Citizen Leadership Act - 11/12/2009

Governor Corzine signed into law the Citizen Service Act (P.L. 2009, c. 141).  This new law requires municipal clerks to maintain new records concerning local boards, authorities, and commissions, and provides a formal process for citizens to sign up to volunteer to serve on these bodies.  The law changes law concerning oaths of office that apply to municipalities and counties.  Local Finance Notice 2009-24 should be reviewed immediately and actions taken to implement its provision.

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All local units that are receiving federal funds through the American Recovery and Revitalization Act (ARRA) have new and different responsibilities to meet ongoing audit responsibilities under the program rules.  Local Finance Notice 2009-19 provides important information and references about grant recipient responsibilities to implement internal controls at the start of their grant programs and are subject to federal or state agency audits during the performance of the grant. A web page with links to federal agency guidance has been posted at www.nj.gov/dca/lgs/research/arra/index.shtml.   

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The NJ Division of Archives and Records Management and State League of Municipalities are continuing their training programs for users of the ARTEMIS Records Retention and Disposition Management System.  Morning and afternoon training sessions are scheduled for Tuesday September 22, 2009 at The Conference Center at Mercer County College in West Windsor. SPACE IS LIMITED to 22 registrants in each session. NJDARM will provide hands-on ARTEMIS system training for the submission of requests and authorization for records disposition. CEUs have been approved for RPPO and RMC.  Conference details and registration information are available online.     

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The State Department of Labor and Workforce Development wants all local units that maintain lighted athletic facilities to be aware that the U. S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has announced that outdoor steel stadium light poles manufactured by Whitco Co. LP, of Fort Worth, Texas can fracture, posing a risk of serious injury or death. Additional details and photos showing the problems can be viewed online.  To reduce the risk of injury, Whitco Co. LP outdoor steel stadium light poles SHOULD BE INSPECTED IMMEDIATELY BY A QUALIFIED PROFESSIONAL. If any of these conditions are found, immediately have the affected poles repaired or replaced by a qualified professional. If you have questions regarding this warning, CONTACT CPSC's HOTLINE at (800) 638-2772 or send an e-mail to info@cpsc.gov.     

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Local Finance Notice 2009-16 announces the COLA rate for SFY 2010 budgets and the increase rate in State Health Benefit rates which will drive cap exceptions for all FY 2010 budgets.  The COLA rate for SFY 2010 budgets is 3%, and the SHB increase is 18%.  Please review the notice to determine how this information affects your organization.  Current SHB members will receive information from the Division of Pensions and Benefits on how the increases affect you.

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The NJ Division of Codes and Standards has issued a notice regarding recently-adopted changes to the Residential Site Improvement Standards, N.J.A.C. 5:21.  Municipal Clerk's have been asked to kindly forward this notice to their municipal engineer and to professionals working with the planning board and the zoning board of adjustment.  Questions may be directed to the Division of Codes and Standards at e-mail address codeassist@dca.state.nj.us and phone number 609-984-7609. 

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The courts have recently rendered decisions that greatly impact the manner in which records custodians must respond to requests for government records under the New Jersey Open Public Records Act.  The Government Records Council (GRC) has included a discussion of these recent decisions in its latest issue of "OPRA Alert" (Volume 2/July 2009) which can be found in the Clerk's Document Library.
You can contact the GRC at 609-292-6830 regarding OPRA issues and you can also subscribe to the GRC List-Serve at www.nj.gov/grc/news/news.

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