Month: December 2011

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>Can urban transit hubs help revitalize New Jersey’s cities?

>Can urban transit hubs help revitalize New Jersey’s cities?


New Jersey’s Urban Transit Hub Tax Credit program has become popular with corporations and residential developers recently, with more than half of the program’s $1.5 billion committed to 13 projects over the past two years.

But the nine cities currently eligible for the program, which provides a tax credit of up to the full value of capital investments in very large projects within a half mile of urban rail stations, may have to share the wealth with suburban areas that can attract large construction investments that retain or create jobs. Bills moving through both houses of the legislature seek to divert $200 million initially from the cities for new Grow New Jersey credits.  (O’Dea, NJ Spotlight)

https://www.njspotlight.com/stories/11/1212/0148/
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>New Jersey bill would free towns’ service sharing of tenure rules

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New Jersey bill would free towns’ service sharing of tenure rules

When Audubon and Magnolia decided to share services to save money, Audubon fired Nancy Doman, its longtime borough clerk, replacing her and her $70,000 compensation with a part-time clerk at less than $20,000.
That violated state tenure rules protecting municipal clerks, a judge ruled when Doman sued.

With the borough and Doman in negotiations now, State Sen. Donald Norcross is pushing a bill that in the future would make it easier for municipalities to combine services without worrying about tenure restrictions.
The measure would threaten the tenure potentially of hundreds of high-level municipal employees throughout the state, and critics say it is too broad because it does not specify how towns could choose which of the two employees stays.  (Vargas, The Philadelphia Inquirer)

https://www.philly.com/philly/news/new_jersey/20111211_New_Jersey_bill_would_free_towns__service_sharing_of_tenure_rules.html
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>New Jersey’s unemployment benefits fund is broke, with more than $1 billion owed to the federal government

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New Jersey’s unemployment benefits fund is broke, with more than $1 billion owed to the federal government

New Jersey has gone into debt to cover unemployment benefits for people who lost their jobs in the Garden State.

Assemblyman Jay Webber (R-Morris) made that argument in a recent NJToday interview about his opposition to proposed legislation aimed at providing unemployment benefits to certain individuals whose hours at work have been reduced.

“It might be a good idea. The problem I have is that our unemployment insurance trust fund is broke,” Webber said during the Nov. 28 interview. “We’re over a billion dollars in debt to the federal government, and what this bill does is create another stream of income out of the fund.”  (Wichert, PolitiFact New Jersey)

https://www.politifact.com/new-jersey/statements/2011/dec/11/jay-webber/new-jerseys-unemployment-benefits-fund-broke-more-/
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>NJ’s comprehensive Medicaid waiver on track but still several months out

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NJ’s comprehensive Medicaid waiver on track but still several months out

New Jersey’s request to overhaul its $11 billion Medicaid program via what’s known as a “comprehensive waiver” from the federal government is on track but could take several more months to complete, according to a federal official overseeing the waiver request.

The waiver is intended to make improvements in the program, ranging from helping the elderly avoid nursing homes to reducing excess use of hospital emergency rooms, while saving the state money. The federal government has to approve of each of the changes the state Department of Human Services has planned before changes can be made because it funds 50 percent of the Medicaid program.  (Fitzgerald, NJ Spotlight)

https://www.njspotlight.com/stories/11/1212/0041/
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>NJ’s comprehensive Medicaid waiver on track but still several months out

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NJ’s comprehensive Medicaid waiver on track but still several months out

New Jersey’s request to overhaul its $11 billion Medicaid program via what’s known as a “comprehensive waiver” from the federal government is on track but could take several more months to complete, according to a federal official overseeing the waiver request.

The waiver is intended to make improvements in the program, ranging from helping the elderly avoid nursing homes to reducing excess use of hospital emergency rooms, while saving the state money. The federal government has to approve of each of the changes the state Department of Human Services has planned before changes can be made because it funds 50 percent of the Medicaid program.  (Fitzgerald, NJ Spotlight)

https://www.njspotlight.com/stories/11/1212/0041/
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>N.J. headed for government contraction, experts say

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N.J. headed for government contraction, experts say

In many ways, the New Jersey residents now know will disappear within five years because of yawning government budget gaps, a panel of top experts said Friday.

The bipartisan group of former officials and academics presented a dark view of the state’s future that included widespread government consolidation, worker layoffs, service cuts and tax increases. Experts said that future was nearly certain to come to pass, even with a rosy economic scenario.

Recent pension and benefit reforms, and a tougher property tax cap will not prevent the state from experiencing dramatic changes in New Jersey government, they said. That’s because the state will need five years for tax revenues to catch up to where they were before the great recession.  (Method, Gannett)

https://www.app.com/article/20111210/NJNEWS1002/312100035/NJ-headed-government-contraction-experts-say
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>Parlance Chamber Concerts Holiday Benefit Concert

>Parlance Chamber Concerts Holiday Benefit Concert

Eight Leading members of the Met Opera Chorus; Music by Bizet, Verdi, Brahms, Vaughan-Williams and Britten. Sunday, December 18th at 4pm at West Side Presbyterian Church, 6 S. Monroe st, Ridgewood. Tickets and information ParlanceChamberConcerts.org

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>Democratic lawmakers back controversial DEP waiver rule

>Democratic lawmakers back controversial DEP waiver rule


In a straight party line vote, Democrats lawmakers yesterday narrowly approved a resolution declaring that a controversial proposal that would allow the Department of Environmental Protection to waive its rules in limited cases in which the regulations prove “unduly burdensome” as inconsistent with legislative intent.
The resolution (ACR-206) is in reaction to a rule awaiting adoption by the DEP that is viewed by business lobbyists and the Christie administration as making New Jersey more business friendly. It has been opposed, however, by environmental groups who argue that it undermines regulations aimed at protecting drinking water and air quality.  (Johnson, NJ Spotlight)

https://www.njspotlight.com/stories/11/1208/1949/
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>Study: Special ed costs less at private schools

>Study: Special ed costs less at private schools


When it comes to special education, a common perception is that public schools are cheaper than private ones.

