FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Christie Administration Announces $40 Million in CDBG Disaster Recovery Essential Services Grants to Local Governments

Grants Will Allow Six Sandy-Impacted Local Governments to
Provide Essential Services as They Continue to Recovery from the Storm



Trenton, NJ – The Christie Administration today announced the award of nearly $40 million in Essential Services Grants to six Sandy-impacted local governments in New Jersey. The grants are in response to applications from local governments that lost significant revenue and are experiencing budget distress. They will ensure that communities can sustain essential services while they continue recovering from Superstorm Sandy.

The Essential Services Grants are funded through Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Disaster Recovery monies provided by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The State of New Jersey’s plan on how to allocate $1.46 billion in the second round of CDBG Disaster Recovery funds was approved by HUD on May 30, 2014. The Essential Services Grants announced today are the first of the second round funds to be committed.

"We recognize that some local governments hit hard by Sandy continue to be financially impacted by the worst natural disaster in the state’s history. Therefore, we continue to be there for them with our Essential Services Grants program,” said Richard E. Constable, III, Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA), which is administering the distribution of CDBG Disaster Recovery funds for New Jersey. “The grants will help these communities, which are still in the midst of recovering, provide public safety, public works, education and other basic services that are critical to the residents, businesses and visitors of these towns.”

The Essential Services Grants program launched in May 2013 with $60 million shortly after HUD approved New Jersey’s Action Plan for utilizing $1.83 billion in the first round of federal CDBG Disaster Recovery funding. Last year, more than $44.5 million in Essential Services Grants funding was awarded to 11 Sandy-impacted local governmental entities.

The Essential Services Grant program will utilize $85 million from the second round of CDBG Disaster Recovery funding, plus remaining funds from the first round allocation to continue assisting Sandy-impacted local government entities through 2015 in maintaining critical services, such as police, public works and education, while their communities rebuild.

In order to be considered for an Essential Services Grant Award, applicants are required to:

  • Fully exhaust any FEMA Community Disaster Loan balance by the conclusion of the budget year for Calendar Year 2014 or Fiscal Year 2015.
  • Seek all available funds that could obviate the need for an Essential Service Grant. 
  • Demonstrate that Superstorm Sandy’s direct impact on revenues and/or expenditures is the reason for the local government budget not being able to sustainably support the cost of essential services.
  • Discuss what steps are being taken to contain costs and provide detailed description of personnel cost restraints, nonessential service reductions, procurement initiatives, etc.
  • Explain what essential services would be negatively impacted if a grant is not approved; and consequently, what essential services would be continued with the receipt of an award.
  • Explain their efforts at identifying opportunities for sharing capital assets or shared services with neighboring communities.
  • Discuss what actions are being undertaken to facilitate the appropriate and timely reconstruction of public and private property, including mitigation efforts against future storms.

Today’s grant recipients are listed below. For more information on the current round of Essential Services Grants, log on to http://www.nj.gov/dca/divisions/dlgs/lfns/13/2013-26.pdf on the DCA website.

County

Local Governmental Entity

Grant Amount

Atlantic

Atlantic City

$6,775,799

Ocean

Brick

$3,750,000

Ocean

Ocean County

$9,216,702 

Ocean

Sea Bright

$1,002,827

Ocean

Toms River

$10,095,291 

Ocean

Toms River Regional Board of Education

$9,000,000

 

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