N.J. Admin. Code § 7:36-14.5

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 21, November 4, 2024

Section 7:36-14.5 - Disbursement of loan or matching grant

(a) Green Acres shall disburse the loan or matching grant in advance of the local government unit incurring allowable project costs, or as reimbursement of accrued allowable project costs.

(b) For each request for payment, the local government unit shall submit:

1. A Development Payment Request form that Green Acres provides with the fully executed project agreement under 7:36-14.1(f), with the following items completed:

i. The project name, name of local government unit, and county;

ii. An itemized statement of the costs incurred or to be incurred; and

iii. A certification by the local government unit's chief financial officer that the information entered on the payment request form is accurate and that the local government unit is maintaining an accurate record of accounts for the project, including cancelled checks and vouchers which must be submitted to Green Acres upon request.

2. For requests for payment in advance of the local government unit incurring allowable construction costs, the local government unit also shall:

i. Certify that construction of the project has commenced;

ii. Erect a construction sign as required under 7:36-14.4(d); and

iii. Submit a copy of the construction contract that provides a breakdown of the costs for which advanced payment is requested.

(c) Upon receipt of a request for payment under (b) above and approval of all required documentation, Green Acres shall send to the local government unit a payment invoice for the Green Acres share of the allowable project costs, up to the loan or matching grant amount approved under 7:36-13.3(b), except as provided under (c)1 and 2 below. The local government unit's chief financial officer or the local government unit's authorized designee shall verify, sign, and return the invoice to Green Acres for processing along with information related to the bank account required under (d) below.

1. For payments in advance of the local government unit incurring costs, Green Acres shall disburse the loan, if the funding includes a loan, and up to 90 percent of the matching grant.

2. Before final payment shall be disbursed, the local government unit shall submit and Green Acres shall approve the items required for project closeout under 7:36-14.6(b).

(d) The local government unit shall establish a separate, non-interest-bearing bank account for the purpose of receiving Green Acres disbursements for the project. If a local government unit has undertaken more than one Green Acres funded project, it may establish a single bank account to receive all Green Acres disbursements for all of the projects. If the local government unit will be receiving a Green Acres disbursement only as a reimbursement, it may designate an existing account into which the disbursement will be received, provided proper accounting procedures are in place to allow for easy and accurate financial tracking of Green Acres disbursements. Any account into which Green Acres disbursements are deposited will be subject to audit by the State. Upon receipt of the signed invoice and bank account information, the State shall:

1. Transmit each loan disbursement directly into such account; and

2. Mail each matching grant disbursement to the local government unit in the form of a check. The local government unit shall not sign over the check to a contractor or any other person but shall deposit the check into such account.

(e) Immediately upon receipt of the funding disbursement under this section, the local government unit shall have the declaration provided by Green Acres at 7:36-14.1(f) recorded by the county clerk or registrar and returned to Green Acres.

(f) The local government unit may unilaterally withdraw the project at any time before it receives Green Acres funding. The local government unit shall not terminate the project agreement after it receives any Green Acres funding without the written consent of Green Acres.

(g) If the local government unit terminates the project agreement under (f) above, the local government unit is responsible for any costs of the development incurred as of the time of termination. The local government unit shall also repay, with interest at the judgment interest rate established under the New Jersey Court Rules Governing Civil Practice at R. 4:42-11(a)(ii) in effect at the time of termination, any disbursements that Green Acres made to the local government unit for the project.

N.J. Admin. Code § 7:36-14.5