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As reported by nj.com, state law enforcement authorities are mounting a coordinated response to rising gang activity in cities and suburbs, New Jersey U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman said. Gang violence in the state has become “more widespread, more violent and more sophisticated” in recent years, Fishman told about 400 law enforcement agents at the opening of a three-day conference at the Hyatt Regency. The increased gang activity comes amid severe budget woes that have forced places like Newark and Camden to reduce their police forces.

“Gangs aren’t just confined to one bad area now,” said Mary Lou Leary, U.S. principal deputy assistant attorney general in the Department of Justice. “They’re spreading out. We didn’t see that 10 years ago.”

Fishman said his office and the Newark field office of the federal Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and Explosives are sponsoring the conference in response to a federal directive to lower gang-related violence. Fishman and other officials urged law enforcement agencies to reach new levels of cooperation and develop strategies to reduce recidivism and prevent kids from joining gangs. “We’re not going to arrest our way out of this problem,” he said.

Strategies must be based on what has worked in other municipalities, Leary said. “You just need to…tweak it to work here in New Jersey,” she said. Neither Fishman nor Leary would detail the strategies they are considering, saying they do not want to tip off gangs and undermine law enforcement efforts. Fishman also emphasized the importance of taking out an entire organization, not just the leader and allowing someone else to fill the spot. “Our strategy cannot be a high-stakes game of Whac-A-Mole,” he said.

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As reported by nj.com, Governor Chris Christie signed into law controversial legislation that will force public employees to pay more for their pension and health insurance. Christie, who signed the bill flanked by a bipartisan cast of mayors, said passage of the bill is his biggest legislative victory since taking office.

“It is an important moment for the State of New Jersey, for its citizens, its taxpayers and New Jersey has once again become a model for America,” Christie said at the bill signing. 

Starting on Friday, public employees across all levels of government will pay an additional percent of their pay into the pension system. Employees will begin to pay more for their health insurance when their contracts expire. For those without contracts or with contracts that have already expired, the increased payments could begin as soon as January, when new health insurance plans are expected to be completed.

The legislation took a bumpy road to passage. Christie and Senate President Stephen Sweeney began working on the proposal last fall. They faced strong pushback from the public employee unions, who argued that health benefits should be decided at the bargaining table, not through legislation. But the unions were unable to stop the bill.

Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver got on board with the legislation earlier this month. Republican lawmakers joined a coalition of Democrats, mostly those with ties to South Jersey political boss George Norcross and Essex County Executive Joe DiVincenzo, to provide enough support to pass the bill last week.

A last-minute change to remove the most controversial provision of the bill, which would have limited access to out-of-state hospitals, was done through a separate bill, which Christie also signed.

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As reported by nj.com, a contentious bill raising pension and health benefits costs for more than half-million New Jersey government workers goes back to the state Senate one more time on Monday for a formality vote.

A provision in the main bill allowing health plans that restrict out-of-state care will be removed. The provision was seen as a plum to South Jersey political boss George Norcross III, who oversees Cooper University Hospital in Camden, minutes away from Philadelphia. It caused an uproar among public-sector union leaders, who vehemently oppose the entire piece of benefits legislation, and threatened to upend Republican support.

The main bill requires teachers, police, and other public workers to pay part of their health care premiums based on income. Their pension contributions will also rise. Proponents say higher worker contributions are necessary to shore up the underfunded retirement systems, which are shy of their eventual liabilities by $110 billion. Opponents say the pension system is underfunded mostly because the state has repeatedly skipped its annual payments. They say health insurance changes should be negotiated at the bargaining table, not legislated.

Governor Chris Christie is expected to quickly sign the legislation. The governor has already taken victory laps over the weekend, suggesting on national television that Washington could learn from New Jersey’s example when it comes to bipartisan cooperation and curbing spending by passing additional benefits costs onto public workers. 

The bill was fast-tracked through the Legislature after Christie struck a deal with Democrats and Republicans who lead the Senate and Assembly. However, it got through without the support of a majority of Democrats in either house. Debate among Assembly Democrats was especially divisive. That house approved the employee benefits bill and the supplemental measure late Thursday, after several hours behind closed doors. In the midst of that debate, Senate President Stephen Sweeney and Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver announced that the restriction on out-of-state care would be abandoned.

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As reported by nj.com, New Jersey lawmakers voted to enact a sweeping plan to cut public worker benefits after a long day of high-pitched political drama in the streets of Trenton and behind closed doors. Union members chanted outside the Statehouse and in the Assembly balcony, and dissident Democrats tried to stall with amendments and technicalities. Although they successfully convinced top lawmakers to remove a controversial provision restricting public workers’ access to out-of-state medical care, they failed to halt a historic defeat for New Jersey’s powerful unions and a political victory for Republican Governor Chris Christie.   

More than 8,500 protesters, the most this year, poured into Trenton this morning with signs, speeches and their trademark inflatable rat. But most had dispersed by the time Democrats emerged from their hours-long caucus meetings where they debated the bill’s details and a separate budget proposal. The Assembly convened for a vote at about 6:15 p.m., more than five hours late, and lawmakers delivered speech after speech on the bill for nearly three hours.

