27:25-31 Allocation of moneys.

7. a. Moneys under this program shall be allocated by the corporation in the following manner:

(1) 85% shall be available to be allocated to eligible counties for the purposes specified under paragraph (1) of subsection a. of section 4 of this act.

(2) 15% shall be available for use by the corporation for the purposes specified under paragraph (2) of subsection a. of section 4 of this act and for the general administration of the program, but no more than 10% of the total moneys allocated under this program shall be used for the general administration of the program.

b. The amount of money which each eligible county may receive shall be based upon the number of persons resident in that county of 60 years of age or older expressed as a percentage of the whole number of persons resident in this State of 60 years or older, as provided by the U.S. Bureau of the Census. As similar data become available for the disabled population, such data shall be used in conjunction with the senior citizen data to determine the county allocation formula. No eligible county shall receive less than $150,000.00 during a fiscal year under this program, except that during the first fiscal year no county shall receive less than $50,000.00 nor more than $150,000.00.

c. The governing body of an eligible county, or a group or groups designated as an applicant or as applicants by the county after a public hearing in which senior citizens and the disabled shall have the opportunity to comment on the appropriateness of such designation, may make application to the board for moneys available under subsection b. of this section. The application shall be in the form of a proposal to the board for transportation assistance and shall specify the degree to which the proposal meets the purposes of the program under paragraph (1) of subsection a. of section 4 of this act and the implementation criteria under the program guidelines and the proposal shall have been considered at a public hearing. The board shall allocate moneys based upon a review of the merits of the proposals in meeting the purposes of the program, and the implementation criteria, under the program guidelines. The governing body of an eligible county shall schedule a public hearing annually for interested parties to provide the governing body with any facts, materials, or recommendations that would be of assistance regarding the efficacy of the program established under paragraph (1) of subsection a. of section 4 of this act.

L.1983, c.578, s.7; amended 1995, c.350.