By: Lucy Sorrentini, Founder & CEO, Impact Consulting, LLC​

Cultivating Mentoring Relationships
 
At Impact Consulting, we believe in the fitting transition from celebrating National Mentoring Month to Black History Month. Highlighting the value of mentorship under our current climate is imperative during these challenging times. Earlier this year, nearly 3,000 people joined the National Mentoring Summit to learn from each other, expand the movement, and ensure relationships are prioritized and responsive to the needs of professionals at this time. 
 
As we celebrate Black History Month, we want to acknowledge the pivotal role mentors play in employee growth, development, and engagement. Now more than ever, we are looking to leaders for inspiration, hope and yes, mentoring. 
 
Here's why it matters? Systemic and growing inequity manifests as gaps in opportunity, networks, and access across businesses and communities. Mentoring is what unites us. Mentoring affirms that Black lives matter. Black mentors matter. Black mentees matter. Allies matter.
 
At Impact Consulting, we work with clients to build and sustain a mentoring movement that cultivates quality relationships, where mentees and mentors feel heard, supported, and represented.
 
Click to read more, and find out why mentorship is valuable and worth investing time in no matter what your role. To learn more about our executive, career, and group mentoring and coaching programs and services, contact us!

By: Kerissa Kow, Social Media Content Manager, Delta Dental of New Jersey

February is our favorite month. And, you know who else loves February? Our oral health superhero – Captain Supertooth!
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February is National Children’s Dental Health Month, which puts a spotlight on our favorite things: healthy smiles.

Typically, Captain Supertooth spends the month of February touring schools across New Jersey, teaching pre-k through first graders about the importance of taking care of their teeth, eating nutritious foods, and visiting the dentist.

Although this year’s tour has been postponed, the Captain wants to make sure kids can still hear his message – safely.
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So, this Children’s Dental Health Month, we’ve put together a free Captain Supertooth educational toolkit. Our toolkit contains coloring pages, word searches and jumbles, and videos featuring the Captain. Whether you are an educator, parent, or caregiver, this toolkit can help you engage the youngsters in your life about keeping smiles healthy. And, the toolkit can be used whether students are in the classroom or learning remotely.

For more tips and smile-inducing messages from The Captain, be sure to watch the videos he put together for all the smile superheroes in training here.

By: Thomas S. Dolan, Partner – Property Tax Practice Leader, Murphy Schiller & Wilkes LLP

​COVID-19 has severely impacted commercial property values by decimating rental income and increasing vacancies for income producing properties across the State. Most commercial properties will be over assessed and eligible for a tax appeal in 2021, as many municipalities have not adjusted property tax assessments to account for the severe economic downturn. Further, many municipalities continue to pursue appeals to increase assessments, even during this time.

The time to consider a tax appeal is now. The critical tax appeal deadlines are quickly approaching, and commercial property owners need to be prepared to file tax appeals for 2021 to get much needed property tax relief in order to mitigate against declines in revenue. The Property Tax Appeal group at Murphy Schiller & Wilkes LLP have already begun obtaining taxpayers property tax relief for 2021 and are currently providing free consultation to property owners considering an appeal this year. Failure to meet the important tax appeal filing deadlines may completely bar your right to file a property tax appeal this year. Below is an overview of the strict filing deadlines and process.

NOTICE OF ASSESSMENT – FEBRUARY 1, 2021

The first step in the appeal process is to carefully review your Notice of Assessment. Taxpayers typically receive the Notice of Assessment by the first week of February. The Notice of Assessment will contain important information regarding your assessment. It lists the 2021 assessment for your property, the prior year’s assessment, and the prior year’s taxes. However, it does not include the taxes due for 2021 based on the new tax assessment. Importantly, you will not know the taxes you owe for 2021 until the third quarter of 2021, after the deadline to appeal. The decision to appeal is based solely on the assessment and its relationship to market value, not on the amount of taxes due.

APPEAL DEADLINE – APRIL 1, 2021

After receiving your Notice of Assessment, there is a very small window of time to consider whether to file an appeal. Unless the municipality has undergone a municipal-wide revaluation or reassessment, the strict deadline for taxpayers to file an appeal directly to the New Jersey Tax Court is the later of April 1, 2021, or 45 days from the date the bulk mailing of the Notice of Assessments is completed. This is also the deadline to file an appeal to the County Board of Taxation in every county except Monmouth County. Filing deadlines are strictly enforced. Failure to meet the filing deadline may completely bar your right to appeal your assessment for 2021 regardless of the unfairness of your assessment and tax burden.

