The Division has posted Local Finance Notice 2025-03

Municipal Clerks, please forward this notice to Elected Officials:

Dear Municipal Clerk:

The Division of Taxation is required by law to distribute copies of the 2024 Table of Equalized Valuations to the Commissioner of Education, Municipal Clerks of each municipality and the County Tax Administrators of each County Board of Taxation, as per P.L. 1954, Chapter 86, N.J.S.A. 54:1-35.1 and N.J.S.A. 54:51 A-4(c).  To view a copy of the 2024 Table of Equalized Valuations as Amended by the Tax Court of New Jersey, use the link below.

Dear Municipal Clerk:

Please be informed that the municipal contact list is no longer available for use. Our communication process is now being streamlined through GovConnect News to enhance data privacy.

Please read carefully the below FAST system update.

FAST "folders" for the 2025 Budget, 2024 Annual Financial Statement, and 2024 Annual Debt Statement are now available in the FAST portal for Calendar Year Municipalities and Counties.

Municipalities and Counties are required to use the following documents:

-       2025 Municipal Budget (Version 2025.0, used for both introduction and adoption)

-       2025 County Budget (Version 2025.0, used for both introduction and adoption)

-       2024 Municipal and County Annual Financial Statement (Version 2024.0)

-       2025 Municipal User-Friendly Budget (Version 2025.0)

Prior year versions of these templates will not be accepted through FAST. The Municipal Budget, County Budget, and Annual Financial Statement workbooks all contain a "data migration"

that will import prior year data, reducing data entry. Macros in the excel workbook must be enabled in order for this functionality to execute properly. Instructions for this process are included on the first tab of each workbook. Version numbers of documents are always listed on the Key Inputs tab.

TRENTON, NJ - The New Jersey Department of Community Affairs' (DCA) Division of Local Government Services (DLGS) today announced that applications are now being accepted for the Local Recreation Improvement Grant (LRIG) Program funding that is being offered to New Jersey counties, municipalities and school districts. The Murphy Administration has allocated $20 million in the Fiscal Year 2025 budget to this competitive grant program that supports improvement and repair of public recreation facilities including local parks, municipal recreation centers, and local stadiums.

Local Recreation Improvement Grant funds will be awarded to successful grant applicants to help cover costs associated with updating community centers, playgrounds, pools, fields, walking or bicycle trails, rail trails, multi-sport courts, and recreational facilities; one-time personnel costs directly related to improvements; project development professional services costs; equipment costs including playground and recreation facilities equipment; and environmental remediation costs required to prepare recreation sites for use.

The Local Recreation Improvement Grant (LRIG) Program was developed to:

-              Fund improvements to recreational facilities;

-              Provide quality outdoor recreational space to underserved communities; and

-              Assist local units in achieving unmet recreational obligations.

New Jersey counties, municipalities, and school districts are eligible to apply.

This notice is being sent on behalf of the Division of Local Planning Services

The recent amendments to the Fair Housing Act (P.L. 2024, c.2) require that every town with an obligation to report on affordable housing activity have a Municipal Housing Liaison (MHL). The MHL must be an employee of the municipality, the role cannot be done by an outside entity or consultant, however the affordable housing trust fund may be used to pay for the proportion of the salary required to cover this role for the appointed employee. The appointment will also require that the individual submit credentials to the DCA to be approved for this position, including attending education courses on affordable housing, and we are working on updates to the current classes to reflect the changes to the law. The responsibilities of the MHL include:

-       Serving as the municipality's primary point of contact for affordable housing

-       Overseeing the monitoring and reporting on the status of proposed and completed affordable housing units

-       Ensuring an administrative agent is assigned to each affordable project and overseeing compliance of administrative agents working in the municipality

-       Coordinating meeting with developers, providers, municipal officials and administrative agents as necessary

We are reaching out to ensure that your town appoints, or has appointed, an MHL and notifies DCA. As we approach the February 15th deadline for reporting on all projects, units and trust fund information, we will need to communicate with the person responsible for overseeing the entry of that information into the Affordable Housing Montoring System (AHMS). Failure to enter and reconcile the information into AHMS could subject the municipality to forfeiture of trust funds.

This Notice is being sent on behalf of Edward M. Smith, Director Division of Codes and Standards.

Guidance for local enforcement agencies regarding the acceptance of products that fall within the category of "Meter Accessories".

As previously noted the CTM (COAH Tracking & Monitoring) application was retired on September 2, 2024.  That system will be replaced by the new Affordable Housing Monitoring System (AHMS) application on Friday, September 6, 2024. At that time, reporting required by P.L. 2024, c.2 for completed affordable housing units and municipal affordable housing trust funds may resume.

All authorized users established by each municipality under the retired CTM application will be carried forward and automatically provided with their same user permissions in the new system. Beginning September 6th, anyone seeking authorization for the first time must receive municipal approval before being granted access to the system. If a new user seeks authorization, municipal clerks will first be notified and asked to confirm that the requested access is authorized. Upon authorization LPS staff at DCA will be notified and move the authorized user into the system.

