Investors can defer and reduce federal taxes on capital gains reinvested in Qualified Opportunity Funds that invest in designated Opportunity Zones situated in low-income communities, under rules released by the U.S. Department of the Treasury. The federal tax incentives available to investors are established under federal law and administered by the U.S. Department of the Treasury and Internal Revenue Service. Investors and Qualified Opportunity Funds should consult current federal guidance regarding eligibility requirements and applicable tax benefits. 

The original Opportunity Zone program, authorized in 2017, included 169 tracts across the state of New Jersey. HR1 reformed and made the Opportunity Zone Program permanent and established a new designation cycle every 10 years. Eligible tracts generally must have a poverty rate of at least 20 percent or a median family income of no more than 70 percent of the area (statewide) median, but no more than 125 percent of statewide or metropolitan median income. New Jersey has

516 eligible census tracts and Governor Sherrill may nominate up to 129 Opportunity Zones. Note that the reauthorized program allows for fewer Opportunity Zone tracts than the initial program. 

Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40A:65-4(3)b, shared service agreements or renewal/expansion of existing agreements are required to be filed with the Division of Local Government Services ("Division"), for informational purposes.  The Division requests that the lead agency file the required shared service agreement.  Each agreement should be accompanied by a signed, certified resolution of the lead agency and a cover sheet. Please be sure to complete the cover sheet in its entirety. When completing the cost savings estimate, please use the annual (or overall if not annual) estimated amount of money each entity anticipates saving through participation in the shared service. 

If a shared service agreement is a renewal or expansion of an existing agreement, without changes, please note that on the cover sheet. 

Dear Municipal Leaders, Business Administrators, and Housing Professional Staff,

The NJHOMES ABC application is now open! Applications are due July 1.

The NJHOMES ABC initiative seeks municipalities that would like to explore innovative housing models, explore zoning or policy changes, and/or use housing development as a platform for neighborhood and economic revitalization.

NJHOMES provides:

-       education

-       technical assistance

-       funding to municipalities creating affordable housing in their communities

Dear Municipal Clerk:

The Division of Local Government Services and the N.J. League of Municipalities are collaborating with the Bloustein Local unit at the Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy to conduct a survey on municipal technology use. This will be an update to a similar survey conducted in 2014.

We are asking for your help in forwarding the email below to the person who manages your municipality's technology.

Given the variety of ways municipal governments manage their technology, this could be a full-time or part- time employee, a contractor, an elected official, a volunteer, or more than one person. We realize they may need to consult with others or have someone else do so, but one person needs to coordinate the responses.

One thing we are not covering in this survey is public safety technology. If your municipality has a police department or other public safety service, you do NOT need to forward this survey to those individuals; we will conduct a separate public safety technology survey after this one is complete. Alternatively, if your general government technology is coordinated by, for example, a police officer, please forward this to your police chief.

Please forward this email to the person you think can best complete the survey. We are hoping to have results by July 17.

We appreciate your help with this.

Sincerely,

Michael Rogers, Director

Division of Local Government Services

c: Marc Pfeiffer, Bloustein School

   Lori Buckelew, NJ League of Municipalities

This Notice should be forwarded to the Municipal Technology Coordinator.

Dear Municipal Technology Coordinator:

As described above, the Division is working with the Bloustein School at Rutgers to conduct a survey of municipal governments' use of technology. It is important to highlight that all submitted responses are confidential, not subject to disclosure under OPRA, and that reports will NOT identify individual municipalities.

The survey is comprehensive, and depending on your scope of responsibilities, you may need to consult others in your organization to complete it. To assist with that, we are providing (attached) a PDF of the survey questions to help you coordinate responses with colleagues before entering them online. Note that the survey saves your progress automatically, but only if you return on the same device and browser you used initially.

We recognize there may be sections for which answers are not readily available (e.g., costs for some services). You can skip those, though partial answers are always welcome.

This Notice is being sent on behalf of the Governmental Purchasing Association of New Jersey.

The Governmental Purchasing Association of New Jersey (GPANJ) will be holding its Annual Fall Mini Conference on September 17, 2026.

Windsor Conference Center/Holiday Inn

399 Monmouth St.

East Windsor, NJ 08520

The NJ Division on Civil Rights, DCA, Sustainable Jersey, ACCESSNJ, and the Office of the State Comptroller will be participating in the educational sessions, bringing much needed updates and current information from their offices.

