New Jersey Administrative Code › Title 5 - COMMUNITY AFFAIRS › Chapter 31 - LOCAL AUTHORITIES › Subchapter 1 - GENERAL PROVISIONS › Section 5:31-1.2 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 14, July 15, 2024
The following words and terms as used in this chapter, shall have
				  the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
"Act" means the Local Authorities Fiscal Control Law, L. 1983, c.
				  313 (N.J.S.A. 40A:5A-1 et seq.).
"Authority" means a body, public and corporate, created by one or
				  more municipalities or counties pursuant to any law authorizing that creation, which
				  law provides that the public body so created has at least the following powers:
1. To adopt and use a corporate
				seal;
2. To sue and be sued;
3. To acquire and hold real or personal property
				for its purposes; and
4. To provide for
				and secure the payment of its bonds or other obligations, or to provide for the
				assessment of a tax on real property within its district, or to impose charges for
				the use of its facilities, or any combination thereof; but shall not include any
				public body for which Federal or State fiscal controls differing from those imposed
				by the Act, have been explicitly established by law, but only to the extent of that
				difference.
"Audit" means an examination of the financial statements of an
				  authority in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards as promulgated by
				  the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants by the independent auditor or
				  by the Division of Local Government Services engaged by the authority, in the manner
				  more specifically described by these regulations.
"Audit report" means the report on the results and findings of
				  the audit by the independent auditor or by the Division of Local Government Services
				  engaged by the authority. "Budget" means the budget of an authority.
"Capital budget" means the first year of a capital program.
"Capital program" means a projected, multi-year plan and schedule
				  for capital projects, which shall set forth among other things all prospective
				  financing sources including, but not limited to, proceeds of bond sales, grants and
				  budget appropriations.
"Capital project" means any of the following activities or
				  undertakings that an authority is empowered to bond for, with an estimated useful
				  life of five years or more, regardless of the financing sources:
1. Acquisition and/or development of
				land;
2. Acquisition of equipment,
				furnishings or other personal property;
3. Acquisition, construction, improvement and/or
				renovation of buildings, roads, utilities, structures improvements or public
				works;
4. Any other matter for which an
				authority is empowered to issue bonds.
"Chief financial officer" means the individual holding overall
				  management responsibility for the authority's finances.
"Director" means the Director of the Division of Local Government
				  Services in the Department of Community Affairs.
"Division" means the Division of Local Government Services in the
				  Department of Community Affairs.
"Energy cost" means the cost of electricity, fuel oil, gasoline,
				  heating oil, natural gas, or other source of energy connected to the operation of a
				  regional sewerage authority.
"Financing agreement" means an agreement of a local unit or units
				  intended to provide security for an issue of obligations of an authority, including,
				  but not limited to, a contract providing for payments by a local unit or units with
				  respect to use, services or provision of the project, facility or public improvement
				  of an authority or payments for debt service therefor.
"Fire district" means a local unit created by a municipality
				  pursuant to 40A:14-70 et seq.
"Full membership" means the number of members of the governing
				  body when all seats are filled.
"Fund balance utilized" shall have the same meaning as the term
				  "surplus" as used in
				  40A:14-78.8(a).
"Governing body" means the Board having control of the finances of
				  an authority.
"Housing authority" means an authority created or continued
				  pursuant to 40A:12A-1 et seq. Generally, housing
				  authorities exist to provide for housing for qualified individuals in accordance
				  with the rules and regulations prescribed by the U.S. Department of Housing and
				  Urban Development (HUD).
"Length of service award program" or "LOSAP" means a system
				  established to provide tax-deferred income benefits to active volunteer firefighting
				  members of a fire district, pursuant to
				  P.L.
				  1997, c. 388 (40A:14-183 et seq.).
"Local Finance Board" means the Local Finance Board in the
				  Division of Local Government Services in the Department of Community Affairs.
"Local unit or units" means a county or municipality which created
				  or joined in the creation of an authority, or which proposes to create or join in
				  the creation thereof, or which has entered or proposes to enter into a financing
				  agreement with an authority.
"Operations" means all activities of an authority conducted in
				  accordance with
				  40A:5A-1 et seq. and any other
				  legislation governing the affairs of the authority.
"Project financing" means the financing by an authority of a
				  facility for the benefit of the inhabitants of a local unit or units and includes
				  payment for the design and plan for the facility.
"Redevelopment agency" means a redevelopment agency created
				  pursuant to subsection a. of
				  section
				  11 of P.L. 1992, c. 79 (40A:12A-11(a)
				   ) or established heretofore pursuant to the
				  "Redevelopment Agencies Law" (N.J.S.A. 40:55C-1et seq.).
" Regional sewerage authority" means a regional authority
				  established by two or more municipalities or counties pursuant to the Sewerage
				  Authorities Law,
				  N.J.S.A.
				  40:14A-1et seq., located in a county of the first
				  class with a population of over 600,000 and a population density of over 10,000
				  persons per square mile according to the latest Federal decennial census.
"Restricted fund balance" means the accumulation of funds reserved
				  for use as capital improvements or as down payments for a fixed asset acquisition,
				  that must be used exclusively for its intended purpose.
"Security agreement" means a bond resolution of an authority, or a
				  trust indenture to be executed by an authority, or other similar proceeding or
				  document.
"Service transfer" means the transfer to another local unit of the
				  responsibility for funding the cost of a service. Shared service agreements shall
				  not be considered service transfers.
"Sponsoring agency" means any fire district which adopts a length
				  of service award program.
"Unrestricted net position" means the equity account that
				  represents accumulated net earnings over expenditures that have been retained from
				  an authority operation and are not restricted for any special purpose, thereby
				  making such funds available as a reduction to total operating and non-operating
				  appropriations.