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 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S MESSAGE: GREETINGS & SAL-UTATIONS! 

CALIBRATION & REGULATORY SEMINARS, VOTER GUIDE CORRECTION, AND LEHIGH UPDATE

Our Calibration & Regulatory Seminars are FAST approaching.  We’ve already heard from many members who will be attending these important seminars.  Have we heard from you?

The response and interest in this event has been overwhelmingly positive.  As small business owners, NJGCA members know first hand how difficult it is to survive in this climate, but are doing it day in and day out.  And yet, if tools were available to help make you more profitable and eliminate waste, wouldn’t you take advantage of them?  If we can help you avoid profit-sapping fines and fees, wouldn’t you want to know of them?

This is exactly what this event is about. 

If you sell gasoline, you are hurting your operations if you miss this seminar.  In fact, once you participate in our event, I guarantee you that you’ll be kicking yourself if you even considered not coming.

If you operate an auto repair shop, you are harming your establishment if you don’t find out why USDOL is handing out fines for station owners violating labor laws and what you can do to legally avoid them.  Don’t believe me?  CLICK HERE or just look at some of these headlines from the last year:

• Some northern N.J. gas station owners are ripping off employees, federal authorities say
• Feds target wages at N.J. gas stations
• Labor Dept. probing NJ gas station wage violations
• Investigators: NJ Gas Station Owners Exploiting Workers

And of course if you have underground storage tanks and vapor recovery, you should be aware of the latest environmental regulations so you don’t find yourself on the other side of a hefty citation. 
NJGCA is here to assist our members, but only you can decide to accept that help.  Call today, RSVP with Debbie Hill at 973-376-0066, and attend our Seminar on November 9th or November 10th. 

For more details, you may also CLICK HERE to see our Calibration & Regulatory Seminar announcement.

By now, you should have received our latest edition of On The Road. This is our annual Voter Guide and we’ve worked hard to put together a comprehensive look at this year’s election cycle. 

As we stated last week, we put a lot of effort into every edition of On The Road, but redouble our efforts with our Voter Guide.  If you care even in the slightest about how politics and public policy can affect your small business, you should be reading the latest installment thoroughly before voting on November 8th.  If you do, you owe it to yourself to grab a cup of coffee, find 15 un-interrupted minutes, and go through this edition.

If you haven’t received the latest installment, CLICK HERE 

SPECIAL NOTE: After reviewing our Voter Guide, we realized that we made a serious omission.  In order to find out how candidates feel about issues important to NJGCA members, we sent out a lengthy questionnaire to every candidate.  We use these questionnaires – as well as an incumbents’ voting record - to help formulate our Voter Guide.  Assemblyman Reed Gusciora, who has been a friend to our association, responded to our inquiry, as we asked.  However, in doing so, the Assemblyman typed out his response in a letter rather than returning the full questionnaire with his answers.  Unfortunately, when we processed all the questionnaire data for our Voter Guide, we didn’t include his responses.  This was a severe error on our part and we apologize for not including it.  Nevertheless, we want you to review his answers and have included them below.  Use the printed voter guide in the OTR to refresh what each of theses questions were and to understand the key listed below:

You will recall that Assemblyman Gusciora was the primary sponsor and champion of our Right to Repair bill.  In fact, this proposal passed in the General Assembly in 2009 due in no small part to the Assemblyman’s efforts.  Unfortunately, the measure never made it out of the State Senate and it died when that legislative session ended.  Nevertheless, no other state in nation has been able to get this consumer-friendly legislation passed even in a single legislative committee, let alone a full house of the Legislature.  We’ve already spoken to the Assemblyman to get this bill reintroduced when the new Legislature meets in January, but you should remember his efforts on our behalf this November.

A few weeks ago, I asked for any dealer that is on a rack-plus supply agreement with Lehigh Gas Corp, and feels as though they are being treated unfairly, to reach out to us.  We received calls from a good number of dealers with this arrangement, telling us about any number of problems with Lehigh (unfortunately, we are unable to assist any franchisee/lessee with a Dealer Tank Wagon contract).  However, dealers with a DTW are all experiencing issues that include a lack of maintenance, excessive rents, and punishing penalties for not meeting volume requirements. And, in the overwhelming number of instances, complaints that Lehigh is selling gas at excessive prices to their dealers. 

If you are in such a situation, please call NJGCA headquarters at 973-376-0066 to tell me the details so we can try to assist you.

Last week we discussed MVC’s public meeting on the future of New Jersey’s inspection program.  This week we have no updates or information to fill you in on, but do know that they are continuing to gather information and feedback.  Be sure to look out for any new information on this topic in future editions of the Road Warrior.

Lastly this week, be sure to check out a new NJ Emission Inspector Training class we are offering on November 16th.  This class is for anyone who wants to become a licensed Motor Vehicle Emission Inspector and includes the New Jersey State Specific Curriculum. If you are interested, please check out the details below, and then call Debbie Hill at our office to register!  Don’t miss this opportunity!

Thanks for listening - See you next week!

Regards,
Sal Risalvato
Executive Director

NEWS AROUND THE STATE

10/26/2011:
Forecast: Even with personal income expansion, job growth to stay slow
In revising their economic forecasts from earlier this year, economists from Rutgers University calculate that the state’s economy will not improve as much as originally predicted.  Economists now believe that it will take until 2016 for the state to return to the 2007 peak of more than 4 million jobs. 

10/26/2011:
National roadway travel falls to 2003 levels
The US Department of Transportation has released a report indicating that road travel in the United States has fallen to the lowest level since 2003.  The new figures illustrate that travel for the first 8 months of the years is 26 billion vehicle miles from a year ago.  The most affected area of the nation through August was the Northeast, with gasoline prices likely playing a role in the decline. 

10/23/2011:
As costs decline, solar power becoming more common
Solar energy, which as traditionally been unfeasible as a mainstream energy source, is becoming more conventional and common.  Thanks to inventive financing and higher demand in commercial applications, the cost of solar panels has diminished.  Despite that electricity produced by solar power being about three times more expensive than electricity made from other sources, the number of solar power installations having doubled nationwide in the last year, with more are being planned in the year ahead than any other power source.

10/20/2011:
Biomass gains in popularity, acceptance
With more research and attention on renewal fuels and alternative energies, recent progress in biomass development may see former coal fire plants converted to burn biomass to make electricity.  Biomass fuel made from ‘woody sources’ – such as wood scraps and woody-plant waste – is hailed by many advocates as both ecologically responsible and commercially viable.  Critics contend that woody biomass expend carbon dioxide emissions and may create forest depletion.  Woody biomass is already widely used in Europe, with much of the fuel originating from the United States.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ARTICLES IN OUR “NEWS AROUND THE STATE” ARCHIVE 

MEMBER BENEFIT PARTNER MESSAGE

TMP Energy Solutions
Another Way to Save on Your Energy Bills

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.