FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, July 09, 2014

Christie Administration Announces $3.1 Million in CDBG Disaster Recovery Essential Services Grants to Seaside Heights and Seaside Park

Grants Will Allow The Two Sandy-Impacted Local Governments to
Provide Essential Services as They Continue to Recover from the Storm



Trenton, NJ – The Christie Administration today announced the award of $3.1 million in Essential Services Grants to two Sandy-impacted local governments in New Jersey. The grants are in response to applications from Seaside Heights and Seaside Park, and will ensure that the two Ocean County boroughs can sustain essential services while they continue recovering from Superstorm Sandy.

The Essential Services Grants are funded through Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Disaster Recovery monies provided by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The State of New Jersey’s plan on how to allocate $1.46 billion in the second round of CDBG Disaster Recovery funds was approved by HUD on May 30, 2014. Essential Services Grants totaling nearly $40 million were announced June 10 for six local governments. The grants announced today and earlier this month are the first of the second round CDBG Disaster Recovery funds to be committed.

"Seaside Heights and Seaside Park were among the local governments hardest hit by Sandy. As a result, they continue to feel the financial impact of the natural disaster and continue to need assistance,” said Richard E. Constable, III, Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA), which is administering the distribution of CDBG Disaster Recovery funds for New Jersey. “The grants will help the two boroughs, which are still in the midst of recovering, provide public safety, public works, education and other basic services that are critical to the residents, businesses and visitors of these towns.”

The Essential Services Grants program launched in May 2013 with $60 million shortly after HUD approved New Jersey’s Action Plan for utilizing $1.83 billion in the first round of federal CDBG Disaster Recovery funding. The program is utilizing $85 million from the second round of CDBG Disaster Recovery funding, plus remaining funds from the first round allocation to continue assisting Sandy-impacted local government entities through 2015 in maintaining critical services, such as police, public works and education, while their communities rebuild. Since the program began, more than $88 million in Essential Services Grant awards have been approved for 14 local governments.

In order to be considered for an Essential Services Grant Award, applicants are required to:

  • Fully exhaust any FEMA Community Disaster Loan balance by the conclusion of the budget year for Calendar Year 2014 or Fiscal Year 2015.
  • Seek all available funds that could obviate the need for an Essential Services Grant.
  • Demonstrate that Superstorm Sandy’s direct impact on revenues and/or expenditures is the reason for the local government budget not being able to sustainably support the cost of essential services.
  • Discuss what steps are being taken to contain costs and provide detailed descriptions of personnel cost restraints, nonessential service reductions, procurement initiatives, etc.
  • Explain what essential services would be negatively impacted if a grant is not approved; and consequently, what essential services would be continued with the receipt of an award.
  • Explain their efforts at identifying opportunities for sharing capital assets or shared services with neighboring communities.
  • Discuss what actions are being undertaken to facilitate the appropriate and timely reconstruction of public and private property, including mitigation efforts against future storms.

Today’s grant recipients are listed below. For more information on the current round of Essential Services Grants, log on to http://www.nj.gov/dca/divisions/dlgs/lfns/13/2013-26.pdf on the DCA website.

County

Local Governmental Entity

Grant Amount

Ocean

Seaside Heights

$2,905,000

Ocean

Seaside Park

$200,489