Christie and Republicans banded together with Senate President Stephen Sweeney and Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver to advance the bill despite opposition from the majority of Democrats who control the Legislature. The bill passed the Assembly 46-32 and will be sent to Christie’s desk for his signature. Fourteen Democrats voted for the bill, while 32 opposed it. After the vote, protesters in the balcony shouted “Shame on you!”

Unions have blasted the bill for ending their ability to collectively bargain their medical benefits. Health care plans for 500,000 public workers would be set by a new state panel comprised of union workers and state managers, rather than at the negotiating table. A sunset provision would allow unions to resume collective bargaining after increased health care contributions are phased in over four years. In addition, police officers, firefighters, teachers and rank-and-file public workers would all pay more for their pensions and health benefits.

Supporters of the bill say the state needs to cut costs because the pension and health systems are underfunded by more than $120 billion total. The Christie administration estimated the bill would save $3 billion in health benefits over the next 10 years and $120 billion in pension costs over 30 years. Much of the pension savings are from the controversial elimination of the cost-of-living adjustments for retirees, which unions have threatened to challenge in court. 

The union protest, like other recent demonstrations, did nothing to stop the bill. But, it did highlight the growing fissures in the state Democratic Party. While Sweeney and Oliver were pushing the bill, the chairman of the state party, Assemblyman John Wisniewski was rallying protesters with two-dozen other Democrats.

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As reported by nj.com, New Jersey’s battle over benefits could hit a fever pitch today. Thousands of public workers are expected to stage what leaders vow will be their biggest Statehouse protest yet over a controversial bill to force them to pay more for health insurance and pensions. The bill is up for final passage in the Assembly, which would send it to Governor Chris Christie, who is expected to sign it swiftly.

Leading up to today’s battle, a state workers union chapter filed a federal suit against the state saying its contract was broken because pension payments were skipped. Christie pitched the plan where he was booed by some teachers. At a town hall in Fair Lawn, Christie said the measure, a focal point of his agenda, is needed to restore the state’s fiscal balance and ensure the solvency of the pension fund. “We have support with both political parties to do this,” he said. “It isn’t like other states.”

With the passage in the Assembly seeming almost inevitable, one union began what could be the first of several court battles. Local 1033 of the Communications Workers of America filed a lawsuit in federal court claiming the state failed to meet its contractual obligations when it did not contribute to the pension system. Rae Roeder, president of the local 1033, the only CWA chapter that has all its members in the same pension fund, said the members of the union voted to move forward with the lawsuit. The union is also alleging the legislation, which would eliminate cost of living adjustments for retirees, violates federal contract law. The suit asks that full payments be made into the pension fund.

The unions yesterday continued their war of words with Senate President Stephen Sweeney. Hetty Rosenstein, state director for the CWA, contested comments Sweeney made earlier this week that negotiations over the bill fell apart when the union demanded that the content of the health plans be included in the legislation. Sweeney has said the unions were trying to subvert collective bargaining, a charge unions have made against he and Christie.

Rosenstein said the proposal sent to them by Sweeney included no details and was not in writing, putting them in a tough spot to sign on. “This is not anything that any union could accept or that we could do in any fairness to our members,” Rosenstein said. “Somehow we’re supposed to say ‘yes’ to that.”

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As reported bynj.com, a public worker union local plans to take New Jersey to court over missed pension payments. The Communications Workers of America Local 1033 told the Associated Press it will file suit in U.S. District Court today.

The union wants the court to find the state’s continued failure to make required annual pension payments a violation of workers’ and retirees’ rights. Past litigation on pension funding has failed. 

The union has been adamant in its opposition to the proposed legislation that would allow the state to phase in pension payments over seven years and institute a pending freeze on cost-of-living pension increases for retirees. The teachers union says the measure would have a crippling effect on retirees. It says retirement benefits will lose value every year without cost-of-living adjustments.

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As reported by nj.com, under pressure to regain control of the issues in Trenton, Democratic sources said Tuesday that legislators plan to introduce their own budget next week that will include money for police departments and property tax relief for the elderly.

The plan to reshape Governor Chris Christie’s $29.6 billion budget is emerging with time running out before the June 30 deadline and as Democratic leaders break from rank-and-file members on a plan to overhaul benefits for public employees. The legislation sharply raises the cost to employees for health and pension benefits, and will deliver a political victory for Governor Christie. The legislation was approved by the Senate on Monday and awaits a final Assembly vote Thursday.

Looking toward passage of the budget, which was delayed as lawmakers fought over the benefits plan, Democrats will propose reviving a program cut by Christie last year that provides property tax relief to residents 65 and older who earn less than $80,000 a year, the sources said. They also plan to seek financial relief for police departments stung by layoffs while experiencing an increase in crime, like Newark. The amount to be allocated is still under discussion. “That is a priority for Democrats,” said Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver, adding that the money would go to departments “where there have been real challenges.” 

