Bill Text: NJ A4308 | 2018-2019 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Limits municipal and county expenditures during fourth quarter of fiscal year; requires portion of unexpended municipal and county appropriations to be reimbursed to taxpayers.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-07-30 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly State and Local Government Committee [A4308 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2018-A4308-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman ROY FREIMAN
District 16 (Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex and Somerset)
SYNOPSIS
Limits municipal and county expenditures during fourth quarter of fiscal year; requires portion of unexpended municipal and county appropriations to be reimbursed to taxpayers.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning local finances and supplementing chapter 4 of Title 40A of the New Jersey Statutes and chapter 23 of Title 40 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. A municipality shall not expend more than 30 percent of the total amount appropriated in the current year during the fourth quarter of the fiscal year, except that a municipality may expend more than that amount if:
a. the expenditures are made during a time of emergency, as authorized by the governing body of the municipality by resolution adopted by not less than 2/3 of its full membership; and
b. the governing body of the municipality first conducts a public hearing on the proposed expenditures, provided that notice of the date, time, place, and purpose of the public hearing shall be advertised at least 10 days prior to the hearing in a newspaper having substantial circulation in the municipality.
2. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, if at the end of a fiscal year there exists an unexpended balance of the total amount appropriated for municipal purposes, an amount not less than 50 percent of the unexpended balance shall be distributed to the property taxpayers of the municipality in the form of a property tax credit, as follows:
a. the credit provided to each property taxpayer shall equal the portion of the total unexpended balance of municipal appropriations to be credited, multiplied by the property taxpayer's proportionate share of the municipal tax levy, except that a property taxpayer shall not receive a credit in excess of the total amount of property taxes due and payable by the taxpayer in the current tax year. A taxpayer who is delinquent on property taxes or other municipal charges shall not receive a credit; and
b. the municipality shall apply the amount of the credit, as calculated by the chief financial officer of the municipality, toward the next property tax bill to be issued to the taxpayer following the end of the fiscal year from which the unexpended balances is credited. The property tax bill shall indicate the amount of the credit applied to the taxpayer pursuant to the provisions of this section.
3. A county shall not expend more than 30 percent of the total amount appropriated in the current year during the fourth quarter of the fiscal year, except that a county may expend more than that amount if:
a. the expenditures are
made during a time of emergency, as authorized by the board of chosen
freeholders by resolution adopted
by not less than 2/3 of its full membership; and
b. the board of chosen freeholders first conducts a public hearing on the proposed expenditures, provided that notice of the date, time, place, and purpose of the public hearing shall be advertised at least 10 days prior to the hearing in a newspaper having substantial circulation in the county.
4. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, if at the end of a fiscal year there exists an unexpended balance of the total amount appropriated for county purposes, an amount not less than 50 percent of the unexpended balance shall be distributed to the property taxpayers of the county in the form of a property tax credit, as follows:
a. the credit provided to each property taxpayer shall equal the portion of the total unexpended balance of county appropriations to be credited, multiplied by the property taxpayer's proportionate share of the county tax levy, except that a property taxpayer shall not receive a credit in excess of the total amount of property taxes due and payable by the taxpayer in the current tax year. A taxpayer who is delinquent on property taxes or other municipal charges shall not receive a credit;
b. the chief financial officer of the county shall notify the chief financial officer of each municipality located within the county of the amounts to be credited to the property taxpayers of the county pursuant to subsection a. of this section; and
c. each municipality located within the county shall apply the amount of the credit, as calculated by the chief financial officer of the municipality, toward the next property tax bill to be issued to the taxpayer following the end of the fiscal year from which the unexpended balance is credited. The property tax bill shall indicate the amount of the credit applied to the taxpayer pursuant to the provisions of this section.
5. The Commissioner of Community Affairs shall promulgate rules and regulations, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), to effectuate the provisions of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), on or before the first day of the sixth month following the date of enactment.
6. This act shall take effect immediately, except that the provisions of sections 2 and 4 shall remain inoperative until the first day of the sixth month following the date of enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill limits municipal and county government spending during the fourth quarter of the fiscal year. The bill also requires a portion of the unexpended balances of municipal and county appropriations to be reimbursed to each taxpayer in the form of a property tax credit.
The bill provides that not more than 30 percent of the total appropriations of a municipal or county government may be spent during the final quarter of the fiscal year, except that a municipality or county may expend more than that amount by: (1) adopting an emergency measure declaring a fiscal emergency by an affirmative vote of at least 2/3 of the full membership of its governing body; and (2) first conducting a public hearing on the proposed expenditures, subject to a 10-day advance notice requirement.
Under current law, the year-end unexpended balances of local government appropriations are held as appropriation reserves during the next succeeding fiscal year and thereafter lapsed for general municipal use. The provisions of the bill would instead require not less than 50 percent of the total amount of unexpended municipal or county appropriations to be reimbursed to each taxpayer residing in the applicable jurisdiction in the form of a property tax credit.
Under the bill, the amount of each reimbursement credit would be distributed amongst the property taxpayers in a proportional manner according to the taxpayer's share of the total tax levy, provided that a reimbursement credit may not exceed the amount owed in property taxes in the current year, and a delinquent property taxpayer may not receive the credit. The reimbursement would be credited to the next property tax bill to be issued following the end of the fiscal year from which the unexpended balances have been credited.
It is the intent of the sponsor to incorporate principles of sound financial planning into local government and limit the potential for frivolous end-of-year spending.