REVALUATION DEADLINE – MAY 1, 2021

The deadline to file an appeal in the New Jersey Tax Court and the County Board of Taxation for municipalities that have undergone a municipal-wide revaluation or reassessment is the later of May 1, 2021, or 45 days from the date the bulk mailing of the Notice of Assessments is completed. Notable municipal-wide reassessments this year were performed in Hackensack and Paterson.

WHERE TO FILE

If the assessment is over $1,000,000, the taxpayer may file an appeal in either the Tax Court of New Jersey or the County Board of Taxation of the county where the property is located. If the assessment is $1,000,000 or less, the taxpayer must file with the County Board of Taxation.

DECIDING WHETHER TO APPEAL

Deciding whether to file a property tax appeal requires careful analysis and consideration of your tax assessment, as adjusted by the applicable county equalization ratio, and its fairness in relationship to the true market value of the property. Importantly, in New Jersey, a municipality has the right to file a counterclaim to seek to increase your assessment if it determines you are under assessed. Therefore, failure to properly evaluate your case prior to filing may prove costly. It is vital to use experienced legal counsel to review your assessment to determine the risks and benefits prior to filing an appeal in order to understand the tax relief available and to avoid an unwanted tax increase. As market and property conditions fluctuate every year, it is vital to reexamine your property on an annual basis for eligibility for a tax appeal.

CONSULTATION

To determine whether your property may be eligible for an appeal, the experienced team at
Murphy Schiller & Wilkes LLP is ready to provide a complimentary evaluation of your property.
If we determine that an appeal will be beneficial, we will recommend a strategy to reduce your tax burden and can file and pursue your appeal. As a dedicated commercial real estate firm, our team has invaluable insight into the real estate market and has successfully litigated the value of virtually all property types. Our team also has considerable experience advising on tax exemptions, or other tax incentive programs, that may be available to reduce the property tax burden outside of the appeal process. Our experience and deep broad-based knowledge allow us to consider all options that may be available to potentially reduce your
tax burden.

MD1 Program - better known as MD1™️ - is a nonprofit organization which deploys specialized doctors to the scenes of emergencies throughout New Jersey. When a patient is trapped in a vehicle and cannot get to a hospital quickly, MD1 Physicians deliver state-of-the-art equipment and perform advanced, life-saving procedures directly at the patient’s location. MD1 Physicians keep emergency vehicles with them at all times so they can respond quickly when requested. Services come at no charge to any patient, hospital, or healthcare system, thanks to generous donations from MD1 supporters.
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MD1’s capabilities include the provision of whole blood, also known as low titer O whole blood, a high quality blood product that is carried by only a handful of organizations across the country. Additional MD1 mobile capabilities include services such as ultrasounds, surgical procedures, invasive catheterizations, and dispensation of over 60 medications, including antibiotics.

MD1 Physicians are emergency medicine physicians who have completed one extra year of specialized training in Emergency Medical Services (EMS), or the treatment of patients outside of the hospital. They are available to respond to emergencies across the entire state of New Jersey, 24/7. Almost every MD1 Physician was either an emergency medical technician (EMT), paramedic, firefighter, police officer, or member of the military before going to medical school, further enforcing their EMS experience, skills, and ability to work cohesively with other emergency response personnel on scene.

Any first responder in New Jersey - police, fire, or EMS - can request MD1 to a location by calling a dispatch center where trained individuals are always ready to deploy MD1. MD1 services are requested primarily any time there is a delay in transporting a patient to a hospital, such as someone who is trapped in a car at the scene of a car collision or when multiple patients are injured simultaneously. For such patients who cannot be transported to the hospital in a timely manner, MD1 Physicians can be requested to the scene to provide life-saving interventions. According to Dr. Mark Merlin, CEO and Founder of MD1, “Our doctors have extensive training to provide the same level of care outside of the hospital that patients would normally receive inside of the hospital, when circumstances delay transport to the hospital. By administering medications, delivery of whole blood, and performing advanced procedures in the field, right at the patient’s location, MD1 has been able to improve survival rates and save lives in New Jersey.”

MD1 services are rendered without qualification to the general public in New Jersey. MD1 is an independent nonprofit organization which never charges any patient, hospital, or healthcare system for its services. The program relies heavily on donations from corporations and individuals through its 501(c)(3) foundation, as well as grants, to sustain its charitable mission.

For more information on MD1, please visit our website, www.MD1program.org.