When asked whether Democrats planned to introduce their own budget or nibble around the edges of Christie’s. Oliver said, “I don’t want to let the cat out of the bag.”

State Sen. Paul Sarlo, chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, said Democrats were “developing a list of priorities” and that his committee would consider the “total package” on Monday. The Assembly may hear the bill on the same day. 

A spokesman for the governor, Kevin Roberts, said Christie has fulfilled his obligation by submitting a balanced budget and will review the budget when lawmakers sent it to him for his signature. Christie had pledged to triple property tax rebates for residents already receiving them if lawmakers overhauled health and pension benefits. It was not clear whether the Democrat proposal takes into account the governor’s commitment.

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As reported by nj.com, former Department of Corrections’ official Lydell Sherrer pleaded not guilty to charges of bribery and attempted extortion today in federal court. Sherrer is accused of taking bribes from corrections employees he supervised while serving as assistant commissioner. 

Federal authorities said he offered jobs, transfers and help with a lawsuit against the Department. He sought $52,500 from five current and former employees and received $19,000, according to the indictment released June 9.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Skahill said the prosecution will present recordings of meetings and phone calls, as well as bank records. He also said the case against Sherrer could still grow. “We’re still investigating any credible leads,” he said.

Lisa Van Hoeck, a federal public defender, is representing Sherrer. No trial date has been set.

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As reported by nj.com, fierce opposition could not stop the Senate from passing a contentious measure Monday that will sharply raise the cost of health benefits and pensions for the state’s 500,000 public employees. With protesters dressed in Revolutionary-era garb gathered outside the Statehouse and union members clamoring inside, the pivotal Senate vote came on the same day the Assembly Budget Committee approved by a 7-5 vote an identical version following eight hours of testimony.  

After days of protest from Democrats, Republicans and union members, a last-minute provision inserted by Senate President Stephen Sweeney limiting public employees’ access to out-of-state hospitals was weakened hours before lawmakers met Monday. The changes agreed to by Sweeney, shortly before the Senate approved the measure 24-15, would allow public workers to receive out-of-state care at a higher cost if a doctor decides the treatment is not available in New Jersey.

The Senate vote earlier in the day was a major legislative victory for Sweeney and Governor Chris Christie, who along with others hammered out the agreement over the last two months even as they sparred over other issues. The bill increases pension costs up to two percent of workers’ salaries for all public employees, while at least doubling, and in many cases tripling, their health care contributions. It also raises the retirement age from 62 to 65, eliminates cost-of-living adjustments and creates a board to formulate a menu of health plans, including low-cost, high-deductible options.

The Assembly is scheduled to vote on the bill Thursday, when it is expected to pass, just as in the Senate, despite little Democratic support. The changes are expected to save $10 million next year, far less than the $300 million the Christie administration had expected.

The Senate legislation (S2937) passed with the support of a handful of Democrats. One Democrat after another took the floor to condemn the bill, saying it curtailed the right to collectively bargain, drawing applause and cheers from the gallery. Senate Majority Leader Barbara Buono said undermining the collective bargaining process “erodes out identity as a nation.” “Today is all about politics,” she said. The bill was a result of “back-room deals” instead of open debate. It restricts competition, she said, “an affront to free-market principles.”  

Sweeney’s defenders were primarily Republicans, including state Sen. Joseph Kyrillos, a close friend of the governor. He called it a “historic day,” and praised Sweeney’s leadership.

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As reported by nj.com, about 200 public employees marched across the Delaware River this morning in protest of cuts to their benefits. Later, protesters attempting to get into the Statehouse were pushed back by State Police troopers.

Led by Revolutionary War re-enactors, the workers carried signs and chanted as they crossed the Calhoun Street bridge from Morrisville, Pennsylvania to Trenton. The protest, organized by the New Jersey Education Association teachers union, was designed to replicate Washington’s crossing before the Battle of Trenton. The group marched to the Statehouse where they met up with another group that began at the War Memorial. Much smaller than a similar rally last week at the capitol, the protesters waved American flags and “Don’t Tread on Me” flags.

About 11:00 a.m., the crowd turned toward the Statehouse Annex, looked up to the fourth floor where the bill is being debated, and began chanting “We’ll be back, we’ll be back.” Nine state troopers blocked the main entrance to the complex and were no longer admitting the public.

Minutes later, with speakers booming, whistles singing, and noise-makers clapping, the crowd danced to ‘We’re Not Gonna Take It,” a popular 1984 hit by Twisted Sister. The rally then marched toward the doors of the Statehouse.

At the rally, New Jersey Education Association President Barbara Keshishian equated state workers’ opposition to the pension and health benefit bill rapidly moving through the Legislature today with the Battle of Trenton during the American Revolution, which gave a much-needed morale boost to the Continental Army against the British.

Keshishian called today’s protests near the Statehouse, which were attended by about 1,000 union members, “The Second Battle of Trenton.” “We are here today to do the very same thing, ladies and gentlemen. We have taken some blows in recent months. We look at Trenton and see it occupied by hostile forces. By people who put the interests of the wealthy ahead of the needs of the people,” she said. “I will not sugarcoat this, the situation looks bleak. Once again, the odds look long. But like Washington’s soldiers in 1776, we are determined to fight, and we are determined to win,” said Keshishian.

