New Jersey Government

Structure & Library Funding StreamsJOHN R. WALLACE, ATLANTIC CAPE COMMUNITY COLLEGE

December 4,

2015

State Legislature

Capitol Building of New Jersey by TheVagabondVoyage / CC BY

• NJ Constitution (1947) established current government: Legislative, Executive, Judicial.

• 40 legislative districts with substantially equal population.

• Each District elects 1 State Senator and two Assemblymen/women.

Source: http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/districts/njmap210.html

State Legislature• Districts re-drawn every 10 years

according to Federal Census data.

• Legislative elections are held in the November of each odd-numbered year.

• Assembly terms are 2 years

• Senate terms are 4 years (except first term of the new decade).

State Legislature• Each Legislature runs for a term

of 2 years new term begins January of even-numbered years.

• All unfinished business expires at the end of the term and must be re-submitted.

• To become law, a bill must pass both houses and be signed by the Governor.

The New Jersey Assembly chamber in Trenton

by (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

Following a Bill• NJ Office of Legislative Services • 1-800 792-8630• @OLS_Leginfo

• Bill Subscription Service

• Legislative Calendar

ABC’s School House Rock

Local Government• 21 Counties

• Board of Chosen Freeholders• Variety of roles and

structures• Can be 3, 5, 7, or 9

members

• 565 Municipalities • 5 types • Borough• Township• City• Town• Village

• 12 total forms

NBC Parks & Recreation’s own Ron Swanson

Funding Streams - Local• 94% of funding for public

libraries is raises through property taxes.

• All Municipal, Joint, and County libraries have a statutorily defined minimum level of funding based on a municipality or county’s property tax base.

• Funding varies throughout the State due to differences in local property values.

Money by 401(k) 2012 / CC BY

• County

• 12 of 14 County Libraries are supported by strictly the municipalities within the county that do not have their own municipal library.

• Sum is raised by taxation and must be no less that 1/15 of a mil per dollar (approximately $6.66 per $100,000) on the assessable property valuation of the municipalities in the county library system (N.J.S.A. 40:33-9).

Funding Streams - Local

• Municipal

• Municipal libraries are supported by local property taxes.

• A minimal level of funding for municipal libraries has been established at 1/3 of a mill on each dollar (about $33.33 per $100,000) of assessable property within the municipality based on the equalized valuation as certified by the Director of the Division of Taxation (N.J.S.A. 40:54-8).

• Increase to the library may be limited to 15% of the previous year’s municipal expenditure to the library

Funding Streams - Local

Funding – State Aid • Grant program provided by the Legislature and administered by

the NJ State Library.

• Per Capita State Aid, offered since the 1960’s, is the major State Aid program.

• Municipal and County libraries annually submit a report to qualify accordingly the regulation standards that include numbers of state certified librarians, operating hours, collections, and staff training (N.J.A.C. 15:21-2.3).

Funding – Network Aid

Funding – Capital • “Capital Projects” include acquisitions of land,

new structures and equipment estimated to be over $50,000.

• County The Board of Chosen Freeholders is empowered to and appropriate money for Capital Projects pursuant to Local Budget Law (N.J.S.A. 40A:4-1 et seq.) and may issue bonds according to the Local Bond Act (N.J.S.A. 40A:2-1 et seq.).

• Municipal Municipalities may do the same. “USACE continues construction…” by USACE Europe District / CC BY

Funding – Federal • Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) • Provides annual funding through the Library Services and

Technology Act (LSTA). • Access, coordination, literacy, workforce skills, preservation

• Each State receives an appropriation based on the base grant and population.

• IMLS funds are used in NJ to fund the NJ Talking Book and Braille Center, statewide ILL, technology and infrastructure.

Other Funding Streams • Grants

• IMLS (Sparks! Ignition Grant) • ALA• Private (Bill and Melinda Gates

Foundation

• Fees, fines, and interest

• Gifts & Friends Groups

• Hustle

Thanks for listening!

jwallace@atlantic.edu