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July 13, 2012 Here's what you'll find in this edition: CLASSIFIEDS: FOR SALE! NEWS AROUND THE STATE TRAINING CLASS SCHEDULE MEET THE FOLKS AT LIBERTY GAS MEMBER BENEFIT PARTNER MESSAGE A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM BELLOMO FUELS POLITICAL PARTICIPATON: THE NJGCA PAC
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S MESSAGE: GREETINGS & SAL-UTATIONS! WHOPPER DIVIDEND JUST PAID I am very thrilled to announce this week that a whopper of a dividend was just given out to those members who are enrolled in the NJGCA/AMT Health Coverage Program. Now I know all of you are purchasing health coverage from somebody already, and if you are not purchasing it from Association Master Trust (AMT) then you are likely losing out on a whole lot of savings. NJGCA members in good standing as of Dec 31st who purchased their health coverage through AMT in 2011 all just received a dividend that equaled 3.3% of the total premiums they paid in 2011. That meant that the average dividend was over $1,000. We had many members that received over $2,000 and still many who received over $3,000 and $4000. If you are buying from someone else then you probably paid a higher premium to begin with, and I’ll bet that they didn’t send you ANY dividend. Instead, your dividend was paid to their stockholders. How does AMT work? How can AMT give out these big dividends to their customers (NJGCA Members) when other health insurance companies can’t? AMT is a self funded trust that has been organized and grandfathered under the laws of New Jersey. It consists of NJGCA and 12 other trade associations; and state law dictates that only members of those 13 associations are allowed to purchase AMT Health Coverage. Does everyone save money by purchasing their health coverage from AMT? Unfortunately, no, not every single person is guaranteed a cheaper plan. There are some isolated cases where because of the demographics of a particular business, that business may not achieve a savings. However they are rare and if you call for a quote and AMT can’t save you money then they will be honest and tell you to stick with what you have. A solid nine out of every 10 businesses who get quoted save lots of money, and that savings comes even before any dividends are paid back. Dividends are only declared after an evaluation of the claims that were paid by the trust out of the premiums received, and when there’s money left over it is sent back to the participants in the plan instead of stockholders. In essence the plan holders are the stock holders!. It’s stuff like this that really makes clear the value of being a member of NJGCA. It’s not just the work Eric and I do year round in Trenton, fighting against bills that would cripple your ability to do business and advocating for bills that will give you a fighting chance against big business. It’s not just the ability to have professionals like Debbie, Greg, and I that you can call or email at anytime to get assistance if you have a problem and need help with your business. It’s not just the steady stream of reliable and important information sent out from Nick and myself in the form of weekly emails, quarterly newsletters, and various conferences that allow you stay up to date with the industry. It’s also stuff like this dividend, and if you are enrolled in our workers’ comp program then last year you probably got a check for another $300-400. That’s not to mention all the other savings you get on all sorts of products or services from our Member Benefit Partners, who I ensure offer NJGCA members the lowest rates (and if they don’t I drive my car though their house). If you’ve ever wanted to see a concrete example of the benefits of being an NJGCA member, all you had to do was take a look at that dividend and I think it’s safe to say all the value was there. About a month ago I made mention to you of a meeting the NJDEP called with several industry stakeholders. At that meeting they told us they were concerned about the approximately 400 sites in New Jersey that are presently being remediated and were required to hire a licensed site remediation professional (LSRP) but had yet to do so. At that meeting, they told us they planned to send out a letter to everyone not in compliance before they began a stepped up effort to bring every UST owner into compliance. This week those letters started going out. You can read that letter by CLICKING HERE. There will be costly penalties if you don’t comply, for starters they will refuse to renew your UST registration the next time it is due. If you have questions or need help please contact the office and Debbie will be able to help guide you through the process to be sure that you are in proper compliance. The phone number is 973-376-0066 or email Debbie@njgca.org. For the last few weeks I’ve been giving you updates on the status of S-1928, which enacts several changes to the state’s laws governing gift cards. Many of you have expressed concern because you sell gift cards at your location. The bill, which sought to undo or delay several onerous provisions put in place two years ago was passed by the Legislature on June 25th with the support of almost every member. The push for the changes came as a result of the announcement by several of the biggest gift card companies announcing they would rather stop selling gift cards in New Jersey than comply with the changes. On June 29th the Governor signed the bill into law. Not long after InComm, (one of the major companies who had announced they would have stopped selling gift cards on June 30th) will indeed continue to sell gift cards in New Jersey, which include such brands as Visa and MasterCard. The main issue for them is the provision requiring the zip code of every gift card customer to be collected at the point of sale. While that section of the law was unfortunately not repealed, it has been delayed for 4 more years. On June 28th the Legislature passed the Fiscal Year 2013 Budget and then hit the road for the summer. The Governor vetoed millions worth of the spending that had been added, and then signed the rest of the budget into law. He also vetoed another attempt to institute a Millionaire’s tax increase. Unhappy that the Legislature did not agree to a definite tax cut plan, he used his power to call them into session on July 2nd. After listening to his speech calling on them to pass guaranteed tax relief, they decided instead not to have a vote and went home for the summer. Although Senate President Steve Sweeney has scheduled Senate Committee dates and possible session voting dates, we do not expect anything meaningful to happen in the Legislature until at least September, and as such our weekly installments the Policy Patrol and Manure Pile will be having the summer off. Hopefully, the last 6 months of weekly reminders of all the important legislation that is dealt with in Trenton allowed you to appreciate what a huge role the state government has in your ability to do business, as well as how important it is to have someone down there representing your interests. And hopefully the last 6 months of a weekly reminder of whatever the latest dimwitted idea to come from our elected leaders has not caused you to lose faith in the concept of representative democracy! It reminds me of that quote from Winston Churchill, “democracy is the worst form of government except for all of the others.” Thanks for listening – See you next week. Regards,
Equipment currently for sale, NJGCA member recently closed his shop. NJ2009 PIF BASE Stationary Unit (OBD Only) asking $2900. Call (908) 403-3088.
