The U.S. Supreme Court recently agreed to consider whether an Arizona town’s sign ordinance violates the First Amendment, as applied to a local church. Under long-standing First Amendment precedent, content-based restrictions on speech are closely scrutinized and upheld only if they are “narrowly tailored” to a “compelling government interest.” Reed
In 510 Ryerson Road, Inc. v. Borough of Lincoln Park, the Tax Court of New Jersey highlighted the standard of review in Chapter 91 reasonableness hearings. In doing so, it held that an assessment that relied on the recommendations of a valuation firm was reasonable, given that the assessor performed
New Jersey continues to see record rates of foreclosed properties. To help address the resulting neighborhood blight, municipalities now have a new tool to address abandoned properties. Assembly Bill No. 347, which took effect on July 14, 2014, authorizes municipalities to impose penalties on creditors that fail to timely remedy
Senate President Stephen Sweeney, D-Gloucester, and Sen. Joseph Kyrillos, R-Monmouth, recently introduced legislation that would cap sick leave payouts for retiring municipal employees at $15,000. S-2318 would apply to sick leave accrued after the effective date of the legislation and not time that has already been banked. Existing laws impose
New Jersey municipalities should be aware of an important U.S. Supreme Court decision addressing the expanded free speech rights of public employees. In Lane v. Franks, a unanimous Court held that the First Amendment protected a public employee when he testified truthfully about fraud in the work place pursuant to
The New Jersey Tax Court recently considered whether the New Jersey Turnpike Authority should be considered an alter ego of the State for the purposes of N.J.S.A. 54:4-23.8, which provides an exemption for roll-back taxes if lands are acquired by, among others, a local government unit for “recreation and conservation
The Appellate Division recently provided further guidance regarding when quasi-public agencies are subject to the New Jersey Open Public Records Act (OPRA). In Kennedy v. Montclair Center Corporation Business Improvement District, the court held that the corporation responsible for managing Montclair’s business improvement district is subject to OPRA. The Facts
New Jersey municipalities should be aware of a key privacy decision issued by the U.S. Supreme Court late last month. The Court held that police officers must obtain a search warrant prior to reviewing a suspect’s cell phone, even if the search is incident to an arrest. In the digital
