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Road Warrior Newsletter


January 4, 2018

Dear NJGCA Member:

Thank you for reading this week's NJGCA Road Warrior!

Here is what you will find in this edition:

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S MESSAGE:
• Sales Tax Cut Reminder; Oregon Self-Serve; Gouging Laws Possible

NJGCA CLASSIFIEDS
- Monmouth County: Gas Station and Repair Shop Business Since 2001
- Asbury Park: Commercial Building for Sale. Possible Sale of Business
- Bergen County: Shell Gas Station with 6-Bay Repair Shop for Sale

NEWS AROUND THE STATE

Big spring surprise could be in store for N.J. drivers
U.S. oil production booms as new year begins
Op-Ed: Subsidizing PSEG Means Punishing Consumers
“Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House” (Excerpt)

TRAINING CLASS SCHEDULE!
• Emissions Inspector Training Class, THURSDAY, February 15th

MEMBER BENEFIT PARTNER MESSAGE BOARD
• The Amato Agency: Garage Insurance and Workers Compensation! 
• ATS Environmental: Confidence in your Tank & Compliance Testing

• Bellomo Fuel: Exceptional Service, Aggressive Petroleum Marketing
• CBIZ Insurance: Our Business is Growing Yours!

• Gill Energy: Getting you There!
• Lending Capital: "Commercial Loans Made Easy" Program
• Salomone Brothers: Tank Testing and Environmental Compliance
• TMP Energy Solutions: Another Way to Save On Your Energy Bills

POLITICAL PARTICIPATON: THE NJGCA PAC
• Participate in the NJGCA PAC today and help us keep our Agenda rolling in Trenton!

Energy Information Agency Weekly Retail Gasoline Prices

JOIN NJGCA ON FACEBOOK -- CLICK HERE
TO SEE OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL -- CLICK HERE

                                                                                                                                       

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

SALES TAX CUT REMINDER
OREGON SELF-SERVE
GOUGING LAWS POSSIBLE

Happy New Year! 2018 has the potential to be a year of big changes for many of us. We will witness the beginning of a new Administration in Trenton with all the pros, cons, and uncertainties that come with it. Here at NJGCA, there are a variety of new initiatives we hope to bring to you over the coming year. Most notably, our Communications Director for the last few years, Jacy Lance, has moved on to a new position in Trenton.

 

For your business there is a very important change which unfortunately has not gotten enough press and which some may not be aware of: the state sales decreased on January 1st to 6.625%. If you are charging more than that, drop everything you’re doing and lower the rate immediately! The sales tax was increased to 7% about ten years ago. As part of the bipartisan NJ tax reform bill that passed in 2016, the sales tax was lowered in two stages: On 1/1/17 it dropped to 6.875% and this week it dropped to 6.625%, where it is scheduled to remain going forward. (There are rumors that the new Governor Murphy will ask that this cut be repealed, but that remains to be seen).  I don’t know how it got past me, but I meant to remind you of this change last week.  I know I mentioned this previously, but please accept my apologies, as a reminder is always important and I should have done so last week.

 

The other change that took effect January 1st is an increase in the minimum wage to $8.60 an hour. Please check with your payroll company to ensure that all of your employees are earning at least that much an hour.  I know I did send that reminder several times.

 

As of my writing this, there is a forecast for a fairly serious snowstorm moving up the coast and hitting Wednesday night into Thursday. I expect the Governor will declare a State of Emergency in response to this storm. That means the prohibition on gouging automatically goes into effect. As you know, the law limits your ability to increase the cost of gas by more than 10% of what it was before the Emergency was declared. If your wholesale cost goes up at all, that does not count against the 10% you are allowed (although I think it’s safe to say the marketplace is enough to prevent anyone from increasing their margins more than 25¢ a gallon anyway). This rule remains technically in effect for 30 days after the declaration is made.