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As reported by app.com, more union protests are planned at the New Jersey Statehouse for Monday as the debate over public employee benefits rages on. A bill requiring sharply higher pension and health care contributions from 500,000 public employees will be voted on in the Senate on Monday, the same day the contentious bill gets its first public hearing in the Assembly.

“This is the defining moment for the labor movement in our generation,” AFL-CIO President Charles Wowkanech worte in an email to enlist support for Monday’s rally, the latest of several recent Capitol protests. “Only through your presence in Trenton on Monday will we make the difference.” Wowkanech was among 25 union members who were arrested after disrupting a Senate hearing on the bill last Thursday. They were issued disorderly persons summonses and released.

Democrats who lead the Senate have aligned with Republican Governor Chris Christie and GOP legislative leaders to support a bill that charges employees more to help shore up the underfunded retirement systems. A new tiered system will require teachers, police and firefighters and other public workers to pay a portion of their health insurance premiums based on income. Pension contributions will also rise by 1 percent immediately, and by an additional percent or more after a seven-year phase in. Public sector unions are vehemently opposed, in part because the bill limits collective bargaining over health care. Many Democrats agree.   

A provision to allow collective bargaining over health care to resume after four years did little to quell objections. A call to split the bill into two, one for pensions, which has wide support, and one for health care, has so far been refused by Senate President Stephen Sweeney. Christie also has said he would not support separate measures. The employee benefits bill has enough votes to pass in both the Senate and the Assembly as is, even though a majority of Democrats in both houses do not support it.

A fight also looms Monday about a provision deep inside the bill to limit public workers’ access to out-of-state medical care. The proposal restricts use of out-of-state doctors and hospitals unless similar care is not available in New Jersey. There are some exceptions, like emergency care, and employees would have to be offered a plan allowed unrestricted access to out-of-state care. That option would cost more.

Opponents of the provision say it’s imperative that all workers and their families have access to the same level of medical benefits. Proponents of the measure say the state’s doctors and hospitals are as good as any and the state should encourage their use.

The state teachers union says Sweeney’s friend and mentor, southern New Jersey Democratic powerbroker George Norcross, would benefit from the provision. Norcross, who heads Cooper Health System and Cooper University Hospital, denied the allegation.

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As reported by nj.com, the State Police should drop all charges against the protesters arrested at Thursday’s contentious budget hearing, Senate President Stephen Sweeney said today. “The issues of pension and health reform are tough and emotional,” he said in a statement. “I understand that. And as someone who has spent my life in a union fighting for working people, I know that sometimes emotions bubble over.”

Sweeney was the focus of heated criticism throughout the day for pushing a bill that overhauls the state’s pension and benefits system for public workers, requiring them to devote more of their salaries to cover those costs. The bill passed the Senate budget committee Thursday 9-4 despite an outcry inside and outside the hearing room. Before the vote, 25 union workers, including the state director of the AFL-CIO, were escorted out of the Statehouse by State Police troopers. They were promptly let go with disorderly conduct charges.

Stephen Jones, a spokesman for the State Police, said the matter is out of their hands. “It’s been submitted to the court,” he said. “At this point it’s up to them.”

The show of resistance was planned a few days before the hearing, however. Bob Master, political director of the Communications Workers of America, said they warned police “at the last minute.” “Nobody wants to resort to this kind of activity,” he said. “You want to be able to accomplish your goals through the normal legislative process, but I think people felt a sense of real betrayal here.”

Sweeney had a different take on the rancor outside. Christopher Shelton, a national CWA official addressing thousands of demonstrators, repeatedly called Sweeney, Governor Chris Christie, and Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver “nazis.” Other speakers disowned that comparison and rebuked Shelton from the stage.

“While the rank-and-file who protested in the committee room were largely respectful, their leaders outside were not,” Sweeney said. “When you defame the character of those with whom you differ and use over-the-top and over-heated rhetoric not to actually further an argument but simply to stir up a crowd, you degrade and diminish yourself and your cause.” Shelton apologized hours after the event, after Democrats and a national group of holocaust survivors denounced the remarks.

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As reported by nj.com, irate public employees converged on the Statehouse by the thousands Thursday touting horns, carrying signs, and disrupting a Senate hearing, but the show of force failed to break a legislative agreement overhauling their state health and pension benefits. Union members gathered at the Statehouse steps and clogged a Senate hearing room in an effort to thwart the progress of a bipartisan bill that was worked out Wednesday night between Democrats and Republicans.

There was even an inflatable rat outside the Statehouse annex with a sign on its chest that said, “Pension betrayal.” At one point the police led more than two dozen union workers from the hearing and charged them with disorderly conduct after they locked arms and began shouting “kill the bill” and “workers rights are human rights.”

