Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Committee is one path for public employees to get around in-state-residency requirement of New Jersey First Act.
For the past two years, the meeting held monthly in a bare Trenton conference room determined the fates of hundreds of New Jersey public employees, including scores of teachers and school administrators. But the process has nothing to do with disciplinary actions or tenure or anything like that. The meetings of the five-member Employee Residency Review Committee are all about where people can live if they want to hold onto their jobs. Under the New Jersey First Act enacted in 2011, all New Jersey public employees must reside in New Jersey. There are a couple of exceptions, and the law grandfathered those who already lived out of state -- as long as they don't move. But it’s pretty unforgiving otherwise, and it takes some fairly …
Monday, May 20, 2013
Jobless rate drops to 8.7 percent, revenues sufficient to avoid further cuts.
Gov. Chris Christie got a double dose of good news last week, as New Jersey's April unemployment rate dipped below 9 percent for the first time in four years and state revenue collections met his Treasury Department's revised targets. Echoing former President Ronald Reagan, an ebullient Christie declared at a town meeting in Sayreville that "the best social program is a job," and declared that his economic and fiscal policies were responsible for New Jersey's economic, employment, and revenue growth. “Revenues are up, jobs are up and unemployment is down," Assembly Minority Leader Jon Bramnick (R-Union) declared. Treasury's announcement that April's revenues came in just ahead of target takes some of the drama out of Monday's Senate Budget…
Sunday, May 19, 2013
NJ results part of a national trend charted in just-released report from U.S. Census Bureau.
A new report on voting in the 2012 presidential election found that blacks in New Jersey, like those across the nation, turned out in greater percentages than any other racial or ethnic group and the youngest voters, those age 18 through 24, turned out in the smallest numbers. The report by the U.S. Census Bureau released on Wednesday said that a greater percentage of eligible blacks voted than whites for the first time since officials began publishing voting statistics in 1996. Nationally, two in three eligible blacks voted in the presidential election, which was slightly higher than the 64.1 percent of non-Hispanic whites. In New Jersey, 68.5 percent of eligible African Americans voted, compared with 63.4 percent of whites. James Harris…
Saturday, May 18, 2013
The state urges customers to consult the database before buying a car
The State Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC) and Division of Consumer Affairs (DCA) are urging all customers to consult their database of flood and salvage-titled vehicles before purchasing a car. That database now provides information on 31,000 such vehicles, the State MVC announced on Wednesday. It isn't illegal to sell vehicles with flood or salvaged titles. However, there are specific requirements that ensure potential purchasers are aware of the status of such vehicles, according to the MVC. “Damage sustained by vehicles must be disclosed to prospective buyers,” Attorney General Jeffrey S. Chiesa said. “We will hold car dealers accountable for violating our Consumer Fraud Act if they fail to make such disclosures.” The database was …
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Christie administration wants $164 million in affordable-housing funds to help balance state budget.
Municipalities have won yet another reprieve from having to give more than $164 million in affordable-housing funds to New Jersey. A state appeals court panel late Monday issued a temporary injunction to stop the state from taking the money to help balance its budget. The Appellate Division of Superior Court issued a stay of the state Council on Affordable Housing’s attempt to seize municipal affordable housing trust fund money that has gone unspent for more than four years. Judge Jose L. Fuentes, who signed the order, set oral arguments for June 5 in Newark. Fair Share Housing Center sought the injunction last Friday, after COAH met on May 1 for the first time in more than two years and authorized its staff to begin the process of taking …
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
The NJDOT Fiscal Year 2013 Municipal Aid Program awarded East Windsor a grant for road improvements.
- GOVERNMENT
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Tuesday, May 14
East Windsor Township has been awarded a $249,000 grant from the New Jersey Department of Transportation Fiscal Year 2013 Municipal Aid Program for roadway improvements to the entire length of Yorkshire Drive from Oak Creek Road to Wiltshire Drive. The $249,000 state grant will be used to resurface the roadway, as well as other associated improvements to curbing, drainage and handicap ramps. Construction work will be undertaken over the summer. "We are pleased to receive this roadway improvement grant for Yorkshire Drive, and look forward to continuing our efforts to improve another important roadway area in East Windsor," Mironov said. "Yorkshire Drive, which serves the Township’s only middle school and many homes and residents, is a …
Monday, May 13, 2013
But Community Affairs chief says systemic reforms, cuts in total tax rate are key.
Assembly Democrats last week assailed Gov. Chris Christie for an 18.6 percent increase in net property taxes over the past three years, but Christie’s community affairs commissioner said long-term savings and cuts in overall tax rates are more important. Community Affairs commissioner Richard E. Constable III told the Assembly Budget Committee that the 2.4 percent growth in property taxes in 2011 and 1.6 percent rise last year were the smallest statewide hikes in 20 years and an improvement over an "increase of 70 percent in the 10 years before Governor Christie took office." But Democratic committee members disputed Constable’s view, citing a New Jersey Spotlight analysis showing that net property taxes -- the net cost of property taxes …
Sunday, May 12, 2013
New program is shadow of former funding, with deeper cuts to come in second year.
The state expects to spend $100 million in the coming fiscal year to fund projects to preserve open space and farmland, at least $50 million shy of what New Jersey traditionally spends annually on the popular program. In the fiscal year following that, the funding will drop off even more dramatically, with only $40 million -- at most -- available to fund open-space preservation, parkland projects, and buyouts of flood-prone properties, according to New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Bob Martin. The total does not include $250 million in federal funds that may be available to help buy out flood-prone properties in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, Martin said. The steep decline in funding reflects the exhaustion …
Saturday, May 11, 2013
GOP lawmakers says proposal’s too expensive, not needed because people can cast absentee ballots.
Gov. Chris Christie on Thursday vetoed a bill that would have created a system for early voting in New Jersey, which Democrats saw as needed to expand voting opportunities but the governor deemed unnecessary. Inspired by the state’s chaotic 2012 presidential election held in the wake of Superstorm Sandy, the bill, S-2364and A-3553, would have permitted voters to cast ballots in person at designated polling locations as early as 15 days prior to an election. It was sponsored by and supported by only Democrats. All Republicans in both the Senate and Assembly opposed it, and given the composition of the Legislature, it is impossible to override a veto without GOP support. In his veto message, Christie said New Jersey voters have been able to …
Friday, May 10, 2013
The emails reference the firing of the Borough Administrator and the petition for a referendum on the bond ordinance for the new Borough Hall.
The individual who sent threatening emails to Hightstown Councilman Rob Thibault has shared the emails with Patch. Thibault confirmed that the emails sent to Patch were, in fact, the ones sent to his personal email address. Using the alias “Robert Langdon,” the person addressed the emails to Rob and Lisa Thibault. The first email, sent on May 4, stated, “There is a network of friends and supporters of ideas and people. Think twice about repercussions of actions you may take that results in a war of vengeance against your war of vengeance.” The second email, sent on May 5, mentioned that the individual had heard that the possible firing of Borough Administrator Michael Theokas was in retaliation against the petition for referendum on the …
E. Connie Myst
4:20 pm on Tuesday, May 21, 2013
So we reduced the pool of eligible employees. Smaller supply vs. same demand: Now we'll have to pay more generally, and also to get those willing to pay NJ living expenses. As a taxpayer, I'm just thrilled. more ›