What New Jersey Residents Need To Know About The Christie Administration’s Proposed First Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery Action Plan
“This plan puts into motion the specific actions we’ve been designing to get relief out as quickly as possible to our Sandy-impacted homeowners and businesses – to reconstruct, rehabilitate and elevate homes, and to get over hurdles for our small businesses to get up and running again. These programs have been carefully, but quickly designed to fill the unmet needs faced by our residents to rebuild in a safer, more enduring way, to strengthen our impacted local economies going into this summer, and to help preserve the unique character of our shore communities as we’ve known them. With this first round of funding, we will also begin an aggressive marketing effort to let people both in the region and across the country know that New Jersey is rebounding and that the Jersey Shore will be open for business this summer.”
– Governor Chris Christie
The Christie Administration today unveiled its proposed Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery Action Plan, which outlines how the State plans to utilize $1,829,520,000 in federal funding. This is the first phase of Community Development Block Grant funds provided to New Jersey by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Additional CDBG recovery funds are expected in the coming months. With this first phase of funding, the Christie Administration is focusing primarily on helping homeowners, renters, businesses and communities impacted by Superstorm Sandy.
Trenton Democrats’ continuing quest to turn Governor Christie’s strongest issue against him suffered a set back yesterday when AshBritt CEO Randall Perkins won over Democratic members of a Joint Legislative Oversight Committee and flummoxed presumed gubernatorial nominee Barbara Buono by calling her on the political motivation of her questioning.
Facing four hours of questioning by the bi-partisan committee chaired by Senator Bob Gordon (D-Bergen), Perkins frequently praised the legislators for exercising their oversight duties, while combatively swatting back Democratic allegations of impropriety disguised as questions.
RedBankGreen is reporting that the Borough of Sea Bright has ended its participation of a federal pilot program set up to get residents displaced by Superstorm Sandy back into their homes quickly, because..surprise surprise, the Sheltering and Temporary Electric and Power (STEP) program was holding residents back.
New April 1 Deadline Allows Additional Time for Residents to Register for FEMA Assistance
Trenton, NJ –The Christie Administration announced today that New Jersey residents impacted by Superstorm Sandy now have until April 1, 2013 to register for individual disaster assistance through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The deadline extension applies for homeowner, renter, and business registration with the Small Business Administration (SBA) for Disaster Loan Assistance, another important step in the disaster relief process to ensure survivors obtain all relief they are eligible for.
“This 30-day extension will help us ensure that anyone who has been affected by Sandy gets the help they need and deserve,” said Governor Christie. “It’s vitally important for people to know that the process of receiving any type of federal disaster assistance – including future grant assistance for homeowners and businesses – begins with registering as a disaster survivor with FEMA and working with a coordinator to determine eligibility for relief. I encourage those who have not yet registered with FEMA and SBA to do so now to get the relief they are entitled to and to ensure their eligibility for any future relief we can offer.”
Following up on the story of the Purcells from Toms River posted last week, my friend Ken Braswell of ShoreGrafx and I visited the Purcells at what is left of their home.
Kim and Jay were sold a flood insurance policy with a $206,000 dollar limit, well in excess of the value of the home. A engineer they hired at their own expense (because their insurance adjuster told them it may take a year for the insurance company to send a engineer) and a contractor told them their house could not be rebuilt and must be torn down. Their insurance company said their house can be rebuilt for $28,000. The insurance company adjuster said he was sending the check and closing the file, regardless of what the Purcells or the public adjuster they hired had to say about it.
Since we visited Kim and Jay, the insurance company has reopened the file and is sending an engineer out to inspect the home. Let’s hope the insurance company does the right thing.
If they don’t, we’ll have a lot more material to publicize.
Congressman Chris Smith and Monmouth County Sheriff Shaun Golden prior to surveying Hurricane Sandy damage
The $60.4 billion dollar appropriation to fund the rebuilding of New Jersey, New York and Connecticut passed in the U.S. Senate last night by a vote of 62-32.
Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ 4), representing parts of Monmouth and Ocean Counties, is calling on his Republican colleagues in the House of Representatives to pass the aid package without delay before the 112th Congress adjourns on Monday.
