The Center provides technical assistance
to state and local officials, governmental agencies, and civic groups.
In recent years, the Center has provided assistance, including staff support
and research services, to municipal charter study commissions and community
groups in New Brunswick, Franklin Township, South Brunswick, Beach Haven,
Springfield (Burlington County), Stafford Township, Warren Township and
Vernon, and to such state agencies as the State Apportionment Commission;
the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs; the Governor's Office
of Policy and Planning; and the School Finance Committee of the New Jersey
State League of Municipalities. Public
Information Contest
In conjunction with the New Jersey State League of Municipalities and
the Municipal Management Association of New Jersey, the Center conducts
an annual Municipal Public Information Contest to encourage local governments
in New Jersey to develop or improve their public information programs.
Contact Larry Brown
, ext. 654, for additional information.
The Arthur J. Holland Program
on Ethics in Government
The Center for Government Services, in conjunction with the Edward J.
Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, sponsors the Arthur
J. Holland Program on Ethics in Government, named for the long-time
mayor of Trenton, who was a proponent and practitioner of open, responsive,
and ethical government. The Holland Program provides a forum for the
identification, exploration and discussion on the issue of ethics and
conduct in office for government officials in the public sector. Education,
communication, enhanced openness in government, and increased public
awareness and involvement are the goals of the Holland Program. The
program consists of several components: The Arthur J. Holland Ethics
in Government Fellow, an annual one-year appointment to a graduate student
specializing in public policy in the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning
and Public Policy, an annual session at the New Jersey State League
of Municipalities which features presentations and panels by policymakers,
practitioners, and other experts on local government, and an annual
policy forum which focuses on government ethics and openness in the
delivery and financing of public services.
Policy Seminars
The Center holds two policy seminars a year on current issues of importance
to New Jersey policymakers, public administrators, and citizens. The
annual spring seminar is held at the Bloustein School in New Brunswick
and focuses on a paper written specifically for the event by an expert
in the field. Interested participants attending enter into an open discussion
on the topic. The fall seminar at the New Jersey State League of Municipalities
Annual Conference in Atlantic City is a moderated session that brings
together four to five experts in the public sector. They present their
views on a selected subject and then engage the audience in a question
and answer period. The Center’s policy seminar committee organizes
these programs and is planning its next one on property taxes to be
held in fall, 2005. For more information on future seminars, contact
Connie Burke,
ext 627.
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