New Jersey lawmakers are currently considering legislation that would transfer the management of the Police and Fire Retirement System (PFRS) to a Board of Trustees. Under Senate Bill 3040, the Board of Trustees of the Police and Firemen’s Retirement System would be tasked with overseeing the operation of the retirement
In Bound Brook Board of Education v. Glenn Ciripompa, the Supreme Court of New Jersey held that an arbitrator exceeded his authority by applying the standard for proving a hostile-work-environment, sexual-harassment claim under the Law Against Discrimination (LAD) to a claim of unbecoming conduct in a tenured teacher misconduct hearing. Facts
In Scheeler v. Office of the Governor, the Appellate Division held that third-party requests for documents under the Open Public Records Act (OPRA) are subject to disclosure under OPRA. In so ruling, the appeals court rejected the argument that such OPRA requests lack the required specificity and would constitute an
The Division of Local Government Services (DLGS) recently published a Local Finance Notice regarding municipal levy cap referendums. The notice outlines key dates for 2017 levy elections and discusses an important policy change regarding the healthcare levy cap exclusion. Levy Cap Referendum Deadlines The Local Finance Notice highlights several important
A recent decision by the Tax Court of New Jersey may significantly impact how local property tax assessments are imposed on cell towers in the state. In New Jersey Turnpike Authority v. Elizabeth City, (Novin, J.) (17 pp.) (Feb. 10, 2017), the court held that the New Jersey Turnpike Authority
Gov. Chris Christie has once again refused to extend the Urban Enterprise Zone (UEZ) program. In his conditional veto message of Assembly Bill. No. 489, the Governor characterized the UEZ program as a “program with apathetic participation and a devastating impact on State revenues without any demonstrable benefit to municipalities or
The Appellate Division of the New Jersey Superior Court recently held that Kean University violated the state’s Open Public Meetings Act (OPMA) when it terminated a faculty member. In Kean Federation of Teachers v. Ada Morell, Bd. Of Trustees of Kean University, the appeals court found that the college violated
Gov. Chris Christie recently signed legislation that will strengthen New Jersey’s lead-screening standards for children. The new law is one of several steps that the state is taking in the wake of the water crisis in Flint, Michigan. This summer, the state also implemented new requirements for lead testing in
