Sponsored by:
Senator M. TERESA RUIZ
District 29 (Essex)
Senator VIN GOPAL
District 11 (Monmouth)
SYNOPSIS
Requires municipalities, counties, school districts, and local authorities to regularly meet to discuss shared service agreements.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning shared service agreements and supplementing P.L.2007, c.63 (C.40A:65-1 et al.).
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. The governing body of a municipality shall conduct not less than two public meetings per year, together with the board of county commissioners of the county, the board of education of each school district, and the governing body of each local authority, or any representatives thereof, to evaluate current shared service agreements and the possibility of additional shared service agreements between each local unit. The public meetings may be held jointly or separately among the local units, except that each public meeting shall be subject to the "Senator Byron M. Baer Open Public Meetings Act,” P.L.1975, c.231 (C.10:4-6 et seq.).
b. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the Commissioner of Community Affairs shall reduce by five percent the amount of State formula aid provided to any municipality that fails to comply with the requirements of subsection a. of this section, except that aid shall not be reduced when noncompliance results from the inaction of another local unit.
c. As used in this section:
“County” means the county in which the municipality that conducts public meetings pursuant to this section is located.
“Local authority” means any authority, as defined in section 3 of P.L.1983, c. 313 (C.40A:5A-3), that services residents of the municipality that conducts public meetings pursuant to this section.
“Local unit” includes a municipality, county, local authority, and school district.
“School district” means any local or regional school district established pursuant to chapter 8 or chapter 13 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes that services residents of the municipality that conducts public meetings pursuant to this section.
“State formula aid” means the total current year funding provided to a municipality as Energy Tax Receipts Property Tax Relief Aid provided, pursuant to the "Energy Tax Receipts Property Tax Relief Act,” P.L.1997, c.167 (C.52:27D-439 et seq.), and Consolidated Municipal Property Tax Relief Aid, pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1999, c.168 (C.52:27D-442).
2. This act shall take
effect on January 1 next following the enactment of the bill.
STATEMENT
This bill requires municipalities, counties, school districts, and local authorities to regularly meet to discuss shared service agreements.
Specifically, the governing body of a municipality would be required to conduct not less than two public meetings per year with the board of county commissioners of the county, the board of education of each school district, and the governing body of each local authority, or any representatives thereof, to evaluate current shared service agreements and the possibility of additional shared service agreements. The public meetings may be conducted jointly among all or several local units, or separately between each local unit. However, each public meeting would be subject to the requirements of the "Senator Byron M. Baer Open Public Meetings Act.”
Under the bill, a school district is defined as any local or regional public school district that services residents of the municipality that conducts the public meeting. As used in the bill, a “local authority” is an authority, as defined in the “Local Authorities Fiscal Control Law,” that services residents of the municipality that conducts the public meeting. Similarly, the bill defines a “county” as the county in which the municipality is located.
Additionally, any municipality that violates the requirements of the bill would incur a five percent reduction in formula aid (i.e., Energy Tax Receipts Property Tax Relief Aid and Consolidated Municipal Property Tax Relief Aid). However, a municipality would not be penalized if the violation occurred due to the inaction of a county, school district, or local authority.
The bill would take effect on January 1 next following the enactment of the bill.