News & Events
Data shows reduced public participation under virtual-only Lakewood Township meetings
“In person meetings have a value, they provide upfront interaction with the people they represent. It allows more direct participation and provides nuance that can’t be seen or observed or happen when you are on a webinar,” said Marc Pfeiffer, a senior policy fellow at the Bloustein Local Government Center for Urban Policy Research at Rutgers University. “In person requires a little more formality. It requires a better sense of decorum, which is representative of the official nature of what is going on.”
Montclair Holiday Party to Honor Town Manager Raises Eyebrows
“On this surface, this appears to strike a balance. It’s something they’ve done before,” Pfeiffer said. The employees likely have been buffeted by management changes with the governing body changes over the last year. You always have some people who may not like the idea. But here, the phrase ‘don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good applies.”
Why are more and more local governments communicating through public relations firms?
“This is a property tax appeal,” said Marc Pfeiffer, a municipal finance expert and assistant director at the Bloustein Local Government Research Center at Rutgers University. It boils down to “what is the calculation for square footage.”
Residents want Lakewood Township Committee meetings to be in person again. Town says no.
“This is a property tax appeal,” said Marc Pfeiffer, a municipal finance expert and assistant director at the Bloustein Local Government Research Center at Rutgers University. It boils down to “what is the calculation for square footage.”
Pfeiffer Discusses Modernizing Legal Notice Requirements
Without a usable plan, you can’t manage your agency’s technology needs, resources, and risks. How you develop this plan depends on your specific circumstances, but it should balance spending, available time and effort, and competing priorities.
Tech Updates: Local Government Technology Policy
Without a usable plan, you can’t manage your agency’s technology needs, resources, and risks. How you develop this plan depends on your specific circumstances, but it should balance spending, available time and effort, and competing priorities.
American Dream mall says East Rutherford owes it $183M. Here’s why
“This is a property tax appeal,” said Marc Pfeiffer, a municipal finance expert and assistant director at the Bloustein Local Government Research Center at Rutgers University. It boils down to “what is the calculation for square footage.”
Tech Updates: Essential Technology Budgeting
Budgeting for technology requires careful planning, clear priorities, and hard decision-making. This guide will walk you through the key steps to creating an effective technology budget process for your municipality.
Innovative Summer Climate Data and Literacy Workshop
Teachers learned about local climate change data, conditions and impacts and explored NJ ADAPT digital tools, with Rutgers experts Dr. Marjorie Kaplan of the Rutgers Climate and Energy Institute and NJ Climate Change Resource Center, and Lucas Marxen and Dr. James Shope of the New Jersey Climate Change Resource Center.
Webinar Series on Sustainable Healthy Futures: Extreme Heat in our Communities
Watch here: https://youtu.be/90CA63nAzC0 A collaborative research team from The Bloustein School at Rutgers University and Florida State University have launched a three-part webinar series exploring the intersection of community-led climate adaptation efforts and health equity. This series is bringing together practitioners and community leaders to share...
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Comparing ambient and personal measurements of exposure to urban heat stress
This paper reports on a field study of personal exposures to summer heat stress in Elizabeth, NJ, USA, a medium-sized city that hosts an international airport, a shipping port, a petrochemical refinery complex, and a major transportation corridor in a densely...
Tenant Perspectives on Building Electrification in Affordable Housing
Low-and Moderate-Income (LMI) tenants are at risk of being left behind in the clean energy transition. While building electrification's environmental and health benefits are evident, it can pose accessibility challenges for LMI residents, who already bear a...
Assessing the Public Health Impacts: A Comprehensive Analysis of Health Externalities Related to Power Grid Expansion Plans
Power grid expansion decisions often are made based on models that minimize market costs, ignoring externalities that may have significant harmful financial and societal impacts. Such approaches portray an incomplete assessment of the effects of potential...
New Jersey’s Energy-Efficiency Workforce Needs, Infrastructure, and Equity Assessment
Governor Phil Murphy’s Executive Order 315 in 2023 set a goal of ensuring 100% of energy sold in New Jersey comes from clean sources by 2035, and implementing strategic recommendations in the New Jersey Council on the Green Economy’s report Green Jobs for a...