New Jersey Public Safety Officers Law Blog : New Jersey Public Safety Employee Lawyer & Attorney : Pellettieri, Rabstein & Altman Law Firm : Workers Compensation, Discipline Representation for Police & Firefighters : New Jersey

As reported by nj.com, more than 40 city firefighters and police officers rallied around City Hall this morning in Camden, demanding Mayor Dana Reed bring back some of the laid off public safety employees that were let go earlier this year. Nearly half the police force and one-third of firefighters were laid off earlier this year.

The protest was organized over the weekend, after a firefighter was burned in a house fire on February 25, 2011. Union officials blamed the incident on delayed response time. Meanwhile, police say they were busy trying to handle three separate shootings, including one homicide.

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As reported by nj.com, more than 20,000 police officers, firefighters, teachers, and other public employees put in their retirement papers last year as momentum was building for sweeping health and pension reform in Trenton, state figures show. That is a 60 percent jump from 2009 retirements and the highest in at least a decade, according to the Division of Pension and Benefits.

Under nearly all the reform proposals circulating in Trenton, public employees would pay more for pension and health benefits, but would escape the additional costs if they retire before the reforms were enacted. “There has been a direct assault on the benefits that public employees have earned and fought for over the last 40 years,” said Dominick Marino, president of the state chapter of the International Association of Firefighters. “People were attracted to these jobs because of the certainty, now there is no certainty, and people are retiring.”

While those who put in retirement papers can opt to stay, the vast majority retire, officials say. Of the 20,327 public employees who put in for retirement, more than half were state and local workers. Specifically, retirement among police and firefighters swelled by 45 percent. Overall, 7,132 teachers retired last year. In the decade before, no more than 4,872 teachers called it quits in any given year, records show.

Pension and health benefit reform will be high on the agenda in Trenton this spring. Governor Chris Christie wants all public employees, state and local, to begin paying 30 percent of their health insurance premiums starting next fiscal year. Currently, public employees are required to pay at least 1.5 percent of their salary toward health benefits.

Christie has warned that if Democratic lawmakers refuse to go along with his proposal, or a similar plan, he would not be able to deliver an additional $190 million in property tax relief to seniors and middle-to-low income residents. State Senator Stephen Sweeney wants to phase in the increases over seven years and apply the rates on a sliding scale based on a employee’s salary. Under Christie’s plan, a teacher who makes a $66,000 salary would pay about $5,200 a year for health insurance. Under Sweeney’s plan, the same teacher would pay about $3,610.

In general, public employees with 25 years of service can retire and receive medical benefits at no cost, but that would change under both Sweeney’s and Christie’s plan. Current retirees, including those who retire before any proposal is enacted, would be protected from the changes. However, Christie has suggested he is willing to make some adjustments retroactive, even if it prompts a legal challenge.

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As reported by nj.com, the President of the state’s largest teachers union accused Governor Chris Christie of trying to foment a civil war within the middle-class. “All of New Jersey’s middle-class is hurting, but this governor and his right-wing supporters are trying to start a middle-class civil war,” said New Jersey Education Association President Barbara Keshishian. As she spoke, thousands of public workers filled the street in front of the Statehouse, wearing ponchos and holding umbrellas to keep as dry as possible in the pouring rain. State Police estimated the crowd at 3,100.

The rally, organized by the state AFL-CIO, was both aimed at pushing back against benefit concessions demanded by Christie, and in support of Wisconsin public unions, who are fighting Governor Scott Walker’s attempt to roll back their collective bargaining rights.

In his budget address earlier this week, Christie said private sector workers “support the rich benefits of public employees.” He’s pushing for major givebacks from the workforce, including paying more towards their health premiums and downgrading future pension benefits.

Local union officials spoke one after another at today’s rally, each handing over checks to the Wisconsin AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Stephanie Bloomingdale, who told the crowd “our fight is your fight, and our fight is for the middle-class.” The featured speaker, national AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, compared Christie to Walker and other Republican governors, saying “they were not elected to dictate.” “They were elected to solve problems, not create conflict,” Trumka said.

