January 12, 2018 Caps on Binding Interest Arbitration Awards Despite the fact that the 2% cap on binding interest arbitration awards expired on December 31st, NJAC and the New Jersey State League of Municipalities (NJSLOM) are continuing to urge Governor Elect Phil Murphy and members of new State Legislature to permanently extend the cap in the wake of stern warnings from Moody’s Investors Services and Fitch Ratings about failure to reinstate the measure. Moody’s noted “that salary costs are among the largest of municipal expenditures, the cost implications are obvious and considerable,” ...

December 22, 2017 Caps on Binding Interest Arbitration Awards NJAC and the New Jersey State League of Municipalities (NJSLOM) met on December 15th with Governor Elect Phil Murphy’s Chief of Staff and Chief Counsel to discuss permanently extending the 2% cap on binding interest awards. We also held a press conference on December 18th with a broad based coalition of community and business leaders from across the State who hailed the cap as a critical tool for controlling personnel costs; negotiating reasonable successor contracts; and, avoiding arbitration awards granted by third party burea...

December 15, 2017 Caps on Binding Interest Arbitration Awards Later today, NJAC and the New Jersey State League of Municipalities (NJSLOM) are meeting with Governor Elect Phil Murphy’s Chief of Staff and Chief Counsel to discuss permanently extending the 2% cap on binding interest arbitration awards set to expire in two short weeks.  We’ll make sure to let you know how the meeting goes. We’re also expecting a strong showing of county and municipal officials on December 18th for NJAC and NJSLOM’s press conference and lobby day, where over a dozen associations will join us in support of exten...

November 22, 2017 NJAC is committed to advocating for legislation, regulations, and policy directives that empower county government to operate more effectively and efficiently.  As a non-partisan organization that represents the only true regional form of government in the State with a unified and proactive voice, NJAC is dedicated to advancing innovative programs and initiatives that enhance the level of service provided and save valuable taxpayer dollars. With this in mind, NJAC will pursue the following legislative goals for the 2016/17 lame-duck session, the 2018/19 legislative session, ...

October 27, 2017 2% Cap on Binding Interest Arbitration Awards NJAC is continuing to urge members of the State Legislature to permanently extend the 2% cap on binding interest arbitration awards before the law sunsets on December 31st. County and municipal officials from across the State, and on both sides of the aisle, hail the cap as a critical tool for controlling personnel costs; negotiating reasonable successor contracts; and, avoiding arbitration awards granted by third party administrators who are not accountable to taxpayers. For nearly a decade, the 2% cap on binding interest ar...

September 29, 2017 NJAC Goals and Objectives On September 22nd, NJAC’s Board of Directors adopted the following legislative goals for the 2016/17 lame-duck session, the 2018/19 legislative session, and a new Administration in January of 2018. Lame-Duck Goals Goals are realistic and achievable before the new Governor and Legislature take office in January of 2018. Extend the 2.0% cap on binding interest arbitration awards and reinstate the health benefit requirements under Chapter 78. Authorize counties to share county tax administrators. Equalize the bid, pay-to-play, and p...

August 4, 2017 NJAC Goals and Objectives NJAC’s Legislative Affairs Committee is meeting later this morning to discuss establishing the Association’s legislative goals for the fast approaching lame-duck session, the 2018/19 legislative session, and a new Governor set to take office in January of 2018.  If you can’t make the meeting, please share with us your thoughts and suggestions on potential goals as outlined below.  NJAC’s Board of Directors will consider and adopt our final objectives at its next meeting on September 22nd in Committee Room 4 of the State House Annex in Trenton.    ...

July 7, 2017   State Budget Snapshot On July 4th, the Legislature passed and Governor Chris Christie signed into law his final spending plan of $35.1 billion for State fiscal year 2018, which contains the following items pertinent to county government. Transportation Funding: $2.0 billion for the State’s Transportation Capital Program, which includes approximately $400.0 million  in Local Aid for counties and municipalities and a supplemental allocation of $26.0 million.  The table below provides an overview of Local Aid Allocations for State fiscal year 2018. ...

June 16, 2017 911 Fees As previously reported, NJAC is in the process of collecting and summarizing the data from all twenty-one counties concerning the costs associated with operating and maintaining county 9-1-1 centers. As of this writing, 15 counties have reported that they’ve spent over $219.0 million in capital improvements over the last five years.  These improvements may include facility upgrades; and, the purchase or lease of hardware and software such as telephone systems, computer aided dispatch, location mapping technology, voice recording technology, data analytics, and NextG...

May 26, 2017 Caps on Binding Interest Arbitration Awards NJAC plans on working with the New Jersey State League of Municipalities (NJSLOM) and the New Jersey Conference of Mayors (NJCM) to urge members of State Legislature and Governor Chris Christie to enact legislation that would permanently extend the 2% cap on binding interest arbitration awards set to expire on December 31st of 2017.  The 2% cap on binding interest arbitration awards first enacted in 2010 and extended for an additional three years in 2014, enables county governments across the State to effectively control public saf...