MORRIS COUNTY — Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill (NJ-11) toured Jersey Battered Women’s Services (JBWS) in Morris County, and alongside JBWS President Diane Williams announced her support for the bipartisan Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act (VAWA). First signed into law in 1994, the 2019 reauthorization enhances judicial, law enforcement, and healthcare tools to better serve survivors of violence, and expands housing protections for survivors.

“The programs, protections and funding provided under VAWA help groups like Jersey Battered Women’s Services get women in our state the care and support they need,” said Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill. “When one out of three women in the United States experiences domestic violence, there is no question that Congress must once again come together and reauthorize VAWA with broad bipartisan support. Gaps in the current law were identified by survivors as well as advocates like JBWS, and I’m particularly proud to support the effort to strengthen VAWA.”

“We are so pleased that Congresswoman Sherrill has made the issue of domestic violence a priority and is co-sponsoring the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA),” said JBWS President and CEO Diane Williams. “It was wonderful to host a tour of our emergency safe house so that she and her staff could get a first-hand look at the tremendous need for the many services in place for the families fleeing the most dangerous domestic violence situations. JBWS answers 6,000 helpline calls each year; shelters up to 12 families at a time in the safe house; delivers safety planning, counseling, case management and children’s services; and provides a full-service transitional living program with 11 fully furnished apartments. These services are only made possible with the more than $400,000 we receive from VAWA annually. Clearly, we can’t afford to lose this money and still do the full array of critical work we do.”

Jersey Battered Women’s Services is a non-profit domestic violence agency in Morris County. Since 1978, the shelter has provided protection, empowerment, and rehabilitation for victims of domestic violence as well as advocacy and public education about domestic violence.

MORRIS COUNTY — The 2019 American Cancer Society Relay for Life will take place on Saturday, May 18, at the Parsippany Hills High School, 20 Rita Drive, Parsippany, from 4:30 p.m. until 11:00 p.m. Registration will begin at 3:00 p.m.

This year’s event is being dedicated to Sean Ries, Hannah Cerullo, and Emma Wyman. All three of these superheroes have battled a form of pediatric cancer and are our inspirations for this year’s Relay For Life event! A portion of proceeds from this year’s event is being directly fed into pediatric cancer research.

Anyone who has ever been diagnosed with cancer and their caregivers are encouraged to join the celebration. As the survivors walk, other participants touched by cancer in some way, will cheer them on in a demonstration of support and celebration. All survivors and their caregiver are invited to attend a very special dinner given in their honor at 5:30 p.m.

The Relay For Life is a community event where teams and individuals come together to honor, celebrate, and raise funds and awareness in an effort to free the world from the pain and suffering of cancer. There are three points to every Relay for Life Event, Celebrate, Remember, and Fight Back. The celebration portion includes a special dinner for any cancer Survivor and their Caregiver. The remembrance portion includes a moving Luminaria Ceremony in which friends and loved-ones lost to cancer are remembered. The entire event is a way of fighting back against cancer by raising the much needed funds. 93% of the money raised will help the American Cancer Society provide free information and support for people facing the disease today, and fund continuous cancer research that will help protect future generations from all types of cancer.

We invite everyone to attend this Relay For Life event, the theme for this year’s Relay will be “Superheroes” There will be inspiring speakers that have been touched by cancer, special music, themed laps, a Frozen T-shirt contest, face-painting for children, games and other fun activities, entertainment throughout the course of the event, as well as food, beverages, goodies and so much more.

By supporting Relay For Life, you help the American Cancer Society save lives, and that helps us move closer to our ultimate goal of a world with less cancer and more birthdays.

Thanks to our sponsors: Garden State Elite Volleyball Club, Western Pest Services, South Street Yoga & Nutrition and Parsippany Applebee’s.

If you are a cancer survivor, caregiver or have been touch by cancer in some way and would like to be part of the Relay For Life event click here, or call Cori Mastropolo at Cori.Mastropolo@cancer.org or call (973) 285-8043.

PARSIPPANY — Insurance options for New Jersey consumers remain limited and costly. Assemblywoman BettyLou DeCroce wants to allow residents to purchase policies from any other state in the country.