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As reported by nj.com, Governor Chris Christie began a town hall push to press lawmakers to make state employees pay more for benefits or be blamed for scotching property tax relief. The first meeting took place on February 24, 2011 in West Deptford, the hometown of Senate President Stephen Sweeney.

Speaking to a receptive crowd, Christie said residents needed to pressure lawmakers to take his deal. “Here’s the deal I offered the Legislature: If they pass my reform, which is very simple-have employees pay 30 percent of their costs that would save us this year alone $300 million-I will take that $300 million and I will use it to double your property tax relief,” Christie said. He also stated, “The public employee unions will go crazy-they already are. They need to pass that reform…If they don’t, then you know they’re taking the side of the special interests over the side of the property taxpayers in the state.”

The Governor’s proposed budget fell just short of doubling the relief. He recommended allocating $458 million, an increase of 70 percent, or about $189.8 million, from last year. Property tax relief would double if Christie dedicates all $300 million he says could be saved by hiking the health insurance payments.   

The increase in property tax rebates would be for households making less than $75,000 a year or seniors and the disabled making less than $150,000 a year. Christie did not make those distinctions when talking to the crowd in West Deptford. 

Sweeney did not attend the town hall meeting. Under Sweeney’s proposals for benefit changes, the health contributions would be phased in over several years and would be based on an employee’s salary. Sweeney dismissed Christie’s comments. “It is nice that the governor took time out from his busy schedule of raising property taxes, underfunding education and pitting New Jersey residents against one another to visit somewhere that is actually in New Jersey,” his spokesman Chris Donnelly said. “Senate President Sweeney hopes he enjoyed his time in the great town of West Deptford.”

Assembly Democrat spokesman Tom Hester reiterated charges that Christie is encouraging class warfare by juxtaposing health cost increases against property tax relief. “The governor’s pitting of neighbor against neighbor-teachers against senior citizens, police officers against retirees, firefighters against the disabled-is abhorrent politics,” Hester said. “Senior and disabled citizens shouldn’t be pawns in this governor’s awful political theater.”

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As reported by app.com on February 23, 2011, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who gained a national reputation fighting the state’s teachers and public employee unions, said that organized labor should have collective bargaining rights. One day after proposing a new state budget that requires public employees to pay more for pension and health benefits, Christie told MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough that he supports “responsible” collective bargaining, but quickly added, “We haven’t had that in New Jersey.”

Christie’s comments come as Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker attempts to limit collective bargaining to help balance the state’s budget. Walker’s proposals have upended Statehouse operations there. A solidarity protest is planned outside the New Jersey Statehouse on February 25, 2011.

Christie, a Republican who has accused his Democratic predecessor of being too lenient with state workers, said he does not think the bargaining process should be polite. “It should be an adversarial situation,” he said. “Somebody should be representing the taxpayers.”

Former New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine, a Democrat, negotiated state worker givebacks including an 18-month wage freeze and furlough days. Union workers’ contracts expire in June and leaders of the state’s largest union, the Communication Workers of America, say Christie has yet to meet with them. Even if Christie favored ending collective bargaining, he would not get support from the Democratic majority in the Legislature, especially not in 2011, when all 120 legislative seats are up for re-election.

Labor leaders also were vocal in opposing Christie’s efforts to privatize toll collections on the New Jersey Turnpike and Garden State Parkway. Christie’s second budget assumes millions in savings from privatizing certain, unspecified services and agencies. A task force told the governor in July that New Jersey could save $200 million a year by privatizing toll collections, prison food and medical services and other government services.

There are about 450 full-time and 175 part-time toll collectors on the Turnpike and Garden State Parkway. Longtime toll collectors earn an average of $65,000 a year. Toll collectors protested on February 23, 2011 outside the Turnpike Authority offices in Woodbridge. Union leaders say the administration is moving forward with its plan even after the union offered $16 million in wage and benefits concessions. A private contract could be awarded as early as April.

