2026 Best Practices Reminder - 10/22/2026

All municipalities must submit their completed 2026 Best Practices Inventory to the Division by the close of business Friday, October 30, 2026. Any appeals must also be submitted by Friday, October 30 to bestpractices@dca.nj.gov with the subject heading "Best Practices Appeal."  As in prior years, the Inventory must be discussed at a governing body meeting, BUT DO NOT WAIT FOR THE BEST PRACTICES INVENTORY TO BE DISCUSSED AT A GOVERNING BODY MEETING BEFORE SUBMITTING THE COMPLETED INVENTORY. 

The Inventory can be accessed at https://njdca.dynamics365portals.us/. Local Finance Notice 2026-14 at https://www.nj.gov/dca/dlgs/lfns/2026/2026-14.pdf provides important details. The Best Practices webpage at https://www.nj.gov/dca/dlgs/programs/Best_practices.shtml contains step-by-step instructions, an FAQ document, and an Excel-based question list. These items are available under the 2026 Program heading. Users are encouraged to thoroughly review the Local Finance Notice, Instructions, and FAQ before completing the Inventory. 

Additional Clarifications and Reminders:

-             Questions 11 and 12 - One-Time Revenues: Municipalities whose budgets do not rely on any one-time revenues should answer "Yes" to Question 11, as 0% falls below the 10% threshold. The appropriate response to Question 12 would then be "N/A."

-             Access to the Best Practices Inventory: Access to the Best Practices Inventory platform is limited to the municipality's Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Chief Administrative Officer, and Municipal Clerk. There is currently no mechanism to grant access to additional municipal personnel,

including deputy CFOs, for purposes of data entry.

-             Review of Municipal Officials: CFOs should review the BPI platform roster of officials to ensure the individuals listed as Chief Administrative Officer and Municipal Clerk are current.

-             Printing the Question Sheet from the BPI Platform: Users may access a printable list of Inventory questions and permissible responses by selecting the "Printable Question Sheet" button from the left menu. For optimal readability, print the list in landscape mode. 

Please email Matthew.Gallello@dca.nj.gov if you require technical assistance. CFOs should review the BPI platform roster of officials to ensure the individuals listed as Chief Administrative Officer and Municipal Clerk are current. If, upon logging in, the CFO does not see a BPI link on the home page or a list of municipalities for which they serve as CFO, the CFO must seek technical assistance. PLEASE SEEK ASSISTANCE FOR ACCESS-RELATED ISSUES BEFORE COMPLETING THE INVENTORY. DO NOT WAIT UNTIL THE INVENTORY IS COMPLETED TO ENSURE ALL THREE CERTIFYING OFFICIALS ARE ABLE TO LOGIN. For assistance regarding the content of the Inventory questions, please contact bestpractices@dca.nj.gov.

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Local Finance Notice 2026-12 explains the various compliance, reporting, and procedural requirements for local unit deferred compensation plans. The Notice further provides guidance for plan contractors administering local unit prototypical plans to remain in compliance with the Division, the Internal Revenue Code, and federal law. Please review LFN 2026-12 at https://www.nj.gov/dca/dlgs/lfns/2026/2026-12.pdf for further information. Resolution templates to adopt or update local unit deferred compensation plans are available on the Division's Deferred Compensation Program webpage at https://www.nj.gov/dca/dlgs/programs/De_Compensation.shtml. Please contact the Division at DLGS.DeferredComp@dca.nj.gov for deferred compensation plan assistance.

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Please review Local Finance Notice 2026-11 (https://www.nj.gov/dca/dlgs/lfns/2026/2026-11.pdf) for further details and an updated model ratepayer notice in English and Spanish.

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 For additional information, please refer to: https://cgs.rutgers.edu/programs/municipal-attorney-training

 For questions regarding this program: cgs@docs.rutgers.edu

 Attached is the Municipal Attorney Diplomate Program-Fall 2026.

 Municipal Clerks, please forward to this message to Municipal Attorneys.

 Notice sent to: Municipal Clerk; Municipal Manager/Business Administrator

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The cover sheet is a fillable form and can be found on the Division's website, together with the cost savings calculation form, at the following link: https://www.nj.gov/dca/dlgs/sharedservices.shtml

The cover sheet should be complete and submitted it in its original Excel format, together with all necessary documents, to sharedservices@nj.gov.

Notice sent to: Municipal Managers/Administrators, County Administrators/Managers, Municipal Clerks, Clerks - County Boards of Commissioners, County Clerks, Chief Financial Officers, Fire District Officials

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