“Trenton tells us to shop around for the right coverage, but the choices are few and far between and policies can be unaffordable,” said DeCroce (R-Morris). “We should be able to travel out-of-state to save some money.”

Residents and employers under the bill (A5274) may purchase any insurance policy sold in another state, including health, auto, and worker’s comps provided they meet state requirements.

“More alternatives create competition within the marketplace. Buyers benefit from better coverage and cheaper premiums,” DeCroce said. “It’s a global economy today. People shop online, buying clothes, tools and shoes from anywhere in the country. Insurance shouldn’t be any different.

“A handful of powerful corporations control insurance in our state. That’s not the best situation for the little guys, the families, small business people, and retirees. This will give residents an opportunity to cut expenses on some of the most costly items in their annual budgets,” DeCroce concluded.

MORRIS COUNTY — The Morris County Board of Freeholders approved a shared services agreement with Sussex County to house a minimum of five Sussex County female inmates per day at the Morris County Correctional Facility in Morris Township, at a cost of $105.00 per inmate per day.

The freeholders voted 7-0 in support of the three-year agreement that will go into effect on Monday, April 1.  The pact will remain in effect until March 31, 2022, unless terminated earlier by mutual consent.

The contract requires Morris County to make a minimum of five beds available for female Sussex County inmates and pay a minimum annual amount of $191.625, even if Sussex County does not need five beds every day.

“This is another example of smart business through shared services,” said Morris County Sheriff James M. Gannon, who negotiated the agreement with Sussex County Sheriff Michael Strada through the oversight of respective county counsels for both counties.

“We have a sophisticated operation at our correctional facility and this gives us an opportunity to cut our operating costs with the additional revenue from Sussex County,” Sheriff Gannon said.

“This is exactly the type of smart government we should be fostering in our state, to provide needed programs and services in the most cost effective and efficient manner possible,’’ said Morris County Freeholder Director Doug Cabana. “In this case, it makes great sense for Morris County to partner with Sussex County for the benefit the taxpayers in both counties.’’

Opened in May 2000, the Morris County Correctional Facility was built to house 524 inmates but now has an average daily population of about 200 inmates.

The population at the Keogh-Dwyer Correctional Facility in Newton, which opened in 1978, has been declining since statewide criminal justice reform, also known as bail reform, went into effect in 2017, with more arrestees released pretrial, under special conditions, rather than being held in custody.

In 2016, the average daily inmate population at the Sussex County jail was 146. Currently, the daily population is between 70 and 80. Sheriff Strada said the Sussex County jail is antiquated and needs a large infusion of money to bring it into compliance with building codes and the Americans With Disabilities Act.

“We absolutely can take all of Sussex County’s inmates,” said Morris County Correctional Facility Warden Christopher Klein. “It’s a great opportunity because of the shared services aspect.”

A key provision of the agreement calls for Sussex County Sheriff’s Officers to transport female inmates to Morris County and then to subsequently retrieve and transport them back to Sussex County upon discharge.

Another provision calls for Morris County to provide all routine, non-hospital, non-emergency medical services. However, Sussex County would be responsible for the costs of all off-site medical care, emergency care, hospital care, and extraordinary or non-routine medical care given to female Sussex County inmates housed by Morris County.

Sheriff Gannon, along with Warden Klein and Morris County Correctional Facility Undersheriff Alan J. Robinson, said the Morris County jail is uniquely suited to accommodate the Sussex County inmates because of its size, available space and multiple accreditations attesting to its professional operations.

The Morris County Correctional Facility is accredited by the American Correctional Association and the National Commission on Correctional Healthcare.  The ACA recently gave the Morris County Correctional Facility perfect scores of 100 on all mandatory and non-mandatory standards.  The facility also is inspected annually by the state Department of Corrections.

The Sussex County inmates housed in Morris County will have equal access to educational and substance abuse programs, as well as special programs started by Sheriff Gannon that include the Successful Transition and Re-Entry Program (STAR) that assists inmates in re-entering the community, and the Hope Wing, for inmates struggling to overcome substance abuse addictions.

