ASSEMBLY LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

ASSEMBLY, No. 429

with committee amendments

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED: JUNE 16, 1997

. The Assembly Local Government Committee reports favorably Assembly Bill No. 429, with amendments.

      As amended by the committee, Assembly Bill No. 429 requires that any action of a municipal governing body to close a unit or units within a municipal fire station, including any unit or units that will be closed on a temporary or rotational basis, will not be effective until a public notice announcing the closing of the fire station has been either published in the official newspaper of the municipality or broadcast on the cable television station servicing the municipality not less than twice during the one-month period immediately preceding the projected date of the closing of the fire station. The amended bill also requires that the public notice must include a statement of the reason for the closing or deactivation and contain an alternate plan for fire and rescue protection for residents affected by the closing or deactivation. In the case of a decision of the governing body to permanently close or deactivate a unit or units within a fire station, the amended bill further requires the governing body to adopt a separate ordinance for the deactivation or closing of each unit.

      As introduced by the sponsor, the bill did not contain the clarifying language regarding the closing of a unit or units within a fire station, including units to be closed on a temporary or rotational basis. The bill also required both published and broadcast notice of a closing which the committee deemed impractical in municipalities not serviced by cable television. The committee intends that the municipality will choose the most appropriate and practical form of notice for the community. The amendatory language would not prohibit both published and broadcasted notice of a closing. The bill also did not contain the requirement that public notice must include a statement of the reason for the closing or deactivation and contain an alternate plan for fire and rescue protection for residents affected by the closing or deactivation, or the requirement that, in the case of a decision of the governing body to permanently close or deactivate a unit or units within a fire station, the governing body must adopt a separate ordinance for the deactivation or closing of each unit.