 

Finally, I’ll end on a somewhat lighter note. As you know, for decades New Jersey and Oregon have been the only 2 states in the nation with a total ban on self-serve gas. About 2 years ago, Oregon changed its law to allow self-serve in the rural eastern half of the state, but only between 6pm and 6am. After seeing that society didn’t collapse, they passed a further expansion last year that legalized self-serve in those rural counties around the clock. The change went into effect January 1st, and NJ is now the only state in the nation with a full ban on self-serve gas. This change has also started a discussion in Oregon about full legalization. As in NJ, such a debate has brought people out of the woodwork to complain of the perils of pumping their own gas. The other 99% of the country, which already pump their own gas, has responded with more than a little mockery at the panicked citizens of Oregon. You can read about it HERE HERE and HERE

 

 

Thanks for reading -- See you next week!

Sal Risalvato
Executive Director

                                                                                                                                     

TRAINING CLASSES!!

All classes held at NJGCA HQ -- 4900 Route 33 West, Wall Township, NJ 07753

Emissions Inspector Training Class - One Day Only!
THURSDAY, February 15th -- 7am to 3pm

Want one of your technicians to become a NJ Emissions Inspector? We can help! Our one-day class will provide all the information for becoming a NJ Emissions Inspector, and the State will administer the written test the very same day at our offices!  We are offering the class: Thursday, February 15 from 7:00am to 3:00pm. Cost $275.
Click HERE for the registration form.


FUTURE CLASSES WILL BE ADDED UPON REQUEST AND ACCORDING TO DEMAND. CONTACT DEBBIE at 732-256-9646 or DEBBIE@NJGCA.ORG TO LET HER KNOW YOU ARE INTERESTED IN TAKING A SPECIFIC CLASS.  THIS WILL ALLOW US TO GAUGE YOUR NEEDS AND KEEP TRACK OF THOSE WISHING TO PARTICIPATE!!

                                                                                                                                 

 CLASSIFIEDS! -- FOR SALE & HELP WANTED ADS

FOR SALE:

Business For Sale: Monmouth County gas station and repair shop in business since 2001 is for sale. Owner is relocating out of state and is interested in selling business and equipment. Owner is open to limited financing. Business has a strong 10 year lease. The building has two repair bays and the gas pumps are leased to a large independent tenant. Repair shop business currently employs a Manager and two full-time Technicians. For inquiries and more info, please call Mark at 908-670-7798.

FOR SALE:
Commercial Building in Asbury Park, Possible Sale of Business, Too!  For listing information, please click HERE.
FOR SALE:
Shell Gas Station with 6-Bay Repair Shop for Sale in Bergen County!

Business established in 1980. Fully equipped repair shop with 5 lifts including an alignment rack with a 2-year-old Hunter Hawkeye alignment machine. New Hunter tire machine & wheel balancer. AAA aproved and very busy.
Towing business also available which includes 3 Freightliner/JerrDan flatbeds (2015, 2016 & 2017), a 2012 Dodge crew cab wrecker with a Jerrdan Quick Pick & dual cable winch & 2 service trucks (a 2012 GMC 2500 utility truck with a plow & a 2014 Ford transit battery/service vehicle).

Pumping over 1,000,000 gallons per year. 100x300 lot with plenty of parking. Excellent location!!! Call Jim @ 201-851-3084.

         

                                                                                                                                     

NEWS AROUND THE STATE: THE NEWS YOU SHOULD KNOW

1/3/18:

Big spring surprise could be in store for N.J. drivers

New Jersey drivers could get a spring surprise if gas prices spike as predicted, a petroleum industry expert says. Prices in January could be a launching pad for a "considerable spike" in the spring, predicts Tom Kloza, Oil Price Information Service head of global energy analysis. The reasons for spike is high demand and refinery maintenance that was put off last year due to hurricanes, Kloza said.

