Sussex County Freeholders Vote to Reopen County and New Jersey,
Against Firearms Taxes

(Newton, NJ) The members of the Sussex County Board of Chosen Freeholders voted unanimously at
their Wednesday night meeting on resolutions urging Governor Phil Murphy to fully reopen Sussex
County businesses in the near future; and a resolution against the increase in taxes and fees on
firearms and ammunitions.

“I am very concerned that we will have a poor survival rate of many of our businesses,” said
Freeholder Herbert Yardley. “I find it very unfortunate there was not an opportunity to say, ‘Let’s
see if it (a regional reopening) works.’”

Yardley read the resolution into the record before the vote, that advocated for the
Governor to fully open both Sussex County and New Jersey. As expressed in the resolution, not only
did the Sussex County Chamber of Commerce testify on Aug. 20 before the Assembly Commerce and
Economic Development Committee, a letter was sent by the regional coalition of Sussex, Warren and
Hunterdon County Freeholders on May 28, with concerns about the “one size fits all” approach in
reopening New Jersey. The resolution stated that, per the state’s Activity Level Reports for Aug. 8 and 15 for the “Northwest” region of Sussex, Warren, Morris and Passaic Counties, that region has achieved the lowest possible score of 1 for its COVID- 19  Activity Level Index (CALI). The Freeholders, in the resolution, suggested the regional approach,  “as a decisive action is needed immediately so businesses will know whether to plan for a further  reopening now or a prolonged limit on their business.”

The resolution specifically noted the
economic damages Sussex County businesses have endured, with the prolonged partial closure not
sustainable for these businesses, including restaurants and gyms; and urged Murphy to work with the
region’s leaders on a safe, regional, reopening plan.

Freeholder Joshua Hertzberg said restaurants and gyms are taking a loss with operations
at 25 percent occupancy for indoor capacity, with the gym he belongs to not currently open
yet because it did not make business sense to open at this capacity. Some family-owned businesses
open for decades, he said, may have to make the decision to close permanently.

“We’re going to feel the repercussions of this economically for a long time,” said
Hertzberg. ”If there’s ever a time to start safely reopening businesses, it’s now. I think we have
to just give them a little more help to be successful.”

Hertzberg also addressed the article on NJ.com, that falsely claimed Sussex County had the
highest rate of COVID-19 transmission statewide, an article that has since been syndicated on
MSN.com. He said the state and county numbers show Sussex County is instead “one of the safest
places you can be,” with the article potentially scaring away prospective customers and
businesses. He said the publication should “print a retraction and tell the truth.”

“Our businesses in Sussex County continue to hurt today, right now, to the point, in my view, it
should be considered as much of a threat to our economic well-being as COVID is to our physical
one,” Freeholder Anthony Fasano said. “Our success to containing this virus was supposed to
translate to the successful, safe reopening of our economy. It’s not, despite the fact our business
community and our residents have demonstrated their ability to take proper precaution and limit the
spread of this virus, which has resulted in some of the lowest infection rates and some of the
lowest daily cases per capita, in the entire state.”

In her Freeholder comments, Freeholder Deputy Director Dawn Fantasia addressed the Freeholder
resolution against the increase in taxes and fees on firearms and ammunitions. She said that many
residents have reached out to her about the Governor’s increase in these fees.

“For the third consecutive year, Governor Murphy has set his sights on curtailing the Second
Amendment rights of economically disadvantaged New Jersey citizens, using the COVID-19 pandemic as
pretext,” Fantasia said. “Governor Murphy has yet again budgeted for an exponential increase in
fees, taxes and surcharges on gun owners.”

She called it “thinly-veiled discrimination” that those with economic disadvantages would
now have to pay more for their Second Amendment rights. She said legal action has been the only way
to “move the needle” on the Murphy Administration, such as when firearms retailers were deemed
“non-essential” at the start of the pandemic; and Murphy’s justification for not allowing them to
initially open was it was above his pay grade to think about the Bill of Rights. Among those fees
she named, was the increase of the firearms purchaser ID card from
$5 to $100, a permit to purchase from $2 to $50, a duplicate ID card for which there was previously no fee to $50, initial application for a retail dealer license from $50 to $500 and for
a manufacturing permit from $150 to $1,500.

The resolution, which Fantasia read into the record,
opposed the fees and taxes proposed, noting more than a dozen increases to the state’s gun fees,
including a 2.5 percent tax increase on firearms and a 10 percent increase on ammunition. The
resolution read that these fees, would unduly burden citizens’ Constitutional Rights.

In other business:

• Sussex County Community College President Dr. Jon Connolly presented to the Freeholders about
the strengths at the college, including a 91 percent enrollment rate, the highest in the state for
community colleges, only 3 percent down from the prior year, while some community colleges have
enrollment drops of 25 percent. He said the college has outdoor classroom space as a result of the
pandemic and classes meeting in the college pavilion. The college now has a
U.S. Navy college designation, making it part of a community college network for those who serve in
the Navy.
• Freeholder Director Sylvia Petillo spoke about the opioid epidemic and the virtual symposium
on Aug. 31, International Overdose Awareness Day, with the county participating in the symposium.
Petillo said the COVID-19 pandemic collided with the opioid epidemic, leading to a rise in drug
overdoses. She commended the substance abuse community members who helped to rise to the challenges
of the pandemic and to find a way to help those who needed hope and recovery during the pandemic;
and at the symposium on Aug. 31. Kimberly Butler, a celebrity photographer who overcame her own battle with opioids, was the keynote speaker
at the symposium, Petillo said, with Butler’s presentation her photo essay “Alice in
Opioidland,” which depicted how Big Pharma has participated in the journey from legal to
illicit drugs. A candlelight vigil followed
the event.
• The Freeholders presented New Jersey Association of Counties or NJAC Scholarships to
county residents Jordyn Rush and Madison McCarthy.
• Hertzberg discussed SCMUA landfill life extension construction projects, with a report from
SCMUA provided within the Freeholder agenda. These projects, he said, are expected to extend the
life of the landfill through at least 2041, with the landfill’s capacity currently expected to be
reached in 2023.

For the full audio of the Freeholder meeting, go
to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFvp5Lof_iE.
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