Prior efforts to privatize government functions have not always gone well in New Jersey. Long lines, frustrated customers and wasted millions resulted in a previous attempt to privatize motor vehicle inspection facilities.

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As reported on trentonian.com, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie held fast to his national reputation for fiscal discipline amid the widespread financial crisis that has hit the United States, unveiling a $29.4 billion state budget that calls for heftier contributions from state workers for pension and health care benefits.

Christie proposes paying $500 million into the state’s severely underfunded pension system, the minimum required under a new state law to get the state to quit skipping its payments. But Christie says he’ll make the payment only if the Democratic Legislature agrees to reforms that require government workers to delay retirement and pay more. Union workers, a powerful Democratic constituency in a legislative election year, oppose the plan.

Christie’s carrot-and-stick budget plan also targets public workers’ health care. His plan calls for additional property tax credits to poor, disabled and senior households, but only if the Legislature significantly increases public workers’ health insurance contribution. Specifically, Christie wants legislation that would push one-third of the cost of health insurance onto state workers by 2014, up significantly from the 1.5 percent of their salary they pay now. Christie would apply the $323 million in savings to property tax relief for low-income, senior and disabled homeowners.

Unions plan to rally at the Statehouse on February 25, 2011 in support of public workers in Wisconsin, where protests have erupted over collective bargaining rights and public employees’ benefits are among the issues raising ire. In a speech at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, Christie urged elected officials to follow his example in addressing spending and debt, and big-ticket items such as pensions and other benefits. “It’s time to do the big things-the really big things,” he said.

In New Jersey, Democratic leaders in the Legislature complained that Christie, through his budget, pits one group of middle-class residents against another. However, the League of Municipalities, an association of municipal mayors, says it’s pleased Christie’s budget proposal holds the line on spending and aid to towns.

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As reported by nj.com, the largest state employee unions in New Jersey are organizing a rally at the Statehouse on February 25, 2011 to express support for workers rallying in Wisconsin. The Communication Workers of America, which represents most of the state’s employees, will participate in the rally and National AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka will address the crowd. The rally is organized by the AFL-CIO and supported by the Change to Win unions and the National Education Association.

“We are all Wisconsin public workers this week,” Hetty Rosenstein, CWA state director, said in a statement. “They’re trying to blame middle class workers for the financial mess that Wall Street caused. It’s more politics as usual and we’re ready to fight back.”

Wisconsin state employees have staged large rallies at the Madison capitol to protest a move by Governor Scott Walker to eliminate collective bargaining for most employees, except police officers and firefighters. Walker has said the changes are needed to balance the budget. The move would allow collective bargaining only for wages, but wages would be capped to growth equal to changes in the Consumer Price Index.

Governor Chris Christie has expressed support for Walker, saying he understands the need to make bold steps to balance a budget. Christie, who made national headlines fighting with the teachers union last year, will have his own time to do battle with the unions this year. Contracts for most of the state’s employees expire this year. Christie has said he looks forward to collective bargaining, saying he will be “vigorous and adversarial” during the process.

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As reported by nj.com, Senate President Stephen Sweeney will unveil a plan that aims to slash the State’s huge medical costs by requiring public employees to kick in significantly more to health benefits, according to three officials familiar with the proposal.

The Sweeney plan shares much common ground with Governor Chris Christie’s reform agenda and signals significant momentum in Trenton for sweeping changes to public medical benefits. Sweeney is expected to unveil the plan at the Statehouse on February 15, 2011, one week before Christie delivers his proposed budget to the Legislature.

The Democrat’s plan would provide immediate savings and as much as $1 billion annually within seven years, according to the officials, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly on the proposal. Under Sweeney’s proposal, all public employees would pay a percentage of their premium instead of the current system that requires them to pay at least 1.5 percent of their salary. The increases would be phased in over seven years and would be applied on a sliding scale depending on the employees’ salary. 

For example, in the first year, public employees who make less than $30,000 would pay 2 percent of their premium, while those who earn more than $100,000 would pay 12 percent. When fully implemented after the seventh year, the lowest income workers would pay 12 percent of their premiums, while top earners would pay 30 percent. The annual payments would range from $2,280 to $5,700 a year.

