Local property tax relief

NJDOT issues $67.5 million to 413 local projects

The New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) in October awarded $67.5 million in municipal aid to fund street improvement, rehabilitation and safety projects in 413 New Jersey towns.

Municipal Aid grants provide direct property tax relief for municipalities that would otherwise devote local tax revenue to these projects. Municipal governments maintain over 25,000 miles, or approximately 70 percent, of New Jersey’s 36,000 miles of roadway. Local property taxes seldom provide sufficient funds for proper roadway repair and maintenance.

NJDOT encourages municipalities to apply for municipal aid funding through its Local Aid Division. The grant program covers a variety of projects, including road resurfacing, rehabilitation, reconstruction and signalization.

The Municipal Aid program is directly funded by the Transportation Trust Fund. Each county is allotted a specific amount based on its population and road mileage and distributes funds to towns based on field investigations and engineering evaluations of proposed projects. NJDOT provides 75 percent of the amount of the grant when it awards a contract and the remaining 25 percent upon completion of the project.

The Municipal Aid grant program is popular and competitive. This year, it will fund 413 – or 52 percent - of the 788 grant requests it received. There were more than $200 million in requests this year.

In addition to the municipal aid, NJDOT awarded $5.2 million to Safe Streets pedestrian safety projects in 60 New Jersey towns.

More information is available on the Municipal Aid program.