Rutgers - School of Public Affairs and Administration is pleased to announce that the State of New Jersey Certified Public Manager program will be offering three cohorts in Fall 2024.

Fall 2024 - In-person Cohorts

-       Lawrence Twp. Fridays starting Oct. 25

-       Atlantic City, Tuesdays starting Nov. 12

Classes are held from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM one day per week for 10 months.

NJ-4 Virtual, Tuesdays starting Oct. 8th One day per week for 10 months, 8:30 AM - 1:30 PM via Zoom, plus 3 hours independent study.

To apply to the NJ CPM program, applicants must complete, prepare, and submit the following:

-       Application Form

-       Professional Resume

-       Supervisor Statement of Approval

-       Personal Statement: Prepare a short essay (one to two typed double-spaced pages) expressing "Why are you interested in applying to the NJ Certified Public Manager Program"

Admission to the New Jersey Certified Public Manager Program is processed on a rolling basis. Classes are held in various locations throughout the southern, central, and northern regions of New Jersey.

Stay NJ is a new property tax credit program that will go into effect for State Fiscal Year 2026. It was created through P.L.

2023, c. 75, which is known as the Stay NJ Act. For purposes of program implementation, the Division of Local Government Services is distributing a survey to all municipalities to gather details about what municipalities will require to implement StayNJ. Survey responses are due by COB Friday August 16, 2024.

Municipalities will use the existing Best Practices Inventory platform to complete and submit the Stay NJ survey.  Municipal Chief Financial Officers (CMFO), Chief Administrative Officers (CAO), and Municipal Clerks listed on the Roster of Officials within the Best Practices Inventory platform will already have access to the Stay NJ survey.  If the CAO or Clerk has changed, the new officials will need to first register for an account. Once registered, the CMFO provides access via the Roster of Officials. CMFO access is provided by the Division.  As there is not a level of system access specific to Tax Collectors, a printable questions sheet is available within the online platform to be provided to the Tax Collector.  Responses provided by the Tax Collector can be entered into the system by any of the three officials that have access. Once all responses have been recorded, any of the three officials with access to the survey will be able to click the "Sign and Submit" tab to submit the survey to the Division of Local Government Services. The submission is not considered successful until this process is complete.

Again, only one of the three assigned roles is required to certify and submit the completed survey.

Please note that the CAO is an individual who, regardless of title, is responsible for the municipality's day-to-day operations.

If a municipality does not have a Business Administrator or Municipal Manager, this person would be whichever individual (e.g., Municipal Clerk, CMFO) is responsible for running day to-day operations. Every municipality has a CAO.

Review the user guide and FAQ for further information:

Notice sent on behalf of ABC License Verification Unit, New Jersey Division of Taxation

Dear Municipal Clerk:

The Alcoholic Beverage Retail Licensee Clearance Certificates (Renewal) have been updated for the 2024 - 2025 season. As of today, Wednesday May 22, 2024, you can view which renewals have been issued and ready for you to print to allow for renewal.

Be aware, you must have a renewal clearance in order to pass your resolution for the 2024 - 2025 year. Should a licensee not have clearance, IMMEDIATELY contact the licensee, and advise them you have not received their renewal clearance.

All the licenses have been cleared except for the older licenses that were not cleared last year.

Please advise the licensee that they can either 1) contact the caseworker they are currently corresponding with at the New Jersey Division of Taxation or;

The Division of Local Government Services (DLGS) in partnership with Rutgers Center for Government Services (CGS) announces the publication of Version 2.1 of the N.J. Local Public Contracts Law and Regulations Reference Guide.

The Division has posted Local Finance Notice 2024-06

Municipal Clerks, please forward this notice to Elected Officials:

On February 27, 2024, Governor Phil Murphy presented his proposed FY 2025 budget to the State Legislature. Under this budget, no municipality will receive less total State formula aid in support of its CY 2024 or SFY 2025 budget than it received in support of its prior year budget; except for the Municipal Relief Fund Aid issued in CY 2023/SFY 2024 that was a one-time appropriation.

The proposed FY 2025 State budget features a $7.2 million increase in Energy Tax Receipts Aid (ETR). For every municipality, this equates to a 0.5 percent increase over the ETR for CY 2023/SFY 2024. Under the proposed FY

2025 State budget, Garden State Trust Aid and Watershed Moratorium Offset Aid would be level.

Dear Municipal Clerk:

The Division of Taxation is required by law to distribute copies of the 2023 Table of Equalized Valuations to the Commissioner of Education, Municipal Clerks of each municipality and the County Tax Administrators of each County Board of Taxation, as per P.L. 1954, Chapter 86, N.J.S.A. 54:1-35.1 and N.J.S.A. 54:51 A-4(c). To view a copy of the 2023 Table of Equalized Valuations as Amended by the Tax Court of New Jersey, use the link below.