Christie has called for all public employees to pay 30 percent of their premiums on a gradual basis, regardless of income. Current retirees, most of whom pay nothing for their medical benefits, would not be subject to the increase under both the proposals advanced by Christie and Sweeney. All increases would go into effect at the start of the next union contract. Like Christie, Sweeney will also call for the creation of a multi-tiered benefit plan where employees can pay less for less coverage and more for increased coverage.  

Unlike the laws governing public pension plan that typically require payments each year to fund the current and future costs, retiree medical benefits rules allow states to “pay as you go,” which means they pay on the current cost each year and ignore the long-term price tag. For New Jersey, that long-term price tag is nearly $67 billion, about $13 billion more than the State’s pension deficit. While the pension funds have $48 billion on hand, the State has not saved a dime for medical benefits.

New Jersey has the highest unfunded liability and annual medical benefit costs in the nation, according to an analysis by the Center for State and Local Government Excellence. As of the latest report, there are 394,521 active and retired employees enrolled in the state-administered health benefit plan. This includes active and retired employees from municipalities and school districts who participate in the state plan. Under Sweeney’s proposal, towns would be temporarily blocked from joining the state system to help the fund stabilize.

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As reported by nj.com, with contracts for 49,000 state workers due to expire this June, Governor Chris Christie has publicly proclaimed he wants no pay raises and expects state workers to fork over much more for health and pension benefits. Union leaders say they have had no meetings with the governor’s office and worry this does not bode well for getting a deal before the current contracts are up.

At stake in this year’s talks are two of Christie’s signature issues: health and pension reform for state employees. Christie has declared there will be no pay increases for state workers, recently making the commitment in an interview with Fox News. He also has made clear his expectations for cuts in employee benefits: increase pension contributions for all employees to 8.5 percent of salary, require state workers to pay 30 percent of their health care premiums, raise the retirement age, and eliminate cost of living adjustments for pension recipients.

David Cohen, head of employee relations, will negotiate for the governor’s office, Christie said. “If and when he needs me to come in from the bullpen to help, I’m prepared to do it,” Christie said. Union leaders say they were told no meetings would be scheduled until after the governor’s budget presentation on February 22. In past contract negotiations, discussions have begun the fall before.

The governor’s office has gotten tough in negotiations with toll collectors who officially bargain with the New Jersey Turnpike Authority. The talks began in anticipation of a move by Christie’s office to privatize the operations and eliminate publicly funded collectors. Franceline Ehret, head of the toll collectors union, said the talks have been unlike any in the 10 years she had headed the group. She said in the past, the Turnpike Authority was empowered to make decisions about contracts, but this year all decisions are being routed through Christie’s office. She said the administration wants $12 million to $14 million in concessions, not including health and pension benefits changes.   

If the administration and the state workers unions cannot reach an agreement in June, the employees are barred from striking, but could use tactics to slow work productivity. The Governor, as employer, could initiate punishment if rules are not followed. Christie could opt to keep benefits out of the collective bargaining process and instead change the health benefits and pensions through legislation. That’s an option he said he would consider, but stressed his administration will bargain in good faith.

As one can expect, the upcoming contract negotiations with the Christie administration will have an enormous impact on all New Jersey public employees, to include public safety officers, and their successor collective bargaining agreements. Please continue to check this blog periodically to ascertain updates regarding the negotiations as they become available.

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As reported by nj.com, Democrats are pushing back against Gov. Chris Christie’s plan to privatize some state government functions by calling for a change in the state constitution to put a short leash on agencies that want to hire private firms.

Under a plan discussed in the Assembly State Government Committee, state and local government agencies would not be able to spend more than $250,000 on a contract with a private company for services government already provides, unless they can show it would save money without creating new fees or fare hikes, and will not reduce quality. Companies would have to give the employees the same pay and benefits as government workers with similar jobs. Unions would have a chance to review the agency’s cost estimates and propose their own cost-saving measures. Contractors would also have to offer available jobs and help to laid off public employees.

