Michael Swayze's Community Resources

Author: Michael Swayze

  • LIHEAP Season Extended

    The state sent out an email recently to announce the deadline for energy assistance applications will be extended through May 2, 2011. The reason for the change is that the normal deadline, April 30th, falls on a Saturday. According to their news release “LIHEAP applications will be accepted until closing of normal business hours on May 2nd. We will continue accepting applications for USF all year long.”

    For a list of the local LIHEAP and USF application agencies, income guidelines, and resources for other energy and weatherization programs visit the New Jersey Community Resources website.

  • Legal Services To Release Poverty Benchmarks Report – March 22, 2011

    Date: Tuesday March 22, 2011
    Time: 10:00 am to 1:00 pm
    Place: New Jersey State Museum Auditorium, 205 W. State St, Trenton, NJ

    Legal Services of New Jersey invites you to the public release of Poverty Benchmarks 2011: Assessing New Jersey’s Progress in Combating Poverty —the fifth annual report in the Poverty Benchmarks series prepared by LSNJ’s Poverty Research Institute.

    Attendees will hear about recent trends revealed by data related to poverty and income inadequacy in New Jersey, as well as implications for state action to address existing and anticipated challenges. The release will feature presentation of report highlights, followed by panel discussions and Q&A. More details about the event, including directions and parking information, will be sent next week. Feel free to share the attached Poverty Benchmarks 2011 flyer with other interested parties.

    The Poverty Benchmarks Project is an on-going data collection effort that aims to increase understanding of poverty in New Jersey as a foundation for more effective public response to the reality of poverty and its consequences. This report is the fifth in the annual series and updates key poverty trends and attendant policy implications.

    Please RSVP by e-mail: PRI@lsnj.org. For more information contact Zane Kratzer (x8502) or Shivi Prasad (x8218) at (732) 572-9100.

    Source: recent email from LSNJ

    P.S. LSNJ has since released online Poverty Benchmarks 2011: Assessing New Jersey’s Progress in Combating Poverty. Those interested in reading some of the 172 page report can view it online at http://www.lsnj.org/PDFs/budget/Benchmarks2011.pdf .

  • Tax Benefit For Commuters Extended

    The following article appears in NJ Transit’s FYI Customer Update, February 2011:

    Congress has continued the $230 monthly pre-tax commuter transit benefit allowance through Dec. 31, 2011.

    Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the pre-tax payroll deduction limit for transit was increased to $230 per month on March 1, 2009, while maintaining the existing $230 limit for parking expenses.

    Through commuter tax benefits, employees save on income taxes when they use pre-tax salary toward their mass transit commute and/or qualifying parking benefit. Employers also save on payroll taxes for each participating employee by lowering payroll costs. To find out how you can participate, visit www.njtransit.com/taxbenefits.

    The extension of the commuter tax benefit was part of the Middle Class Tax Relief Act of 2010 passed by Congress on December 16, 2010.