Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update 7/15/2020
Special Borough Council Meeting:
There will be a Virtual Special Borough Council Meeting tomorrow, July 16, 2020 at 9:00 a.m. If you are a member of the public and wish to comment or provide public input, please click here to receive the ZOOM meeting link, otherwise the meeting will be broadcast live on the Borough’s YouTube Page.
NJ Tax Filing Deadline Is Today 7/15:
The deadline for filing New Jersey income taxes is this Wednesday, July 15th. The filing deadline had been extended from April 15th due to COVID-19. More information is available on the NJ Division of Taxation website.
Bergen County Small Business Grant Program Now Accepting Applications:
Bergen County Executive Jim Tedesco announces that the application portal for the Bergen County CARES Small Business Grant Program is now open and will run through Friday, July 24, 2020.
The program which will provide financial relief to businesses deemed “non-essential” and forced to close as a measure to stop the spread of COVID-19 per Governor Murphy’s Executive Order 104 and Executive Order 107, will be eligible to receive up to $10,000 in financial relief to cover rent, property mortgage, and utilities expenses. Businesses can visit www.BergenCountyCARES.org to prescreen their eligibility status for the program.
To qualify for the Bergen County CARES Small Business Grant Program businesses must fall under the following criteria:
- Businesses must have a physical location in Bergen County, NJ. Home-based businesses are eligible.
- Businesses must have been deemed “non-essential” within the classification of “Businesses Required to Close” as per the Governor’s Executive Order No. 104, dated March 16, 2020, and further clarified by Executive Order 107 dated March 21, 2020.
- Businesses must only have between 1 - 19 full-time employees
- Sole-proprietorships; LLCs; LLPs; Corporations; and S-Corporations are eligible.
- Businesses owned by county employees and elected officials, as well as their immediate families, are not eligible
- Businesses must have been open and operating on March 1, 2020
Priority will first be given to businesses who have not received any Federal grant assistance, New Jersey Economic Development Authority grants or US Small Business Administration grant or other grant assistance.
In order to be eligible for the program, businesses must provide complete responses to the grant program application found at www.BergenCountyCARES.org. In order for an application to be deemed complete, applicants will need to upload the following items in digital format:
- Business bank statements March - June
- (If Renting) Canceled rent checks or signed statement from landlord for January & February
- (If Building Owner) Mortgage Statements for January & February
- Business registration certification or certificate of incorporation
- Most recent federal and state tax returns
- Water, Sewer, Gas and Electric utility bills from March-May of 2020
- An Affidavit stating company has not received any Federal, State or other funding or Federal/State documents showing date and monetary amount of all received assistance
The Bergen County CARES Small Business Grant Programs is funded through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act Federal relief fund. For more information, please visit www.BergenCountyCARES.org. Administrative questions regarding the grant program can also be sent to BergenCountyCares@co.bergen.nj.us.
State to Expand Job Services — Remotely — at One Stop Centers Starting Aug. 10:
Services for Job Searches, Training, Career Services:
The state Department of Labor and Workforce Development plans to offer a full suite of online and telephone employment services through its One-Stop Centers beginning on Aug. 10.
Comprehensive support for unemployed customers will be offered online and through a series of call centers, which are expanding their capacity. However, in-person service will not be available at this time due to COVID-19 health and safety concerns for customers and employees.
The enhanced remote services will be available at the One Stop Center located in Morris Plains, and North Jersey locations in Newton and Somerville, as well as sites around the state. Find a location.
Remote-access services to be available through the One-Stops include:
- Job search assistance;
- Training and education assistance;
- Career planning;
- Assessment of training needs;
- Occupational skills training and job search support for unemployed adults and dislocated workers;
- Re-Employment Services and Eligibility Assessment, which unemployment claimants find work before they exhaust their benefits;
- Career services for individuals with disabilities, including resume building, accommodating equipment and job placement;
- Online workshops.
The state Department of Labor continues to work with the state’s Economic Development Authority to help workers find immediate, in-demand employment through the jobs portal at jobs.covid19.nj.gov
Services accessible to employers include recruitment assistance, virtual job fairs, apprenticeship programs, on-the-job training, layoff aversion, and incumbent worker training. For details, visit nj.gov/labor/business.
Anyone seeking unemployment assistance is urged to visit myunemployment.nj.gov. It is the most effective method of filing unemployment claims, checking claim status, certifying for benefits and finding helpful information and resources.
The state recently launched a new call center, which allows the department to assist more callers at the following numbers:
North New Jersey: 201-601-4100
Central New Jersey: 732-761-2020
South New Jersey: 856-507-2340
Mental Health Assistance is Available — Don’t Deal with Pandemic Stresses on Your Own:
- Help is Available. Don’t Go It Alone!
- Mental health experts say that everyone reacts differently to stressful situations. How you respond to the outbreak can depend on your background, the things that make you different from other people, and the community you live in.
- If you are concerned about your mental health or the mental health of someone you care about, please reach out for assistance. Talk to a family member, or reach out to call centers that are available to help.
- Oakland residents feeling the emotional and mental toll of CIVID-19 can call 1-866-202-HELP (4357), for free, confidential support. Calls to NJMentalHealthCares will be answered by live trained specialists 7 days a week, 8am – 8pm.
- Also, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services or SAMHSA Disaster Distress Helpline at 800-985-5990 provides 24/7, 365-day-a- year crisis counseling and support.
Health Alert:
Alcohol-based hand sanitizer should contain ethanol or isopropanol alcohol, not methanol alcohol. Methanol alcohol is toxic and can cause blindness and/or death when absorbed through the skin or when swallowed.
Upcoming Board, Committee, Commission Meetings:
Meeting Links and Passwords for upcoming Board, Committee, and Commission Meetings are posted here.
- Recreation Commission 7/27 at 8:00 p.m.
- Sustainable Oakland Green Team 7/28 at 7:30 p.m.
Coronavirus Positive Tests in Oakland:
Today the Borough of Oakland was notified by the Bergen County Health Department that there are a total of 241 individuals in Oakland who tested positive for the Coronavirus (COVID-19). Bergen County has a total of 19,941 positive Coronavirus Cases, and the State of NJ has 176,278 positive cases.
If anyone has questions about COVID-19, you can call the 24-hour New Jersey Hotline at (800) 222-1222. You can also visit the State of NJ Coronavirus Website Here.
Important Resources:
- The latest data on coronavirus infections in New Jersey are available on the New Jersey COVID-19 Dashboard. The dashboard has been updated to provide more information on scope of the virus and hospitalizations, including the number of patients hospitalized, discharged, in critical care, in intensive care, and on ventilators, along with data on statewide ventilator capacity, numbers of positive/negative tests, and more.
- New Jersey’s COVID-19 Information Hub includes valuable resources and information for families, workers, and employers who have questions or needs arising from the current crisis.
- Testing Sites: To locate a testing location, specifics on how to get a test, and the hours of operation, click here.
- Information for businesses impacted by COVID-19.