Government Services Archives - Malamut & Associates

Governmental Speech Doctrine

A Social Media Strategy For Protecting Ourselves From Ourselves. As we municipal government junkies await decisions from the New Jersey Legislature on whether the Open Public Records Act will be amended, and if so how, the deadline for blog articles marches on. So, let’s use our time together to discuss another issue that many municipalities wrestle with – the Township Facebook Page. Social media has allowed governmental officials to communicate efficiently and economically with their residents. No more printing and…

Affordable Housing

Municipalities must understand the recent affordable housing legislation and prepare now for “Fourth Round” compliance. Governor Murphy recently signed into law P.L. 2024, c. 2, which according to the Governor’s press release, “…establishes a new, streamlined framework for determining and enforcing municipalities’ affordable housing obligations under the New Jersey Supreme Court’s Mount Laurel Doctrine and the State’s Fair Housing Act.” However, the more things change, the more they stay the same. Let me explain. Importantly, the Fair Housing Act now…

Affordable Housing: Is Your Municipality Ready for the Fourth Round?

To ensure preparedness for the Fourth Round of Affordable Housing requirements, stay on top of your annual reporting for Third Round and monitor developments in Fourth Round legislation and regulations.

Handling Municipal Budgets in Changing Economic Conditions

By Thomas J. Hastie, Jr. As our calendars turn to April, your municipality has prepared and introduced its 2023 budget and begun the adoption process. During this time, municipal finance officials became adept at using the concept of a penny to help explain the impact of tax increases on property owners and anticipated revenue through the municipality. Simply put, a penny on a dollar is the amount of additional revenue a municipality would realize if it increased its municipal tax…

New Jersey Public Employers & Separation Agreements – Are Confidentiality, Non-Disclosure, and Non-Disparagement Clauses Still Viable?

By Evan Crook, Esq. When considering the separation of an employee, whether by virtue of layoff, discipline or otherwise, an employer’s primary concern is finality. You want the matter to be over. Finality necessarily includes ensuring that the separated employee does not make any statements or take any actions that would adversely affect the employer’s operations, interests and reputation after a separation agreement has been reached. A government employer’s interests in this regard could be said to be even higher,…

Proxy Liability in Harassment Claims: What Employers Should Know

By Maggie McHugh In a recent precendential case involving a workplace claim of sexual harassment, the Third Circuit confirmed proxy theory of liability in employment claims, holding that the Supreme Court “did not intend for the Faragher/Ellerth defense to be available where the supervisor responsible for [the alleged] harassment was a proxy for the organization-employer.” Where Faragher drew a distinction between vicarious lability and proxy lability, O’Brien validates arguments for proxy liability in Third Circuit litigation. This new development should…

Should You Prepare an Official Statement When Selling Notes in 2023?

By Thomas Hastie, Esq. As we head into 2023, municipal finance professionals have another decision point to consider as they prepare to sell short-term financial obligations: whether to utilize an Official Statement. Every municipality in New Jersey prepares an Official Statement when it sells long-term bonds on its own. And it has been documented that using an Official Statement in the sale of municipal securities can be expected to increase the number of bidders and reduce the interest rate. But…

New Jersey Mandates Improvements to State Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure

By Anthony Drollas Electric vehicles (“EV”) are well on their way to becoming commonplace, but in New Jersey, where transportation by automobile is essential, the infrastructure for charging vehicles remains inadequate. EV owners are learning that buying and installing a home charging and service system can be a significant financial investment, assuming that a connection to a nearby power grid is available. Additionally, “range anxiety” affects those who are uncertain about the availability of and distance between charging locations and…

Recent Appellate Court Ruling Refines and Restricts the Reach of the New Jersey Brownfields Law’s “Access Statute”

By Anthony Drollas Municipalities, as the owners and operators of potable water systems, have growing obligations to protect the public from the effects of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), also known as “forever chemicals,” which have been recognized to pose a significant risk to public health and the environment. PFAS-type contaminants have been used in the manufacturing processes for everyday products for decades. Common sources of discharges of PFAS contaminants to land and water supplies include landfills, airports, military bases,…

Cannabis in New Jersey – Still Half-baked Two Years Later

By Scott Miccio Two years ago, voters went to the polls in New Jersey and overwhelmingly supported the legalization of recreational cannabis sales and use. Over two-thirds of those who voted, supported the measure. Two-thirds! These days, two out of three people can’t agree on much, like whether a hot dog is a sandwich (it is, by the way), but on this, New Jerseyans were in lockstep. Since then, much has happened, but the industry has yet to hit its…