With many specialized private schools for the disabled today charging tuition rates in excess of $80,000 per student, that may seem like a safe assumption. But a new analysis commissioned by the private schools’ trade group says otherwise.

According to the study, it costs $45,358 on average to educate a disabled student in a state-approved private school, compared to $50,146 per pupil in a local public school. The cost to send a child to a county special services school is even higher: $65,266 per student, the study says. The analysis, which draws on state education data, doesn’t include transportation costs.  (Mullen, Gannett)

https://www.mycentraljersey.com/article/B3/20111209/NJNEWS/312090027/Study-Special-ed-costs-less-private-schools
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>Christie vs. Dems: Sick-leave payout battle intensifies

>Christie vs. Dems: Sick-leave payout battle intensifies


It’s no game, this latest gambit by the governor to rein in public spending. But he says Democrats who control the Legislature are treating it like one.

“I feel like I’m with Monty Hall,” Gov. Christie told a crowd at town hall this week in West New York, invoking the legendary “Let’s Make a Deal” game show host. “You don’t like 15,000? How about 7,500?”

Prowling the stage, mic in hand, he followed with something very unlike Monty Hall, putting away the fun demeanor in favor of a serious attack on a Democratic proposal to halve the payouts for unused sick leave.  (Hooker, PolitickerNJ)

https://www.politickernj.com/53114/christie-vs-dems-sick-leave-payout-battle-intensifies
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>Gov. Christie lashes out at Port Authority exec, cites inconsistent toll hike figures

>Gov. Christie lashes out at Port Authority exec, cites inconsistent toll hike figures


In his first public comments on the controversy surrounding the Port Authority’s recent toll hike, Gov. Chris Christie is once again criticizing the agency’s former executive director, Christopher Ward.

The issue involves differences between the Port Authority’s public statements justifying the September toll increase, and what its lawyers are now saying in defending the agency against a lawsuit seeking to overturn the increase.

Leading up to the approval of the toll hike in August, the agency said the revenue would help finance a $25.1 billion, 10-year capital plan that included the World Trade Center’s redevelopment. But since last month, lawyers and agency officials have said the hike will finance less than $11 billion worth of transportation projects. Angry lawmakers from both states have called for an investigation.  (Strunsky, The Star-Ledger)

https://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011/12/gov_christie_lashes_out_at_por.html
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>Assembly panel advances bill to extend length of developer permits

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Assembly panel advances bill to extend length of developer permits

An Assembly panel Thursday advanced a controversial bill that would extend the shelf-life of permits granted for developments, allowing builders to avoid complying with newer environmental laws, building codes or local zoning.

The measure, approved 6-0 by the Assembly Housing and Local Government Committee, would also retroactively roll back restrictions on extending permits in areas previous labeled “environmentally sensitive,” reviving some expired permits.

Assemblyman Louis Greenwald (D-Camden) said the legislation, the third of its kind in three years, is needed so developers who had construction plans prior to the recession do not need to go through the expensive approval process again. (Baxter, The Star-Ledger)

https://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011/12/assembly_panel_advances_bill_t.html
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The current leaf system hasn’t worked in years

>The current leaf system hasn’t worked in years

The current leaf system hasn’t worked in years and yet every year it’s handled the same way. We need new ideas and a new plan, whether it’s bagging leaves (largely impractical for the amount of leaves most of us get), cutting back on other services such as recycling and bulk during leaf season, or outsourcing or getting private landscapers to help, something has to change.

The ordinance requiring leaves not be left on the street more than 7 days before pickup can’t be enforced because the leaves are never picked up according to schedule, so there’s no way to tell if the leaves have been there 7 days or 27 days. In order for streets to remain clear leaves need to be picked up every two weeks from the end of October through the end of December.

In my area there were two pickups all season; one before Halloween before much had fallen, and again about a week ago, where they had to deal with removing all of the leaves of the entire season in one trip, and we had to deal with navigating around the mess for over a month. Maybe leaf pickups before November 1 should be the responsibility of the homeowner – you can bag it yourself and bring to recycling, or get your landscaper to remove it – the October pickup seems to be a waste of time since there’s not much accumulation at that point, so residents could reasonably handle this themselves. After that, the town should come twice in November and twice in December. It can’t be that difficult.

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>Paper leaf bags : Its time for a change

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Paper leaf bags : Its time for a change 

Paper leaf bags are meant to withstand a certain amount of rain. I’ve seen them out for a couple of weeks now and they’re fine, so putting them out the night or two before pickup will not pose a problem.

If you don’t like using biodegradable leaf bags, use barrels.

Also trimming branches to 4′ (as required by our town) and laying them on your apron makes a big difference for our cars and town workers.

Leaf piles have been a hazard since the October snowstorm. And now new leaves are piled on. It’s getting ridiculous and dangerous and really needs to change.

Change is hard, but, I just don’t think our current leaf cleanup system is working anymore