N.J.S.A 40A:10A-1 et seq. requires all business owners, owners
of rental units and owners of a multifamily home of four or fewer
units, one of which is owner-occupied, to maintain certain levels
of liability insurance. That law further requires municipalities to
establish a registry of all such levels of liability insurance. That
law further requires municipalities to establish a registry of all
such individual and entities and to annually collect proof of compliance
with the provisions of the law. The purpose of this chapter is to
implement the requirement of the law with the Borough of Totowa.
Owners of businesses or rental units subject to minimum liability
insurance requirements set froth in the chapter must annually register
with the Borough of Totowa and provide a compliant certificate of
insurance issued by the owner's insurance company. To complete
the annual registration, the owner must file with the municipal clerk
a completed registration, along with a copy of the required insurance
certificate and an administrative fee of $50. The registration shall
be in such form and shall include such information as is required
by the Municipal Clerk. Annual registrations shall be due by January
31 of each calendar year or within 30 days of registering the business
or obtaining ownership of the rental units.
Upon satisfaction of the above registration requirements, the
Municipal Clerk shall issue of certificate of registration to the
owner in a form approved by the Municipal Clerk. This certificate
of registration shall act as proof of compliance with this chapter.
A certificate of registration shall be valid for the calendar year
in which it is issued.
If an owner fails to maintain the required level of insurance,
or fails to file an annual registration, the owner shall be subject
to penalties of $500 for the first offense, $1,000 for the second
offense, and $2,000 for a third or subsequent offense. This penalty
may be collected through a summary proceeding pursuant to the Penalty
Enforcement Law of 1999, N.J.S.A 2A:58-110 et seq. Each year that
an owner fails to register or fails to maintain adequate insurance
shall be deemed a separate offense.