As the raucous crowd cheered on union leaders and disgruntled Democrats, the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee absorbed a litany of blistering criticism of the bill and the legislators who support it. The measure, if approved, will force the state’s 500,000 public workers to assume a much larger share of the costs for health care and pension benefits. The labor leaders testified that health benefits should be negotiated, not legislated, and urged the panel to split the measure into separate bills. For four hours, union leaders pleaded in vain with Democratic legislators to vote against the measure, which was approved by a 9-4 vote.

Governor Chris Christie praised the measure Thursday at the annual conference of the New Jersey Association of Counties meeting in Atlantic City. “New Jersey is setting a model for dealing with these problems in an honest, forthright and bipartisan way,” he boasted.

The bill shifts more of the costs of health and pension benefits onto public workers in the form of increased contributions, while also freezing cost of living adjustments for retirees and raising the retirement age. Christie, who helped shape the bill, has said he hoped to save $300 million from health benefit reform, but a state treasury official testified that the bill would only save $10 million. Christie and lawmakers have until June 30 to fill the gap and approve his $29.6 billion budget for the next fiscal year.

The 9-4 vote, which included support from four Democrats, set up a vote by the full Senate on Monday, the same day the Assembly Budget Committee will hold its hearing. If approved, the full Assembly will vote on Thursday. While Democrats control both chambers, a majority of them oppose the bill, so Senate President Stephen Sweeney and Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver, who accepted the deal much more reluctantly, are relying on Republicans to pass the bill.

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As reported by nj.com, rank-and-file Democrats are lining up to take the microphone at a steadily growing union rally outside the Statehouse today, vowing to cast no votes on a bill that would overhaul pension and benefits for teachers, cops, firefighters, and others.

Assemblymen Wayne DeAngelo, Daniel Benson, Patrick Diegnan, Reed Gusciora, Vincent Prieto, and state Sen. Ray Lesniak blasted the bill and said the changes being proposed should be negotiated, not legislated. “There’s a lot of sheep inside, and the lions are out here fighting,” Gusciora said as legislators inside the Statehouse took up the bill, designed by Senate President Stephen Sweeney, at a Senate budget committee hearing. Lesniak said he will introduce legislation reviving a millionaires’ tax, which would raise the marginal tax rate for people earning more than $1 million, on Monday.

Representatives from the largest state unions-the CWA, the NJEA, AFSCME and police and firefighter groups-are also planning to denounce the bill from the podium.  “Do not think you can sell us out in June and buy us back in November,” warned Barbara Keshishian, the NJEA president. “I am mad as hell about politicians who were elected by the people but sell their votes to the powerful.” 

Union workers in the audience were fired up, booing loudly, and sounding disapproving notes on a tuba at mentions of Sweeney, Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver, and Governor Chris Christie.

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As reported by nj.com, employees with at least 20 years of service would lock in their retirement benefits under a last-minute change to the health and pension overhaul bill, according to Senate Democrats.

Under the current bill, only those employees with at least 25 years of service would have had their retirement benefits locked in, which in many cases means no cost health plans, but now that would be lowered to 20 years, according to Senate Democratic spokesman Derek Roseman.

The change will be welcome news to thousands of public workers nearing retirement age. A hearing on the bill has yet to begin before the Senate Budget Committee. The bill’s architect, Senate President Stephen Sweeney, is expected to testify and explain the changes. The bill, in short, shifts more pension and health benefit costs onto public workers. Unions argue that it interferes with collective bargaining.

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As reported by nj.com, New Jersey pumps nearly $65 million a year into a network of privately run halfway houses, but the system is rife with problems, according to a state comptroller report released yesterday. Even when contracts are violated, the state has failed to crack down on security lapses, the report said. Worst of all, it’s unclear whether the programs are actually achieving their chief goal: reducing the number of inmates committing new crimes by preparing them for life outside prison.

Comptroller Matthew Boxer said the state “cannot simply cut these halfway houses a check and hope for the best.” “As a state we have done a poor job of monitoring the program and have made no real attempt to find out what taxpayers are getting for their money,” he said.

The Department of Corrections acknowledged oversight needs to be improved, but said many problems identified in the report have been addressed in new contracts signed last year. However, Corrections spokeswoman Deidre Fedkenheuer would not say whether halfway houses have successfully reduced recidivism.   

Corrections is responsible for overseeing the state’s contracts with eight nonprofits that run 23 halfway houses housing an average of 2,720 residents each day. Low-security inmates can be sent to halfway houses when they are within two years of parole eligibility, giving them access to substance abuse treatment and work release programs. But the comptroller’s report said halfway houses, which sometimes lack perimeter fences, suffer from safety problems. Residents were able to simply walk out the door, and some put dummies in their beds as decoys. Last year, 298 residents walked away from halfway houses and 13 remain missing, the state said.

Problems extended to the contracts themselves as well. Miscalculations by nonprofits led to six years of overbilling that totaled $600,000, the report said. Fedkenheuer said the Department has fixed the errors in the new contracts and is examining whether it can recoup the extra money already paid.