 Five (5) CEU's have been approved by DCA for the following certifications: QPA, RMC, CMFO/CCFO, CTC, and CPWM; Credits have also been approved by Rutgers for RPPO and RPPS Certifications.

A continental breakfast and lunch are included in the registration fee.

OSC PCO Is Transitioning to Fully Electronic Procurement Reviews on July 1, 2026.

The Public Contracting Oversight Division of the Office of the State Comptroller hereby notifies all New Jersey contracting units that notification of procurements and submission of procurement documents under N.J.S.A. 52:15C-10, Executive Order (EO) 166, and EO 125 will be converted to fully electronic processes commencing on July 1, 2026.

This notice is being sent on behalf of the Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services.

 DORES RMS would like to announce that the Imaging Registration Application and Renewal Process will be made available and conducted through our online Artemis System beginning July 1, 2026.

 Please join us for a brief training session, Wednesday, June 3rd at 11:00am:

This notice is being sent on behalf of the Department of Treasury, Division of Purchase and Property. 

The NJSTART Quarterly Newsletter is your go-to source for the latest updates, important announcements and highlights from the past few months. Each edition is packed with valuable insights, upcoming training & events, NJ State Contract updates, and other valuable resources.

Department of Community Affairs Commissioner Jacquelyn A. Suarez is excited to share the launch of the NJHOMES Affordable Building Club (ABC). NJHOMES ABC was developed to help municipalities navigate their affordable housing needs, and in creating an actionable development strategy with expert guidance. 

ABC is a no-cost, monthly, virtual educational series covering essential affordable housing topics including analyzing housing needs, identifying funding sources, exploring data tools, understanding life-cycle housing, efficient project development, positive community engagement, and more. 

This notice is being issued on behalf of the Rutgers School of Public Affairs and Administration.

Dear Purchasing Agent:  

This is the third and final reminder regarding our study on New Jersey local procurement to determine whether local government agencies (buyers) and small business owners (suppliers) clearly understand each other's needs, wants, and capabilities. We are approaching the data analysis phase, and this is the last opportunity to ensure your experience is represented in the final results.

To those who have already completed the survey or participated in our interviews: We sincerely thank you for your time and contribution; please disregard this message.

This Notice is being sent on behalf of:  Tax Collectors & Treasurers Association of New Jersey.

THE TAX COLLECTORS & TREASURERS ASSOCIATION OF NEW JERSEY PRESENTS THE 59TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE.

You are invited to attend the TCTANJ Annual Spring Conference, which will be held in Atlantic City at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino from May 27-29, 2026. The tentative schedule for the conference is attached. Below are the links to sign up for the conference and reserve a room at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. 

We look forward to seeing you there.

DCA Awards Nearly $10 Million in Local Recreation Improvement Grants to 154 Local Governments Across the State

^{Grant Funding Will Help Improve Community Centers, Parks, Pools, Sports Fields, and Recreational Trails Awards $9.918 Million in Local Recreation Improvement Grants to}

^{154 Local Governments Across the State Grant}

Funding Will Help Improve Community Centers, Parks, Pools, Recreational Fields, and Walking and Bicycle Trails

TRENTON, NJ - The New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA) today announced the award of $9.918 million in Local Recreation Improvement Grants (LRIG) to counties, municipalities, and school districts across New Jersey to ensure public access to quality outdoor space and recreational facilities. The Division of Local Government Services (DLGS), which administers the program, awarded grants to 154 local governments, including 65 first-time LRIG applicants, through a competitive application process.

"DCA is incredibly pleased to be in a position to help local governments improve and maintain recreational spaces that are so important to people's quality of life," said DCA Commissioner Jacquelyn A. Suarez. "The Local Recreation Improvement Grants make it financially possible for communities to have good athletic fields and courts for local sports leagues, and resources such as parks, recreation centers, pools, and playgrounds where people can come together and enjoy the benefits that accompany access to recreation."

Grant recipients will use the funding to help cover costs associated with updating community centers, playgrounds, pools, athletic fields, walking or bicycle trails, rail trails, multi-sport courts, and recreational facilities. The grants can also be utilized for project development professional services such as engineering and architectural costs; equipment costs including playgrounds or bleachers for stadiums or community theaters; and environmental remediation costs required to prepare recreation sites for use.

OSC Public Contracting Oversight Division Introductory Webinar for New Jersey's Newly Elected and Appointed Officials, Officers, and Employees.

This notice is being sent on behalf of the Office of the State Comptroller - Public Contracting Oversight Division.

