MORRIS COUNTY — New Jersey Senior Freeze program — also known as the Property Tax Reimbursement program — reimburses eligible senior citizens and disabled individuals for increases in property taxes or mobile home park site fees on their principal residence.

Click here for eligibility.

New Jersey Senior Freeze program — also known as the Property Tax Reimbursement program — reimburses eligible senior citizens and disabled individuals for increases in property taxes or mobile home park site fees on their principal residence.

Eligible homeowners are encouraged to file applications online or by phone. However, some homeowners will be required to file a paper application. All eligible tenants can file online or by completing a paper application.

To be eligible, homeowners must have:

• Been a New Jersey resident; and
• Owned and occupied a home in New Jersey that was their principal residence (main home) on October 1, 2019; and
• Paid the 2019 property taxes on their main home; and
• Had 2019 New Jersey gross income of not more than $250,000.

To be eligible, tenants must have:

• Been a New Jersey resident; and
• Rented and occupied an apartment or residence in New Jersey that was their principal residence (main home) on October 1, 2019; and
• Lived in a unit with its own separate kitchen and bath facilities (if the building had more than one dwelling unit); and
• Paid rent on their main home, which was subject to local property taxes; and
• Had 2019 New Jersey gross income of not more than $150,000.

Applicants can choose to receive their benefits either as a check or direct deposit. To learn more about the ANCHOR program, or to file an application, visit the NJ Division of Taxation’s ANCHOR website.

MORRIS COUNTY — County College of Morris (CCM) will be holding a Fall Open House packed full of informative and engaging sessions and activities, including a raffle to win a virtual reality headset.

Several academic programs will be holding showcases to provide students with deeper insight into different courses of study. Participants also will be able to tour the college’s state-of-the-art facilities, labs and studios. To obtain a solid understanding of the lay of the campus – the Land of the Titans – there will be a scavenger hunt and a raffle for those who take part. The winner will receive a Meta Quest 2 virtual reality headset.

The Open House takes place Saturday, October 22, from 9:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. with three starting sessions at 9:00 a.m., 10:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. on CCM’s campus, 214 Center Grove Road, Randolph. Registration is required and is now taking place. To register click here.

As always, the Open House will provide high school students, their families and adult learners with the opportunity to learn about the highly ranked education CCM provides to meet educational and career goals. Those attending the Open House will be able to talk with faculty and explore the more than 100 degree, certificate and professional development programs CCM offers. They also can learn about the admissions and registration process, and the support services and co-curricular programs CCM provides to ensure the success of its students. Special admissions and registration sessions also will be held for students to secure their enrollment at the college.

Included among its many distinctions, CCM is ranked #1 in New Jersey for best associate degrees and in the top 1.8 percent of the best community colleges nationwide by Intelligent. The college also continues to maintain its #1 position in the state in PayScale’s “Best Community Colleges in New Jersey by Salary Potential,” a distinction it has held for five years in a row.  To apply click here.

MORRIS COUNTY — New Jersey announced a new Property Tax Relief Program which replaces the previous Homestead Benefit program and has expanded eligibility for property tax relief for Tax Year 2019. The Affordable New Jersey Communities for Homeowners and Renters (ANCHOR) Property Tax Relief Program will benefit a large number of homeowners and tenants. Click Here for more information.

The deadline for filing your ANCHOR benefit application is December 30, 2022. They will begin paying ANCHOR benefits in the late Spring of 2023. ANCHOR payments will be paid in the form of a direct deposit or check, not as credits to property tax bills.

They are currently mailing ANCHOR benefit information mailers to homeowners and tenants. Allow until the first week in October to receive your mailer. Homeowners who filed a homestead benefit application last year may be able to obtain their ID and PIN numbers online. Tenants do not need an ID or PIN number to file. Click here to visit the Division’s ANCHOR page for all filing information.

Due to high call volume, the ANCHOR and Homestead Benefit Hotline may be unable to take your call at certain times.