New Jersey has increasingly turned to halfway houses to slow the revolving door of former inmates committing new crimes and returning to prison. Almost 60 percent are arrested again within three years of their release, according to state statistics.

Still, halfway houses have been controversial, particularly among prison officer unions who say rehabilitation programs should be provided in more secure state prisons. Boxer questioned whether halfway houses were worth the money, saying Corrections cannot show they cut the recidivism rate.

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As reported by nj.com, despite a rising chorus of opposition from fellow Democrats, the Senate President and Assembly Speaker pressed forward Tuesday to overhaul health and pension benefits for the state’s 500,000 public employees. After trying for a week to line up Democratic support for the measure with little success, Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver announced that she had scheduled a hearing on the controversial plan on Monday.

Oliver’s decision came on the same day that Senate President Stephen Sweeney introduced his 120-page bill, which is scheduled for a hearing before the budget committee on Thursday. It shifts more of the costs of pension and health benefits onto public workers in the form of increased contributions, along with eliminating cost of living adjustments for retirees and pushing back the retirement age. Nearly all of the state’s public workers would see their health insurance costs at least double and in many instances triple.  

As momentum has built for the plan among Senate leaders eager for an agreement, so has union opposition. Labor leaders are urging members to rally at the Statehouse on Thursday to block what they see as a crucial blow to the collective bargaining rights in the state.

Unlike Sweeney, who is relying largely on Republicans, Oliver has said she will not move the bill without “significant” support of her party. Tuesday she said she wanted to use the committee hearing to touch off an earnest debate.

So far Governor Chris Christie, despite working with Sweeney on the measure, has not publicly endorsed it. Union members and lawmakers have not expressed their opposition to the portion of the bill concerning pensions, and several lawmakers want the pension and health changes put in separate bills.

Currently, the average public employee earns about $60,000 a year and pays 1.5 percent of that salary, or $900 a year, for health benefits. Under the Sweeney bill, the same employee could pay $2,056 annually for single coverage and $3,230 annually for a family plan. Employees with the lowest incomes would pay about 2 percent of their salaries for health benefits, while those who earn $110,000 would kick in 6 percent of their salaries.

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As reported by nj.com, the state’s top lawmakers said Monday they cleared a significant hurdle in efforts to overhaul public employee benefits after agreeing to a plan that shifts more medical costs onto workers while protecting future collective bargaining rights.

The spotlight now turns to Governor Chris Christie, who has been uncharacteristically quiet as Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver and Senate President Stephen Sweeney hammer out the final details of a controversial bill overhauling pension and health benefits that is scheduled for its first legislative hearing on Thursday. 

Sweeney endorsed a plan Monday being promoted by Oliver that would increase health benefits contributions for all of the state’s 500,000 public workers but allow unions to seek lower rates at the negotiating table starting in 2014. “The sunset provision is certainly fair and is another example of the kinds of compromise we have been able to achieve with this legislation,” Sweeney said in a written statement.

A spokesman for Christie, Michael Drewniak, said the governor had no comment on the sunset provision or the broader proposal. Christie has spent the last 18 months as governor making his case for overhauling what he has contended are overly lavish pension and health benefits for the state’s public employees, often resorting to blunt criticism of them, their union leaders and Democratic lawmakers.

Sweeney and Christie recently agreed on a plan that shifts more of the costs of pensions and health benefits to public workers in the form of increased contributions, along with pushing back the retirement age and freezing cost-of-living adjustments for retirees. Leaders of the state’s public unions have mounted a fierce opposition to the proposal, urging members to reach out to legislators, lobbying in the halls of the Statehouse and issuing blistering news releases questioning lawmakers’ commitment to collective bargaining.

Sweeny has decided to bring the bill to the Senate floor despite lack of support from Democrats, and will rely on Republicans to approve the measure. Facing similar opposition, Oliver has said she will not move the bill without “significant” support from Assembly Democrats, and it’s unclear whether the sunset provision has resulted in enough support to overcome that self-imposed threshold.

The sunset provision may attract lawmakers who were on the fence, but it will probably do little to persuade staunch supporters of collective bargaining, like Assemblywoman Bonnie Watson Coleman, whose district includes many state employees. “Any legislative attempt to erode the rights of public workers is a mistake,” said Watson Coleman.

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As reported by nj.com, the state’s largest public employee union said State Senate President Stephen Sweeney has released misleading information about how his health benefit overhaul will affect the pocketbooks of workers.

Sweeney wants to shift more of the costs of health benefits onto public workers. All state and local public employees would pay a percentage of their health care premiums in a tiered system based on their salary. The proposal would be phased in over four years. To support the proposal, Sweeney released a four-page chart that breaks down how the proposal would affect workers at various wage levels. The problem with the chart, according to Hetty Rosenstein, head of the Communications Workers of America, is that the chart assumes that premiums will remain flat at a time when they are increasingly rapidly.

As premiums rise, so will the amount public workers pay under the Sweeney proposal. But that is not reflected in the chart, Rosenstein says. “Sweeney assumes that health care costs will not go up a single dollar over four year, a deeply unrealistic claim that is all the more ironic given that his plan does nothing at all to implement cost containment strategies we know can save taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars,” Rosenstein said.