MORRIS COUNTY —  The Morris County Board of Freeholders adopted county government’s 2019 budget, which slightly increases the average tax levy to pay for enhanced social services, public safety, education, modern technology, and a strong emphasis on maintaining the county’s vital road, bridge, and facilities infrastructure.

County homeowners will pay an average of just $11 more annually, or 0.94 cents per month, in county taxes this year to finance programs and services included in the county’s $315.3 million 2019 county budget.

“We carefully scrutinized county operations to make sure we run a modern, efficient and cost effective county government,’’ said Freeholder Director Doug Cabana. “This is fair and balanced budget, which incorporates all current critical needs of our residents while taking a far-reaching look at the county’s future.’’

The operating budget incorporate important public safety and social services initiatives, offered in many cases with nonprofit providers, and dealing with school safety, the opioid epidemic, childcare, emergency medical services, and other services for the county’s most vulnerable residents.

The budget positions the county to address emerging challenges and needs by partnering with its 39 municipalities, constitutional offices, nonprofits, and others entities on a variety of programs and projects.

It also addresses the need to maintain the county’s roads and bridges, and its technology, law enforcement, public safety, educational and recreational infrastructure that are key to the county’s high quality of life.

“This  2019 budget ensures that our county will remain the premier place in New Jersey in which to live, work, and raise a family,’’ said Freeholder Heather Darling, chair of the freeholders’ budget subcommittee. Other members are Freeholders Kathy DeFillippo and Deborah Smith.

“It was developed in coordination with the county’s strategic plan, adhering to guiding principles developed in that plan, in concert with the county’s municipal, school, business, healthcare, nonprofit and community leaders.’’

While maintaining a tight rein on spending, the 2019 budget invests in key programs and initiatives that maintain the high quality of life in the county:

• Maintains and expands public safety initiatives;
• Sustains all human services programs;
• Enhances Stigma-Free tools to deal with opioids and mental health issues;
• Addresses the needs of our military veterans.
• Continues the preservation trust fund that finances open space, farmland and historic preservation, and funds recreational trails and flood mitigation projects.

The budget also supports countywide economic development, protects the top-ranked Triple A bond rating, and preserves a stable level of fund balance required for well-run county governments.

Some new and expanded programs, to be done through partnerships, include:

• Expanding Morris County’s EMS Initiative, to offer two additional backup units for as-needed emergency response service to all 39 Morris County municipalities;
• Rolling out “Navigating Hope,’’ which will deliver critical social services programs into the community, and will partner with the Sheriff’s Hope One opioid initiative;
• Expanding investments in community based Human Services programs operated and managed by nonprofit agencies within the county;
• Creating a Ballistics Laboratory in the Sheriff’s Office, to support law enforcement;
• Supporting the Responsible School Violence Prevention Program for school districts;
• Developing a new services-oriented county website, and new electronic online forms system for public interaction with county government;
• Increased funding for the county park system;
• Addressing the Emerald Ash Borer countywide tree infestation.

The 2019 budget strategically authorizes $33.5 million to responsibly deal with critical infrastructure needs, including county roads and bridges; public safety technology and security enhancements; parks, education and building maintenance needs.

This portion of the budget was reviewed by a subcommittee of the Freeholder Board that included Freeholders Tom Mastrangelo, John Krickus and Stephen Shaw.

$18.8 million is dedicated for public works initiatives and includes:

• Resurfacing of 25.3 miles of county roads;
• Construction of six bridges and design of nine bridges;
• Morris View Healthcare, Historic Courthouse and other facilities maintenance projects.

The planned $7.8 million earmarked for bridge projects (combined with federal and state dollars) is the highest amount allocated for bridge repair and replacement in six years. Projects will target the county’s lowest rated bridges to ensure continued safety.

Some other major capital funding:

• $6.7 million: County College of Morris campus upgrades, including construction of Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering Center;
• $6.6 million: 9-1-1 Communications Center technology upgrades;
• $2.2 million: Information Technology equipment and upgrades;
• $1.9 million: Park Commission improvements, including renovation of Lees Marina;
• $1.6 million: Morris County School of Technology upgrades;
• $1.2 million: Head Start Program expansion and renovation (loan to be repaid);

View the county’s 2019 budget by clicking here.