5. Whenever the director, during the exercise of the director’s duty under the provisions of the “Local Budget Law,” N.J.S. 40A:4-1 et seq., to examine each local budget, or upon the basis of any other information and data available to the director, shall find that an eligible municipality is experiencing fiscal distress and may require assistance under P.L.1987, c.75 (C. 52:27D-118.24 et seq.), the director shall notify the Local Finance Board of the director’s finding. The director’s finding of fiscal distress in an eligible municipality may be based on the municipality’s tax rate, cash deficit, insufficient percentage of tax collections, insufficient collection of other revenues, over-anticipation of the revenues of prior years, non-liquidation of interfund transfers, reliance on emergency authorizations, continual rollover of tax anticipation notes, or other factors indicating a constrained ability to raise sufficient revenues to meet its budgetary requirements.

At a time and place determined by the director, the governing body of the eligible municipality, and any other interested parties the director may deem appropriate, shall meet to review the implementation of the provisions of P.L.1987, c.75 (C. 52:27D-118.24 et seq.). The review shall include, but not be limited to:

a. The director’s assessment of the difference between the eligible municipality’s revenue needs for the current local budget year and its revenue raising capacity for the current local budget year;

b. The actions the governing body of the eligible municipality intends to take in the current local budget year to meet the municipality’s revenue needs; and

c. The actions the governing body intends to take to expand the eligible municipality’s local revenue generating capacity for subsequent local budget years.

After the review has taken place, the director shall notify the board of the findings of the review and shall recommend to the board actions necessary to be taken by the municipality, which may include the provision of short-term financial aid.

L.1987,c.75,s.5; amended 1999, c.156, s.3.