Michael Swayze's Community Resources

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  • 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.

  • LIHEAP Action Day – February 9, 2011

    Today is LIHEAP Action Day. Join with others to press Congress for at least $5.1 billion in federal funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) for Fiscal Year 2012. For a list of local energy assistance organizations and fuel funds visit NJ Community Resources list of energy organizations. You may also wish to make a contribution to New Jersey’s fuel fund – New Jersey SHARES. See their website for details.