For example, Sweeney’s chart claims that in the final year of his plan, a senior, professional employee making $70,000 would pay $4,180 in out of pocket costs for family coverage. But that figure presumes no increase in the cost of healthcare for the next four years.  If healthcare premiums rise six percent a year, the same worker making $70,000 per year would actually pay $5,277 a year, Rosenstein says.

“New Jersey’s public worker unions offered Governor Christie a proposal at the bargaining table that would save New Jersey hundreds of millions of dollars, by shifting some costs onto workers-but also taking common sense steps that dozens of other states have shown can slow the rising costs of healthcare,” Rosenstein said.

Derek Roseman, a spokesman for Senate Democrats, said while the chart does not take into account rising premiums, it also doesn’t reflect that workers will be able to choose from a host of different plans. “Workers can adjust plans based on their own financial situation,” said Roseman.

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As reported by nj.com, a consultant’s report on the advantages of sharing Bordentown Township and Bordentown City police services was met with skepticism from the public, though officials urged people to give the idea serious consideration. Despite being separate municipalities, the two Bordentowns could and should have a shared police force, according to the presentation, which consisted of findings from a 2 ½ year study conducted by Patriot Consulting Group, a Longbranch-based local government operations consulting firm.

Patriot concluded that the move would not produce savings for the municipalities, but would increase police services at no extra expense for taxpayers. Patriot’s president, Brian Valentino, said shared police services was already happening across the two municipalities and his plan would simply formalize the procedures for those situations. His group also recommended that the move be a step toward an eventual consolidation of the two police forces. 

Once the police departments are fully unified, services would increase through the creation of a new division dedicated to community activities, such as youth clubs, according to Valentino’s recommendations. The report also calls for the creation of individual traffic, patrolling and criminal investigation bureaus that would allow officers to specialize in those areas, rather than generally work in all three, Valentino said. Still, the idea seemed unpopular with many residents at a public meeting, who also seemed to believe the move could not be accomplished without costing taxpayers more.

Sharing services is becoming more commonplace in New Jersey as costs rise and governing officials seeks alternatives to raising taxes. Many, including some state officials, are advocating full consolidation of services and even municipalities. However, the loss of local control, other political ramifications and the costs to wealthier towns of merging with less affluent districts have been insurmountable obstacles in many cases.

In Hightstown, a four-year discussion to consolidate police forces with neighbor East Windsor fell apart recently, when Hightstown Borough Council members made a decision to instead renew their town’s police contracts for another five years. Princeton Township and Borough are weighing something more ambitious, a total consolidation of the two municipalities. Late last month a panel of representatives from both towns recommended that the towns’ governing bodies consider holding a referendum on the issue.

As for the Bordentowns, the plan will remain in the discussion phase for some time before the municipalities decide to take any actions, according to Bordentown Township Mayor Michael Dauber.

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As reported by nj.com, Senate President Stephen Sweeney said today he plans to introduce legislation to increase health and pension benefits payments for public workers and that the Budget and Appropriation Committee will hold a hearing on it next week.

Sweeney and Governor Chris Christie have reached an agreement on the measure, but Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver has not signed onto it. Under the proposal, police and firefighters would pay an additional 1.5 percent of their salaries toward their pensions, and non-uniform public workers would immediately pay an additional 1 percent and eventually reach an additional 2 percent, for a total of 7.5 percent of their salaries.

Workers would also pay more for their health benefits on a sliding scale, with higher income workers paying up to 30 percent of their premiums and the lowest-income workers paying 3 percent. 

In recent interviews, several Assembly members called for the measures to be split into separate bills, one dealing with pensions and the other with health benefits. “Of course they want to do the pension bill, you know, that’s what the unions want,” Sweeney said. “They want their pensions fixed, but they don’t want to have to deal with the health care component. You know who needs the health care component. The taxpayers.” Sweeney also said, “This is not about being unfair to the unions, it’s about being unfair to the taxpayers.”

Assemblyman Jack McKeon said he supports splitting the bills because lawmakers have traditionally dealt with pension issues in the past, while unions negotiated health benefits. “The concept of combining these is foreign,” he said. Asked about Sweeney’s comments, McKeon responded, “We don’t need two bullies.”

A short time later, Oliver issued a written statement that said she was “committed to getting it done.” She added, however, “My caucus had legitimate questions after seeing the details of this concept for the first time. Working through these concerns is reasonable and appropriate. Reforming the public worker pension and health insurance system at all levels of government to bring relief to taxpayers while respecting worker rights is my priority.”

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As reported by nj.com, Governor Chris Christie and Senate President Stephen Sweeney were poised to announce an agreement on a plan to overhaul health and pension benefits for public employees, but were stymied after the compromise received a chilly reception in the Assembly. “We are not there yet,” said Speaker Sheila Oliver, who found herself wedged between two of the state’s most powerful politicians.