“The House now has before it legislation that will provide critical federal support to help ease and mitigate the severe hardship on people, communities and businesses decimated by Superstorm Sandy,” said Smith, “There is no doubt that this storm created unprecedented emergencies and devastation and should be treated as such— with no delays, no budget offsets. Immediate federal assistance, resources, and mitigation planning is needed to help restore some normalcy and hope into the lives of the victims of Superstorm Sandy and start the rebuilding process.”
Sweeney wants to pay for beach safety and maintenance by getting rid of cops and dpw workers
Photo credit: www.SignsByTheSea.com
MMM has called Senate President Steve Sweeney (D-Gloucester) three times since he jumped on board with the Senator Mike Doherty (R-Warren) in sponsoring legislation that would ban shoreline municipalites from selling beach badges or imposing other user fees to pay for lifeguards, beach cleanup and policing, if those towns accept federal and state money to rebuild from the destruction of Hurricane Sandy. He hasn’t called back. Steve Sweeney is a kitten. Kitten, kitten, kitten!
Given that he won’t talk to us, we’ll have to judge Sweeney’s crusade for free sand in his ass by what others report he says. The Senate President invited himself to a meeting with the Asbury Park Press Editorial Board earlier this week to make his case for free beaches.
“You don’t charge me to breathe air, why are you charging me to sit on a beach?”
We should be grateful that the top elected Democrat in New Jersey hasn’t figured out how to tax breathing (yet). But really now, our Senate President thinks breathing air (as opposed to grapefruit juice?) is analogous to sitting on a beach? That is something we should be concerned about, especially since this guy is considering a run for governor.
Sweeney told the APP that Belmar and the other shore communities that impose beach user fees should cover those costs by consolidating police forces and departments of public works. He said he would “beat up mayors down the shore” to make it happen “because its not acceptable, you know, to charge beach fees.”
Belmar Mayor Matt Doherty took Sweeney’s first beating:
“I asked (Doherty), how many people live year-round in his town,” Sweeney said. “He’s got a one-square mile town, he’s got 5,800 people. Now, could we run a shared police department? I met his public works director today, could we run a shared public works office?”
“You guys know how I feel about shared services,” Sweeney told the APP. We don’t know if the APP knows how he feels, but MMM thinks Sweeney is thwarting shared services and other methods that municipalities could use to reduce the size and cost of local government. If Sweeney was serious about property tax reduction and more efficient local government he would have passed Governor Christie’s property tax tool kit.
Already Available to Military and Overseas Voters, State Opens Electronic Voting System to Make Voting More Accessible to Citizens Displaced by Hurricane Sandy and First Responders Assisting in Recovery Efforts
Trenton, NJ –The New Jersey Department of State has issued a directive today to county elections officials to permit New Jersey registered voters displaced by Hurricane Sandy to vote electronically. This directive also is intended to assist displaced first responders, whose tireless recovery efforts away from home has made voting a challenge.
“This has been an extraordinary storm that has created unthinkable destruction across our state and we know many people have questions about how and where to cast their vote in Tuesday’s election. To help alleviate pressure on polling places, we encourage voters to either use electronic voting or the extended hours at county offices to cast their vote,” said Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno. “Despite the widespread damage Hurricane Sandy has caused, New Jersey is committed to working through the enormous obstacles before us to hold an open and transparent election befitting our state and the resiliency of its citizens.”
To vote electronically, displaced voters may submit a mail-in ballot application either by e-mail or fax to their county clerk. Once an application is approved, the clerk will electronically send a ballot to the voter by either fax or e-mail in accordance to the voter’s preference. Voters must return their electronic ballot – by fax or email – no later than November 6, 2012, at 8 p.m.
Separate directives issued today enable displaced voters and first responders to vote by provisional ballot at a polling place in a county other than the voter’s county of registration. The deadline for county clerks to receive mail-in ballots has been extended to November 19, 2012, for any ballot postmarked on or before November 5, 2012. Mail-in ballots post marked later than November 5 will not be accepted.
County elections officials have also been directed to print a sufficient number of provisional and emergency ballots to accommodate voters.
Voters are encouraged to take advantage of extended office hours at county elections offices to cast their vote early and in-person. Registered voters can obtain and cast their ballot in-person at their county elections office up until 3 pm Tuesday. County election offices are to remain open, at a minimum, from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm throughout the weekend, until November 5. Voters that have a mail-in ballot and choose to deliver their ballot to the county elections office in person must present their completed ballot to their county elections office no later than the close of polls on Tuesday.
Information is also available by calling 1-877-NJVOTER.