“I don’t believe (privatization) should be done just on the backs of union employees by taking livable wages and decimating them to minimum wage so the wealth flows up to the top again,” said Assembly State Government Committee Chairwoman Linda Stender. Christie spokesman Kevin Roberts called the resolution “bad legislation” that would “enshrine a special interest giveaway in the New Jersey Constitution.”   

A Christie administration task force last year recommended privatizing functions like health care for prison inmates, toll collections, state parks, highway rest stops and career centers for the unemployed. The task force estimated the state government could save $210 million through the changes. The New Jersey Turnpike Authority recently put out a request for proposals that calls for toll collectors to make $12 per hour, less than half what experienced employees now make. Democrats said they were trying to abuse and waste that occurred in the 1990s with the privatization of vehicle inspections and the installation of the E-ZPass toll system.

The Committee did not vote on the resolution to amend the constitution. But lawmakers have the power to put it on the ballot this fall without any action from the governor, if they get 24 of 40 votes in the Senate and 48 of 80 in the Assembly. Democrats hold 24 seats in the Senate; 47 in the Assembly. The resolution was opposed by business advocacy and championed by organized labor.

Union officials said the quality of services would decline under the private sector. “The bottom line is profit. Profit at all costs,” said Ray Stever, president of the New Jersey State Industrial Union Council. “Their point is to come in here and use our taxpayer dollars to line their pockets.” 

Please continue to check this blog periodically to ascertain updates regarding any and all efforts to privatize government functions. It goes without saying that such an attempt will have a direct impact on public employees, to include New Jersey Public Safety Employees.

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As reported by app.com, New Jersey’s credit rating was downgraded by a major Wall Street rating agency, whose concerns over state debt and obligations for public retirees’ benefits now mean higher costs for the state to borrow money. Standard & Poor’s moved New Jersey’s bond rating down a notch to its fourth highest level. The move ignited an immediate partisan skirmish over which party is to blame and upped the pressure for pension and health benefit changes.

“The clock is ticking away on a pension and benefit bomb that can damage the health of the finances of our state,” Governor Chris Christie said at a town-hall meeting in Union City. Democrats said Christie aggravated the situation by not putting any money into the pension fund in the current budget year, when $3 billion was due. This coming year $3.5 billion is due, though a state law says that roughly $500 million will be required.

“Gov. Christie inflicted severe damage last year when he skipped the state’s pension payment,” said Assemblyman Louis Greenwald. “It was reckless and made the problem much worse. It was so short-sighted, in fact, that it wiped out all the benefits from the bipartisan pension reforms ushered into law early last year.” 

Standard & Poor’s said in its report that pension funding “remains the most significant risk to the state’s long-term credit quality.” Christie and fellow Republicans want to increase the retirement age, reduce benefits and boost employees’ contribution to the pension fund. Democratic leaders have a counterproposal that would reduce benefits and give unions input over managing pension investments.

The change is expected to have little immediate impact on state costs, as the state’s financial difficulties have been well documented and taken into account in recent borrowings. One recent bond sale was reduced in size because the rates were not meeting expectations.

Credit ratings for various state agencies dependent on appropriations from the state budget were also lowered by Standard & Poor’s. “We understand that Gov. Chris Christie has recently announced various reform initiatives that, if approved, could help begin to manage the state’s pension liability,” said the report. “We will continue to monitor this, but in our view progress on this front is likely to be gradual and we expect the state’s debt and liability profile to remain weak and continue to be a source of budget pressure.”

Standard & Poor’s said New Jersey’s pension system was 56 percent funded as of last June and that it expects the “pension funding ratio will weaken further as a result of the failure to fund” the required payment this budget year, though solid growth in investment income could offset that. The State’s long-term obligation for health benefits for retirees, which it finances on a year-by-year basis, is estimated at close to $57 billion.

