New Jersey League of Municipalities

As referenced in our letters of January 18 and January 3, the version of the BRAC that was sent to Governor Corzine is a major improvement over the concept as it was originally introduced.

One, when the BRAC makes a recommendation, the bill now requires a positive vote by the residents in each impacted municipality. Furthermore, the bill does not include a penalty provision. It is thanks to the hundreds of local officials who spoke forcefully on this subject that these amendments were made to this bill, and we appreciate your efforts.

Additionally, the Senate amendments to the bill provide that when a consolidation or shared service is recommended by the commission, it shall recommend for State funding for expenses necessitated by the consolidation plan or shared service agreement. This funding can be provided either by funds made available to the commission for that purpose or by the Legislature or State Treasurer as part of the annual State budget process.

A-15/S-12 requires the Local Finance Board to establish performance measures to promote cost savings in the delivery of services by municipal governments. The Local Finance Board shall also include a training module for key municipal staff in order to facilitate the institutionalization of performance measurement.

Following the promulgation of these performance measures and training modules, every municipality shall submit an annual performance report to the Local Finance Board, which sets forth an assessment of its performance of local government services. Each report shall also be posted on the municipality’s official web site.

Within two years of the effective date of this act, the Local Finance Board shall develop a municipal report card, indicating a municipality’s performance relative to efficiency standards and how its efficiency changes over time.

The bill creates the Municipal Efficiency Promotion Aid Program to reward municipalities that meet performance.

While A-15/S-12 is a clear and marked improvement over previous versions of this bill, the League maintains its opposition. We continue to find this to be a most inefficient and ineffective way to seek efficiency. Furthermore, the development of these benchmarks is problematic, but the League plans to play an instrumental role as these so-callort shall also be posted on the municipality’s official web site.

The bill creates the Municipal Efficiency Promotion Aid Program to reward municipalities that meet performance.

While A-15/S-12 is a clear and marked improvement over previous versions of this bill, the League maintains its opposition. We continue to find this to be a most inefficient and ineffective way to seek efficiency. Furthermore, the development of these benchmarks is problematic, but the League plans to play an instrumental role as these so-called standards are developed through the Administrative process.