NEWARK — Guests in Newark hotels will see a $3 per-day charge on their checkout bill, but it won’t be for use of the minifridge or fresh towels. Rather, the tax will go to the city’s firefighters.

Christmas came early for the Newark Fire Department – New Jersey's second-largest fire department protecting the state’s largest city – as the surcharge will be deposited into a fire service trust fund to help offset the cost of needed equipment and training.

A bill – sponsored by Sen. Majority Leader M. Teresa Ruiz and Assemblywoman Eliana Pintor Marin, both Newark residents – was signed into law by the governor on Thursday, Nov. 13 and imposes a surcharge on hotel occupancies in large New Jersey cities to fund fire services.

The new law, which was crafted with Newark specifically in mind,

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