Jackson Township Mayor Jennifer L. Kuhn today announced enhanced enforcement measures aimed at addressing rental-related code violations, marking a significant step toward properly enforcing the township’s rental and landlord ordinances.
The new program, announced today by Kuhn reflects the mayor’s long-standing commitment—first as Council President and now as Mayor—to ensuring the ordinances passed by the governing body are meaningfully and consistently enforced.
Mayor Kuhn noted that one of the greatest challenges during her time on the Township Council was the inability to ensure that previously enacted quality-of-life ordinances were fully implemented by the previous administration.
“We could have made a hundred new ordinances to improve quality of life in Jackson,” Mayor Kuhn said. “But without a mayor committed to enforcing them, we were just spinning our wheels. Now, in the Mayor’s Office, it is my mission to make sure that all ordinances that protect our community are actively and consistently enforced.”
As part of that mission, Jackson Township Code Enforcement has begun expanding working hours for select officers. Two officers per day will now operate under adjusted schedules—11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.—specifically to improve enforcement related to illegal or non-compliant rental properties.
Traditional daytime hours often make such violations difficult to detect, as residents are typically at work and children are in school. The expanded hours allow officers to conduct inspections and follow-ups when these properties are most active and observable.
“As our residents have begun utilizing the resources to report rental violations, our code enforcement officers were hitting brick walls, since no residents were home at the time of their inspections, making the investigations difficult,” Mayor Kuhn said. “Now, they can conduct their investigations when the occupants of the homes are at home.”
Council President Mordechai Burnstein, who has pushed for years for compliance thanked Mayor Kuhn for making illegal rentals and landlord violations a priority in her administration.
“Quality of life issues are problems that concern everyone in the township,” Burnstein said. “It was extremely frustrating in my first year in office to work alongside the council to draft these ordinances, just to see them not being enforced. Now, we have a mayor who is taking the job of enforcing illegal rentals seriously and on behalf of the council, I can say we fully endorse this new after-hours compliance initiative by the mayor.”
Kuhn said the relationship between the mayor’s office and council has never been better.
“In the past, the administration didn’t want to work with the council; those days are gone,” the mayor added. “As Council President Burnstein said, it was very frustrating for everyone, even our code-enforcement officers. People in town felt like the government had stopped working to protect them. In order for the township as a whole to accomplish our goal of enforcing our ordinances, the mayor’s office and the council need to be working together and on the same page. We now have that.”
“Under Mayor Kuhn’s leadership, we now have the support needed to take meaningful action on rental issues that have concerned residents for years,” Council President Burnstein said. “These extended hours give our team the tools they need to be effective, and we’re already seeing how impactful the Mayor’s proactive approach is.”
Both Mayor Kuhn and Council President Burnstein offered special thanks to Code Enforcement Supervisor Andy Cheney and the entire Code Enforcement Department for stepping up to meet the new challenge.
“Working during expanded hours requires flexibility, professionalism, and dedication,” Burnstein said. “We deeply appreciate the commitment of our Code Enforcement personnel, who are going above and beyond to serve our residents. Their willingness to adapt demonstrates their strong dedication to community safety and quality of life.”
The new schedule takes effect immediately. If you wish to report any landlord or rental violations, please email RentalComplaints@JacksonTwpNJ.net.
Mayor Kuhn also wants to thank all of the residents who have filed complaints and to ensure them, that each complaint is being investigated throroughly.