Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 24, December 18, 2024
(a) The
annual budget for every municipality shall include a section called the
"User-Friendly Budget." The user-friendly budget section shall be part of and
incorporated into both the introduced and adopted budgets, and be made
available to the public.
(b) The
user-friendly budget shall be in a format set forth by the Director, who shall
provide standard forms for required use by each municipality, and be submitted
electronically and in such other manner as may be set forth by the Director.
The municipality need only submit to the Director the user-friendly budget
section of the adopted budget; however, the Director may request from the
municipality the user-friendly budget section corresponding with the introduced
budget.
(c) All user-friendly
budget data and information shall be for the current budget year unless
otherwise stated; however, the Director shall have the discretion to require
any current year data and information to be compared versus the prior
year.
(d) The user-friendly budget
section shall include the following:
1. For
the prior and current year as appropriate, information pertaining to the tax
levy and tax rate for each local government taxing entity;
2. Information pertaining to the prior year's
tax collection rate, as well as the calculation for the current budget year of
the reserve for uncollected taxes;
3. A summary of anticipated revenue for all
operating funds for the current budget year, with a comparison versus the prior
budget year. This item shall also include surplus;
4. A summary of appropriations by service
type, with a comparison versus the prior budget year. This item shall also
include information on how personnel are budgeted amongst various
departments;
5. An individual
listing of all structural imbalances, including any offsets, with the amount
and a description for each;
6.
Aggregate values of assessed and exempt properties, divided by category, as of
the prior year;
7. The average
ratio of assessed to true value and the equalized valuation of all taxable
properties as of the prior year;
8.
Information pertaining to the budgetary impact of property tax appeals as of
the prior year;
9. As of the close
of the prior budget year, the number and value of outstanding five-year tax
exemptions/abatements awarded pursuant to
N.J.S.A. 40A:21-1 et seq., divided by
category;
10. As of the close of
the prior budget year, the number and value of outstanding long-term tax
exemptions awarded pursuant to
N.J.S.A. 40A:20-1 et seq. For long-term tax
exemptions, the Director may require that each project be broken down
individually by project name and type;
11. Budgeted personnel costs, which shall
also include costs relating to elected officials;
12. A statement as to whether the
municipality is subject to the provisions of the New Jersey Civil Service Law,
Title 11A of the New Jersey Statutes;
13. The net employer cost of medical and
prescription health benefits provided to employees, retirees, and elected
officials;
14. As of the final day
of the prior budget year:
i. The gross number
of days of accumulated absences and the dollar value of the same as of the
final day of the prior budget year, broken down by bargaining unit in the case
of unionized employees, and by individual position in the case of non-unionized
employees with those non-union employees holding more than one position
reported based on the accumulated absence liability for all positions
held;
ii. For each collective
bargaining unit or individual position, the legal basis for the benefit;
and
iii. The number of individuals,
regardless of whether part of a collective bargaining unit, that are subject to
restrictions on accumulated absence compensation and/or accumulation pursuant
to P.L.
2007, c. 92 or
P.L.
2010, c. 3.
15. Gross and net municipal and
utility fund(s) debt;
16.
Outstanding principal and interest for bonds, bond anticipation notes, utility
fund(s), loans, guarantees, capital/equipment leases, and other debt. In
addition to the current year, such information may be displayed for the prior
year and future years at the discretion of the Director;
17. Per capita gross/net debt based on most
recent census data;
18. Net debt as
percentage of the average property valuation over three years;
19. If rated, the bond rating along with the
year of last bond rating; and
20. A
listing of each shared service provided or received, what entity or entities
are providing or receiving the service, the beginning and end date of the
agreement as applicable, and the amount either received or paid for the
service.