If that occurs, please try your call at another time. Our hours of operation are Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

MORRIS COUNTY — Senator Joe Pennacchio blasted the Teaneck Democratic Municipal Committee for its adoption of a resolution condemning and targeting major Hindu American organizations that it considers to be hate groups tied to “Hindu nationalism” in India.

“It’s concerning that a Democratic political organization whose purpose is to elect its members to government office and to influence public policy would pass a resolution effectively condemning the entire Hindu religion,” said Pennacchio (R-26). “It’s extremely dangerous to target large segments of any ethnic group or religion for harassment using government resources. It was wrong when the entire Muslim community was profiled after 9/11 for the actions of a small number of extremists, and it’s just as wrong for all of our Hindu American neighbors to be treated this way today.”

The TDMC’s resolution lists five major tax-exempt Hindu organizations that it suggests are hate groups with “direct or indirect ties” to a Hindu nationalist organization in India.

Suggesting these Hindu groups share an ideology with “Nazism and European fascism,” the resolution by Teaneck Democrats urges Senator Bob Menendez, Senator Cory Booker, Congressman Josh Gottheimer, and Governor Phil Murphy to request that the FBI and CIA to investigate “foreign hate groups” and their tax-exempt status, among other things.

“Regardless of the religion we choose to practice, we are all Americans,” added Pennacchio. “We shouldn’t try to weaponize our institutions of government to attack other people or groups whose religious views or affiliations differ from our own.”

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MORRIS COUNTY — Director Tayfun Selen of the Morris County Board of County Commissioners today delivered a framed proclamation declaring October 2022 “Blindness Awareness Month,” as he toured the Denville headquarters of Vision Loss Alliance of New Jersey.

VLANJ President and CEO Bill Schuldt was on hand to accept the proclamation. He and Vice President of Development and Communications Jennifer Singer also updated Director Selen on the nonprofit’s programs.  Serving adults with vision loss for 79 years, VLANJ helps people cope and adapt to vision loss, while also providing them with training in independent living skills and assistive technology.

Blindness and profound vision loss affect more than 160,000 people in New Jersey, an estimated 7.68 million people in the U.S. and those numbers are expected to increase as the nation’s population lives longer, according to the National Federation of the Blind.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that 93 million adults in the United States are at risk for vision loss and projects the number of Americans of ages 40 years old and up with serious vision loss or blindness will double to nearly 9 million by 2050.

The proclamation, signed by the Morris County Board of County Commissioners, commends VLANJ for its nearly four decades of exemplary service to the public. It also proclaims October 2022 to be  “Blindness Awareness Month” in Morris County to increase awareness of eye disease and eye care, so all citizens understand the challenges faced daily by our loved ones, friends, neighbors and co-workers with vision loss.

The nonprofit began in Newark in 1943 as the New Jersey Association for the Blind, a place for people with vision loss to socialize. Twelve years later, the organization opened a summer camp in Denville for women with blindness and, under the name NJ Foundation for the Blind, added life skills training to the summer camp experience.

Independent skills training became year-round in the late 1990s, and by 2006, the organization provided a comprehensive, nonresidential vision rehabilitation program for adults. Adopting VLANJ as its name in 2016, the nonprofit added low vision occupational therapy and other services.

Since the onset of the COVID pandemic in 2020, VLANJ has grown tremendously as it added and expanded virtual programming.

On October 26, Vision Loss Alliance of New Jersey will host its annual “Dining in the Dark” event, which allows guests to briefly experience what people with vision loss or blindness must go through when they dine. Attendees will enjoy a three-course meal using smell, touch, taste, and hearing  — but not sight — at the Brooklake Country Club in Florham Park.

For tickets and sponsorship opportunities are available at vlanj.org by Click here.  Contact VLANJ Vice President of Development and Communications Jennifer Singer at jsinger@vlanj.org or 973-627-0055. Prompt 2 for more information.

VLANJ receives the majority of its funding from individual donations, which can be made by clicking here.