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As reported by nj.com on February 8, 2011, Governor Christie’s plan to drastically change the State’s troubled pension system was introduced by Republican lawmakers on February 7, 2011, but Democrats who control the Legislature indicated they will push their own plan instead.

Assemblymen Declan O’Scanlon and Gary Chiusano sponsored Christie’s proposals in the lower house, while State Senator Joseph Pennacchio said he would introduce them in the upper house. The 139 page bill mirrors ideas Christie first laid out in the fall and would only affect future retirees. “We’re in dire shape and we’re trying to save the system,” said O’Scanlon.

The State’s pension fund faces a $54 billion shortfall, brought on by investment losses, increased benefits, growth in the number of public employees and the State’s decision over the years to repeatedly reduce or skip payments. Last year, Christie skipped a $3.1 billion payment. The proposals would not affect already-retired workers. Among the biggest changes:

·         All public employees would pay 8.5 percent of their wages towards pensions

·         The retirement age would be raised to 65 for most workers. To retire early, employees would need to have accumulated 30 years on the job, rather than 25, and would be docked one-quarter of 1 percent for every month of their age under 65

·         Pensions for most workers would be calculated on a five-year average of their highest salaries, up from three

·         The 9 percent pension bump given to employees 10 years ago would be rolled back for current and future employees

·         Police and firefighter retirees would see their maximum benefit shrink from 70 percent to 65 percent of their salaries

·         Annual cost of living adjustments would be eliminated

Democrats also promoted their own proposal outlined in January. That plan would create joint labor/management boards to administer the system; force employees to pay more if the fund’s fiscal health declines; roll back the pension boost or make employees pay more for it; and eliminate cost of living adjustment for new and recent hires.

“The Senate President has put forward a plan that would blow up the pension system as it currently exists and recreate it so it works and is no longer a political football,” said Chris Donnelly, a spokesman for Senate President Stephen Sweeney. “The Governor’s plan is simply more of the same that got us to where we are now.”

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As reported by nj.com on February 7, 2011, lawmakers in the New Jersey Senate will hear from police and firefighters about how layoffs are impacting public safety.

The Senate Law and Public Safety Committee has invited several speakers to address a recent spike in violent crime. The hearing scheduled for February 7, 2011 will examine how the ongoing fiscal crisis is effecting the ability of cities and towns to maintain public safety. Municipalities around the State have laid off police officers and firefighters to help balance their budgets.

Governor Chris Christie recently met with Newark Mayor Cory Booker, Camden Mayor Dana Redd, and Trenton Mayor Tony Mack to discuss the issue. The Governor says he is looking to maintain a balance between his responsibility to taxpayers and public safety.

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As reported by nj.com on February 7, 2011, Newark police have made nearly half as many arrests, issued fewer summonses and conducted fewer inquiries in the second half of 2010 than in the same period the previous year, a decline some law enforcement officials say was tied to hostile layoff negotiations.

A public and protracted fight between the administration of Mayor Cory Booker and union leaders over the layoffs of more than 160 officers severely damaged morale, likely leading to a precipitous drop in production, officials said. “Morale is definitely at an all-time low and I don’t know what it’s going to take to bring it back,” said Derrick Hatcher, president of Newark’s Fraternal Order of Police. “Years ago, you used to love coming into work. Now some guys dread coming to work.”

Booker insists morale has not affected crime fighting, and said it is impossible to link arrest totals with crime rates. “Correlation is not causation,” Booker said. “You can cut the statistics any way you want, but the fact of the matter is there is so much evidence that shows arrest rates don’t necessarily correlate with crime.”

Between July and December of 2010, police made 7,577 arrests, according to records. Newark recorded 14,920 arrests during the same period in 2009 and 15,332 the year before. The public and often contentious talks between the administration and the police union coincided with steep declines in monthly arrests. The largest monthly dip, 42.8 percent, came in November, when layoff negotiations hit a fever pitch. The second largest monthly drop, nearly 20 percent, occurred in July, when Booker first said layoffs would be inevitable without union concessions.

