Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 18, September 16, 2024
(a) A grant recipient under the local aid program
shall be permitted to expend up to five percent of its aid allotment for design
purposes in the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2019, and every fiscal year thereafter
for that purpose.
(b) The Department
will participate in the following:
1. 100 percent
of the cost of eligible construction; and
2. The cost of construction inspection and
material testing, up to a maximum of 15 percent of the final eligible construction
cost of the project, less any non-participatory items.
(c) Department participation may include up to 100
percent of engineering costs in special cases, when requested by the county and
concurred with by the Department. Justification for special cases may include the
countys inability to advance a project due to lack of funds, lack of staff, lack of
expertise, or other extenuating circumstances. Department staff shall recommend
acceptance or rejection of the special case request to the Commissioner for a final
decision. The Commissioners final decision will be based on need, on a case-by-case
basis.
1. A county seeking Department
participation in the cost of engineering shall additionally submit to the Department
the scope of services to be performed by the engineer. Prior approval of the
Departments participation in the cost of engineering fees shall be obtained before
any engineering services are performed.
(d) Department participation may include up to 100
percent of right-of-way acquisition costs in special cases, when requested by the
county and concurred with by the Department. Justification for special cases may
include the countys inability to advance a project due to lack of funds, lack of
staff, lack of expertise, or other extenuating circumstances. Department staff will
recommend acceptance or rejection of the special case request to the Commissioner
for a final decision. The Commissioners final decision will be based on need, on a
case-by-case basis.
1. A county seeking Department
participation in the cost of right-of-way acquisition shall make a request to the
appropriate district office and provide justification and right-of-way maps
depicting the necessary lands and/or easement rights to be acquired before beginning
any right-of-way acquisition activity for a project.
2. Cost shall be limited to the actual purchase
price paid for each parcel of land or easement rights acquired for the project as a
result of a negotiated purchase agreement or, where negotiations have failed, the
just compensation amount awarded by the courts for a particular parcel as a result
of a subsequent condemnation action. All property shall be purchased in accordance
with the provisions of the Local Lands and Buildings Law,
40A:12-1 et seq.
3. Costs associated with right-of-way acquisition,
such as appraisal and administrative costs, shall not be eligible for funding
participation.
4. Right-of-way
acquisition activities by counties shall be conducted in accordance with all
requirements and conditions set forth within the Eminent Domain Act of 1971,
20:3-1 et seq.
5. The county shall provide a relocation plan and
accomplish relocation assistance in accordance with the Relocation Assistance Act,
20:4-1 et seq., and with
all published procedures, conditions, and requirements of the State Department of
Community Affairs pertaining to this statute, when owner or tenant occupants of any
property being acquired for a project will be displaced.
6. Department participation amounts shall be
returned by the county to the Department for properties acquired with Department
participation that are later declared by the county as excess to the project and
sold.
(e) The Department will
not participate in the cost of utility installation or relocation.
