to our membership by adding a staff attorney, Deborah Kole, to head the Bureau. Municipal officials and employees will now have access to legal knowledge and analysis to accompany the information and data that has long been provided through the Bureau. In the increasingly complex legal environment in which municipalities and their leaders operate today, this addition enriches the League’s capacity to support its members in their work. Furthermore, our attorney’s contact with municipal attorneys across the country will provide a broader view of the legal issues that may be new to New Jersey but have been encountered previously in other states. Meanwhile, the Bureau continues to upgrade its Internet software capabilities, which provide informational links with our sister state leagues, the National League of Cities, and virtually every state and governmental agency in the nation. The Bureau’s web page, on the League’s website, provides links to relevant sites for those interested in timely research into local laws. With over 15,000 codified municipal ordinances on file, the Bureau maintains the largest collection of ordinances in the state. These ordinances, along with other information concerning local and state laws that affect municipalities, are available free to our members via telephone or e-mail to the Bureau. Our electronic library of ordinances has been increased this year from 150 to 175 municipal codes in their entirety. Furthermore, members can download ordinances themselves from the League’s Internet web pages. The use of this last service by our members is constantly increasing. One of the functions of the Bureau, which we have expanded over the past few years, is the publishing of reports and data. Among the most recent of these publications is a primer on the new Open Public Records Access law, or OPRA, a subject of great importance to municipal officials in New Jersey. A full list of publications is available on the League’s web site, (www.njslom.com). The League provides numerous publications and reference books on a wide variety of municipal issues. Publications are available for a modest charge on a number of different areas of interest to municipal officials. Some of the available titles include: “New Laws of Interest to New Jersey Municipalities;” “Elected Officials’ Handbook;” “Municipal Salary Survey;” “The Open Public Meetings Act;” “A Primer on the Open Public Records Act;” various “License Fee Surveys;” and “Municipal Personnel Policies.” Contact the League office or NJSLOM.org for a list of current titles and prices. The Police and Fire Labor Contract Data Service To keep track of trends in municipal police and fire contract settlements, the League formed its Police and Fire Labor Contract Data Service. Available to member municipalities by annual subscription, the Service includes publications on police and fire salaries, police and fire contract provisions, and the quarterly Arbitration Reporter. For costs and for information, contact the League Bureau of Municipal Information. Free Limited Membership in International Municipal Lawyers Association (IMLA) Through an arrangement between the New Jersey League of Municipalities and the IMLA, municipal attorneys representing New Jersey Municipalities with a population under 2500 are now enrolled in IMLA Lite, a limited membership with terrific benefits. The limited membership includes IMLA’s bi-monthly publication The Municipal Lawyer , IMLA’s bi-weekly e-newsletter update on important cases and developments affecting local governments, and the membership allows registration at IMLA programs, including its highly praised Annual Conferences and Seminars at the member price.
The League web site is available, via the Internet, to keep you informed on the hottest issues affecting municipal government. With this web site you can:
Our web site address is: http://www.njslom.org Specifications Service In cooperation with the Governmental Purchasing Association of New Jersey, the League operates a specification service available to all member municipalities. The service offers:
The service operates through the League’s Bureau of Municipal Information. Specifications are obtained in the same manner as ordinances. Training and In-Service Seminars The changing demands on local government mean last year’s knowledge does not always apply to this year’s problems. The complexity of new regulations, as well as new opportunities, sometimes requires more than a quick phone call or magazine article. That’s where the League’s half day seminars play a role. These programs are attended by more than 2,000 municipal officials each year. Contact the League office or NJSLOM.com for this year’s seminar schedule or to suggest a topic you would like included as a seminar. Some regularly scheduled topics include:
Advisory Services Labor Relations Advisory Service Helps with your labor relations issues concerning unit recognition, unfair labor practices, grievance procedures, and more. This service offers telephone inquiries, and a magazine column. Supplementary services are available for standard legal fees. To use the service contact the League’s Labor Relations Counsel Gerald L. Dorf, Esquire at 732-574-9700 Offers advice on interlocal government cooperation, interlocal services agreements and shared services. Helps develop, review and assess costs of various options. Analyzes feasibility, funding options and best practices as they relate to your service needs. To use this service contact the Bureau of Municipal Information 609-695-3481 extension 124. Cable Television Advisory Service Offers advice on franchise agreements and pertinent regulations; startup, management and operation of local access stations; integration of cable access into all aspects of the community; and more. Contact the League Bureau of Municipal Information 609-695-3481 extension 137. Assists you with a variety of web site and Internet issues regardless of whether your municipality has an existing web site or is considering developing one. Advice and answers to basic questions are available by phone on such items as: policy development; web site design; development tools; disability access to sites; and more. Also available at discounted rates are web site audits, web hosting, backup, and maintenance for web projects and review of start-up web site design. To use the service contact the League Bureau of Municipal Information at 609-695-3481 extension 137. The League has teamed up with GrantStation.com to offer municipalities a web based grant search and information service at a discounted price. The service includes access to a database of grants which is continually updated, a complete set of grant writing tools and resources to help you develop winning grant proposals, and a subscription to a weekly electronic newsletter with information on newly available funding opportunities, plus industry news and training relevant to grantseekers. The League’s service program is a daily way of life, with a continuing exchange of information taking place throughout the year. One week is special, however. And, of course, that is the week of the Annual Conference. Held traditionally in Atlantic City, the Conference is the time when more than 19,000 municipal officials, program participants and guests merge into what is the greatest municipal affairs talent bank of its kind in America. New officials and old, with urban, suburban and rural interests, come to learn and discuss and comment. They attend consulting periods, workshops, panel sessions and seminars sponsored by the League and its affiliate organizations. Whatever the format of the meetings, participants leave better informed and better equipped to serve their communities. Throughout the year, League staff monitors the daily pulse of municipal affairs around the state with an eye to the program content of the Conference. Then, we arrange a tightly-woven schedule of sessions, which offers the kind of help local officials need — timely answers to the problems they are facing today. Between sessions, Conference delegates have the opportunity to visit over 1,100 exhibits of governmental services, products and equipment. On federal issues, the League works in concert with the National League of Cities. A central focus of NLC is to be an advocate for the interests of U.S. municipalities with the Federal Government. Because of the diversity of NLC’s membership, a broadly-based and member-driven policy development process is in place. It annually updates the National Municipal Policy (NMP), a compilation of positions that have been adopted by the NLC members, at each annual Congress of Cities. Policy development is lodged in seven committees of elected municipal officials. The position in the NMP and separate resolutions guide NLC in its lobbying efforts with the Federal Government. NLC represents the interest of cities and towns in Washington by advocating for the positions established by local elected officials in the National Municipal Policy. Legislative activities involve: communicating with Congress and the administration about those policies; testifying at Congressional hearings to inform legislators about the impact of specific bills on cities and towns; informing local officials about pending actions in Washington that have implications for cities and towns; and organizing grass roots lobbying activities to ensure that the local voice is heard in Washington. For membership information, contact the National League of Cities at (202) 626-3190. ... As Close As Your Telephone There are no formal procedures involved in getting information or assistance from the League office. Merely telephone, e-mail or write — whichever is most convenient. You will receive prompt, knowledgeable attention to your problem. And remember — the membership dues, which your municipality pays, entitle you to use the League’s information services at no extra cost, with the exception of small charges for the magazine and special reports. The League was created to serve local officials. It is your organization, your partnership. Take advantage of your membership. League Phone List
After hours, you can leave a voice message for most staff members by dialing their extension, or leave a general message by following the prompts. To e-mail staff: Use first initial of first name and complete last name (e.g., bdressel@njslom.com) |
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