7/12/2012: 7/12/2012: 7/11/2012: 7/10/2012:
TRAINING CLASSES!! NEW JERSEY EMISSION INSPECTOR TRAINING PLEASE NOTE: FUTURE DATES WILL BE ADDED UPON REQUEST AND ACCORDING TO DEMAND. CONTACT DEBBIE at 973-376-0066 or DEBBIE@NJGCA.ORG TO LET HER KNOW YOU ARE INTERESTED IN TAKING A SPECIFIC CLASS. THIS WILL ALLOW US TO GAUGE YOUR NEEDS AND KEEP TRACK OF THOSE WISHING TO PARTICIPATE!!
MEMBER BENEFIT PARTNER MESSAGE TMP Energy Solutions We have had a number of NJGCA members successfully reduce their rate per kWh signing up through our energy saving program. We know it’s difficult to collect 12 months worth of previous electric bills to get an “accurate” analysis when comparing a variable rate to a fixed rate, but we now have another option available. This new solution is a power purchase option; the other program is still in full force and has saved members thousands of dollars. If you sign up for the power purchase option, you will be grouped with other NJGCA members until the minimum KW demand is acquired. By pooling the member’s usage together, you will be able to take advantage, as large energy users do, and receive a lower kWh rate. Each member will receive their own contract. Each member is responsible to sign and return the agreement the day it is received in order to secure the price for their group. Please do your due diligence, so when you receive the proposal and the agreement you will be able to make an intelligent decision. If by chance, you still want us to assess you bills, to give you a price to compare, we will require12 months of your most recent utility bills. There are no bills required, but we would still like to have one bill per meter on file to check account #’s, meter #’s service addresses and other pertinent information incase there is a problem. The term of the agreement is for 12 months. During this term period, you will have price protection against any energy price increases along with a low fixed kWh rate. If you are interested in becoming part of this power purchase option, please contact Phil Apruzzi at the NJGCA. Remember when you sign up your energy through the NJGCA Energy Program, TMP makes a considerable donation to the NJGCA Scholarship Fund through their proceeds. This has no affect on your rate, and costs you nothing out of pocket. We hope to help hundreds of NJGCA members reduce their utility costs by participating in this and our other cost reduction programs. Our purpose, in the endeavor, is to help NJGCA members lower their energy costs while supporting the NJGCA Scholarship Fund. Contact Phil Apruzzi at 973-376-0066 or email Phil at phil@njgca.org. Mention that you are interested in saving money on your energy bills. NJGCA & TMP Energy Solutions will handle all the rest.
POLITICAL PARTICIPATON: THE NJGCA PAC
Promoting our agenda in Trenton is of utmost importance to NJGCA and our members. We defeated BELOW COST SELLING We made history in getting FIRST RIGHT OF REFUSAL signed into law! We have built large support for RIGHT TO REPAIR and got it passed out of the Assembly We defended your small business against the false accusations of Attorney General Anne Milgram We gained wide support to move New Jersey to an all PIF Inspection System and close the CIF lanes ...and MUCH MORE!! In each instance, we achieved these goals with the help of our friends in the Legislature! If every member contributes just $100.00 we will be able to provide the help necessary to ensure victory for our allies. PLEASE SEND YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS TO: I understand that times are tough for all NJGCA members, but this is just as important as any battle we have fought in the past. We have made great progress in Trenton. I hope that you will answer the call. ?
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