Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 24, December 18, 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,
N.J.S.A. 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,
N.J.S.A. 20:3-1 et seq.
5. The county shall provide a relocation plan
and accomplish relocation assistance in accordance with the Relocation
Assistance Act,
N.J.S.A. 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.