In December, the month after the layoffs were imposed, police recorded just 837 arrests, the lowest monthly total in three years. There were 2,443 arrests in December 2009 and 2,167 in December 2008. Newark saw at 7 percent increase in crime last year and the department recorded 6,717 fewer arrests than in 2009.  

Informed of the arrest numbers, Acting Essex County Prosecutor Robert Laurino said in a statement that he would “not tolerate any police officer in Essex County turning a blind-eye on people who should be arrested for criminal offenses.” In addition to fewer arrests, the number of summonses issued fell by 28 percent last year compared to 2009, and the number of field inquiries conducted, interactions between officers and citizens for a public safety purpose, fell 12 percent.

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As reported by nj.com on February 4, 2011, the effort to reform the State of New Jersey’s civil service system stalled as Governor Chris Christie conditionally vetoed a bill to overhaul the system and Democratic legislative leaders declared they will not agree to his proposed changes. 

Christie called the Democrats’ bill “tepid, ineffective and meaningless” and said it would not save property taxpayers’ money. “The Legislature has sent me special interest approved ‘reform’ that will do nothing to constrain property taxes,” said Christie in his veto message. “The time for real reform of civil service is overdue.”

The Governor proposed allowing the State’s 193 towns in the Civil Service system, rules that govern the hiring, promotion and firing of employees, to opt out of it through voter referendum. Democrats had balked at this, saying it would open the door to more political cronyism and nepotism. 

Senate President Stephen Sweeney said he was willing to compromise with the Governor after they passed the bill, but Christie “didn’t want to give an inch.” Sweeney said he will not put Christie’s conditional veto up for a vote in the Senate, and will not start from scratch on another civil service reform bill. “I’m not going to beg the governor to try to find reform. We’re equal branches of government,” he said. “This was the first time the governor was not willing to compromise on something. What he’s going to find out is when there’s no compromise, there’s no legislation.”

Changing the State’s Civil Service system is the biggest remaining piece of Christie’s proposed “tool kit” to help towns curtail property taxes. Starting this year, towns face a 2 percent limit on property tax increases. In addition to the 193 towns, most state workers and 20 of the State’s 21 counties are in the Civil Service system.

The Democrats said their bill was “real reform” because it allowed local leaders to move employees between departments and set up a task force to reduce the number of employee titles and give towns more flexibility in assigning work duties. In his veto, Christie struck language about creating the task force on civil service titles, saying it would add an unnecessary layer of bureaucracy.

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As reported by app.com on February 1, 2011, two major public safety unions opposed new arbitration caps on the raises that can be given to their members, but union representatives will play a key role in deciding whether those caps, designed to give taxpayers a break from skyrocketing public worker salaries, remain in effect beyond 2014.

Senate President Stephen Sweeney appointed two union officials to the panel that will study the effect of the cap and whether it should remain in effect after 2014. The two are Ronald Bakley of Erial, a retired police officer who is director of the New Jersey Fraternal Order of Police labor council, and William Lavin of Woodbridge, president of the New Jersey Firefighters Mutual Benevolent Association. Both individuals have said the arbitration changes signed by Governor Christie in December limiting raises that can be awarded by arbitrators at 2 percent a year were not necessary.

Lavin said he wants to make sure the task force considers his union’s concerns about timeliness, the selection of arbitrators and the accuracy of the depiction of raises being received by public safety employees. “The fair interpretation of those numbers is critical to us,” Lavin said. Bakley said he is not concerned about specifically what the panel, which has not yet organized, intends to accomplish. He said the law will get arbitrators to decide cases faster, because their pay is capped at $7,500 and they $1,000 per day fines if they take more than 45 days. But he predicted other impacts of the law would not be as drastic because it keeps conventional arbitration on the books.

The Police and Fire Public Interest Arbitration Impact Task Force was established as part of the arbitration reform. It is to study the impact of the award cap on property taxes, union contracts, municipal services, and expenses and changes in crime rates, response time and police and fire staffing. The task force will consist of eight members. The four being appointed by Governor Christie and the two being named by Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver have not yet been identified.

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