Ocean County commissioners to end 14-year opposition to a Homelessness Trust Fund
TOMS RIVER – After more than a decade of resistance to the concept, the all-Republican Ocean County Board of Commissioners is expected to establish a Homelessness Trust Fund as soon as next month, Commissioner Gary Quinn said Wednesday.
Under a 2009 state law that was last amended in 2019, counties may impose a $3 to $5 surcharge on each document recorded in their county clerk’s offices for the purpose of funding a homelessness housing grant program. Some New Jersey counties have reported revenues of up to $450,000 each year from the trust fund, while smaller counties have generated about $50,000 per year.
The grant program can be used to construct housing projects for the homeless or for those at risk of becoming homeless, provide rental assistance vouchers or subsidies for residents in affordable housing units, fund supportive services for the homeless or services to prevent homelessness. A $5 surcharge would mean that a percentage of the revenue would also be used for local warming shelters in the winter months.