The Public Contracting Oversight Division of the Office of the State Comptroller is offering two webinars intended to introduce newly elected and appointed officers, officials, and employees of the State of New Jersey to the Office of the State Comptroller, OSC's Public Contracting Oversight Division, and public procurement in New Jersey. This webinar is intended to help new officials, officers, and employees of all of New Jersey's contracting units understand their responsibilities with regard to notice and submission of contracts and proposed procurements for OSC's procurement reviews under N.J.S.A. 52:15C-10, Executive Order (EO) 166, and EO 125.

Webinar will be on:

Thursday, April 9, 2026

Presenters:

11:00AM ET (Local and Public Educational Institution Officials, Officers, and Employees):

Geoffrey LeGrand and Alysia Walsh

2:00PM ET (State and State Authority Officials, Officers, and Employees):

Ashley Camporeale and Alysia Walsh

Registration:

Register for the 11:00AM (Local and Public Education) webinar:

P.L. 2025, c.180, signed into law on December 23, 2025 and effective March 23rd, contains various provisions relevant to procurement by contracting units that are subject to the Local Public Contracts Law, Public School Contracts Law, and County College Contracts Law. These provisions address:

-       Awards to vendor cooperatives of contracts for public work;

-       The ability of a contracting unit to purchase and contract for construction services only through a cooperative purchasing agreement competitively bid in compliance with P.L. 2025, c.180 and let by a contracting unit in the State of New Jersey;

-       Prohibition on utilization of time and materials contracts available through a cooperative purchasing agreement for public works construction projects subject to the New Jersey Prevailing Wage Act;

-       The responsibilities of a contracting unit awarding a cooperative contract for public works construction, and DLGS enforcement responsibilities with respect to same;

-       The ability of a contracting unit to award an indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract, or make an award off of a national cooperative contract, subject to such rules and regulations as may be adopted by the DLGS Director in consultation with the Commissioner of Education and the Secretary of Higher Education.

The Division is currently soliciting input from various professional and stakeholder organizations on draft rules that would, among other things, update DLGS regulations on cooperative purchasing systems at N.J.A.C. 5:34-7.1 et seq. and implement various provisions of P.L. 2025, c.180.

Pending formal rulemaking to implement P.L. 2025, c. 180, the Division of Local Government Services will not be issuing interpretative guidance concerning the implementation of the new law. In the meantime, contracting units are encouraged to review P.L. 2025, c.180 with their legal counsel.

Notice sent to: Procurement Officials; Chief Municipal Finance Officers; Chief County Finance Officers; Municipal Managers/Administrators; County Administrators/Managers; Public Works Managers; Municipal Clerks; Clerks - Boards of County Commissioners; Authority Officials; Fire District Officials; DLGS Listserv

On March 10, 2026, Governor Sherrill presented her proposed FY2027 budget to the State Legislature. No municipality will receive less total State formula aid in support of its CY 2026 or SFY 2027 budget than it received in support of its prior year budget.

 The proposed FY2027 State budget proposes level funding to all municipalities for Energy Tax Receipts Aid (ETR), Garden State Trust Aid, and Watershed Moratorium Offset Aid.

This notice is being sent on behalf of DCA's Division of Local Planning Services.

This notice rescinds the notice issued on February 13, 2026 wherein the Department of Community Affairs (DCA) provided notice that it had published a model affordable housing ordinance template on its website to assist municipalities in complying with ordinance adoption requirements of P.L. 2024, c.2 and the Affordable Housing Dispute Resolution Program. Subsequently, that template was removed from the DCA website. The previously posted template was intended only as a general reference and guidance tool and was removed to avoid potential confusion regarding the governing statutory and regulatory requirements. Municipalities should instead rely on the governing statutes and regulations, including the Uniform Housing Affordability Controls (UHAC), and related guidance issued by the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency (NJHMFA).

NJHMFA has issued a Municipal Information Bulletin that provides additional information for municipalities developing their affordable housing ordinances. That document is available at the following location:

The Division of Local Government Services is pleased to announce that applications are now being accepted for FY2026 Management Enhancement Review Program (MERP) Grants.

MERP provides grants to local government units to contract with management enhancement review consultants to conduct local government unit efficiency reviews and to make recommendations to streamline operations and reduce costs.

MERP facilities the exploration of new technologies, organizational structures, and shared services opportunities.  The program is available to all municipal-based and county-based units.

Applications must be submitted no later than May 1, 2026.