 

12/31/17:

U.S. oil production booms as new year begins

U.S. crude oil production is flirting with record highs heading into the new year, thanks to the technological nimbleness of shale oil drillers. That is a far cry from the days when U.S. production was on what was thought to be an irreversible downward path. “For years and years, we thought we were running out of oil,” Verrastro said. “It took $120 for a barrel of oil to make people experiment with technology, and that has been unbelievably successful. We are the largest oil and gas producer in the world.” Shale oil drillers have spawned a revolution using high-pressure drilling, coupled with a mixture of water and sand, which breaks open — “fractures” — hard-to-reach oil pockets trapped in rock.

 

1/3/18:

Op-Ed: Subsidizing PSEG Means Punishing Consumers

A nuclear subsidy for PSEG isn’t assistance, it’s an energy tax hike — and it’s essential that we recognize this. Crunching the numbers for New Jersey, the data shows consumers here would pay over $300 million annually on top of their existing energy costs. Also worth consideration is the financial status of PSEG and its plants. By the company’s own admission, the plants are and will remain profitable through at least 2019. Ralph Izzo, PSEG’s CEO, has reiterated elsewhere that both plants are undeniably “in the black.” PSEG, which is Newark-based, has also made over $753 million in net income this year alone. The details go on, but the picture is obvious: the plants are far from emergency, the company is thriving, and the desired “assistance” is therefore little more than unnecessary corporate welfare.

 

1/3/18:

“Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House” (Excerpt)

Shortly after 8 p.m. on Election Night, when the unexpected trend — Trump might actually win — seemed confirmed, Don Jr. told a friend that his father, or DJT, as he calls him, looked as if he had seen a ghost. Melania was in tears—and not of joy. There was, in the space of little more than an hour, in Steve Bannon’s not unamused observation, a befuddled Trump morphing into a disbelieving Trump and then into a horrified Trump. But still to come was the final transformation: Suddenly, Donald Trump became a man who believed that he deserved to be, and was wholly capable of being, the president of the United States. 

  

                                                                                                                                                                                          

MEMBER BENEFIT PARTNER MESSAGE BOARD:


      







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 require 12 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 Greg Cannon 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 GREG CANNON at 732-256-9646 or email Greg at greg@njgca.org. Mention that you are interested in saving money on your energy bills. NJGCA & TMP Energy Solutions will handle all the rest. 

                                                                                                                                                                        



POLITICAL PARTICIPATON: THE NJGCA PAC

DEFENDING OUR MEMBERS.
PROTECTING YOUR INTERESTS.
ANSWER THE CALL & CONTRIBUTE TODAY!!

Promoting our agenda in Trenton is of utmost importance to NJGCA and our members.

However, in order to truly affect the debate, we must ensure our friends in the Legislature are re-elected. It is for this reason that your Association has established the NJGCA PAC.

For too long, the weight of funding our Political Action Committee, the arm of the Association responsible for political donations, has rested upon a few. This is not only unfair to those few members who have shouldered this burden, but means we are not utilizing our full strength to affect the debate in Trenton.

To truly understand the importance of supporting our allies, consider our successes in Trenton:

We defeated BELOW COST SELLING
We made history in getting FIRST RIGHT OF REFUSAL signed into law!
We have built large support for RIGHT TO REPAIR and got it passed out of the Assembly
We defended your small business against the false accusations of Attorney General Anne Milgram
We gained wide support to move New Jersey to an all PIF Inspection System and close the CIF lanes
...and MUCH MORE!!

In each instance, we achieved these goals with the help of our friends in the Legislature!

If every member contributes just $100.00 we will be able to provide the help necessary to ensure victory for our allies. 

PLEASE SEND YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS TO:
NJGCA PAC
4900 Route 33 West, Suite 100
Wall Township, NJ 07753
Please make your donation payable to NJGCA PAC

I understand that times are tough for all NJGCA members, but this is just as important as any battle we have fought in the past.

We have made great progress in Trenton. I hope that you will answer the call. 

                                                                                                                                     

Energy Information Agency Weekly Retail Gasoline Prices

Each week, the Energy Information Administration publishes a list of average gasoline prices for the previous three weeks. NJGCA will begin including this list with the Weekly Road Warrior.  Remember, these prices are reflective of self-serve everywhere except NJ.