Word of the agreement also drew quick opposition from public labor unions across the state, who said it represented an attack on collective bargaining rights by taking away their ability to negotiate health benefits. 

The plan would require the state’s 500,000 public employees to contribute more money for their pensions and health benefits than they currently do and freezing cost-of-living adjustments for retirees until the pension funds stabilize. The overhaul, which lawmakers have agonized over since Christie took office a year and a half ago, would address two of the most costly issues facing the state.

New Jersey has promised $66.7 billion in medical benefits to current and future retirees, the highest tag among the 50 states, but has not set aside a single penny to pay for it. At the same time, the state has about 66 percent of the assets needed to meet its future pension obligations, ranking it among the worst funded in the nation. 

Oliver outlined the plan to caucus members in a closed-door meeting, where many told her that while changes in the pension plan were needed, they agreed with union leaders that the health benefits should be negotiated and not legislated. More than a dozen union leaders stood outside the room where the Assembly Democrats had gathered, hoping the members of lower chamber would provide a bulwark against the part of the package that addresses health benefits.

Facing a similar lack of support, Sweeney has lined up a small group of Democratic senators who have agreed to join with Republicans to make sure there are enough votes to pass the overhaul, which will be wrapped up in one bill. In a written statement, Sweeney said the plan would save taxpayers $120 billion over an unspecified period of time, while protecting the pensions and health benefits of low- to middle-income workers. Notably, the statement did not include any details about the plan, such as how it would save taxpayers $120 billion.

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As reported by nj.com, public workers would pay more for their pension and health benefits under a deal struck between Governor Chris Christie and Senate President Stephen Sweeney. Under the deal, most public workers would immediately pay an additional 1 percent of their salaries for their pensions, while police and firefighters would pay an additional 1.5 percent. The State would pledge to increase its pension contributions to legally required levels.

Workers would pay up to 30 percent of their health care premiums after a four-year period. But, unlike Governor Christie’s original proposal, the payments would be tiered based on income, so employees with lower salaries pay less.

CWA New Jersey Director Hetty Rosenstein declined to discuss the specifics of the proposal, but said she’s opposed to legislation that “undermines collective bargaining.” “This proposal attacks collective bargaining. It’s absolutely unaffordable. And it does not one thing-there’s no indication that it does anything to address the high cost of health care,” she said. 

Public unions want health benefits to be decided through collective bargaining, not legislation. “We feel there is an avenue in the Assembly where we can protect our collective bargaining rights,” said Dominick Marino, president of the Professional Firefighters Association of New Jersey.  

Assemblywoman Joan Quigley said there is vocal opposition to health benefits legislation inside her caucus. “The Assembly is really just learning for the first time of the deal. There are millions of questions, and right now I don’t think there’s a consensus either way,” she said.

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As reported by nj.com, a double-dipping pension practice that stoked outrage earlier this year may become a thing of the past. The Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee unanimously approved two bills to prevent elected officials from collecting their pensions without actually stepping down from their jobs. The bills would only affect elected officials who have not yet taken advantage of the loophole, which has been broadened since its inception in 1985.

Many elected officials and public employees retire, start collecting a pension, then get a different government job. But the law targeted by the committee allows elected officials like lawmakers and sheriffs to start collecting a pension while still holding the same job and collecting a paycheck, as long as they are eligible to retire and once had a different public job. Five lawmakers, some sheriffs and county surrogates have used the loophole.

Although the overall dollar figure involved is small, state Sen. Steve Oroho, the bill’s sponsor, said it’s important to eliminate lucrative exceptions for elected officials. “The perception and appearance is what really matters,” he said. “It’s an issue of the public trust.”

The bills had been stalled for years until news reports in April said Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo, Jr. had been using the loophole since August. He had “retired” three months before winning his unprecedented third term in office. State records peg his monthly pension at almost $5,740, while his salary was $153,207 last year.

The bill now goes to the full Senate for a vote. Similar bills in the Assembly have not yet advanced.     

DiVincenzo has defended his pension as legal and in the best interests of his family. In a statement, he said the committee’s decision “represents a noteworthy shift” in the Legislature. “Pension costs contribute to financial challenges being faced by state, county, and municipal governments,” he said. “I hope today’s vote enables us to continue the discussion and find additional ways to provide relief.”

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As reported by nj.com, for the second year in a row, public employees across New Jersey are retiring at a record rate, state figures show. Nearly 15,000 public workers are expected to retire from January through the end of July, a slight increase from the same period last year, when a record number of state employees left their jobs.

The steady rise in retirements comes amid economic uncertainty, with changes in pension and health benefits for public employees remaining at the top of the state’s political agenda. As a result, an increasing number of the more than 500,000 state and municipal employees are choosing to retire rather than risk having their benefits cut by legislators.

“People have a certain set of expectations, and at some point, it just makes sense to retire,” said Jim Ryan, a spokesman for the state Policemen’s Benevolent Association. Ryan said retirements, combined with layoffs, have left police departments across the state understaffed and in many cases without the streetwise experience needed to conduct adequate investigations.

The numbers provided by the state Treasurer’s office show that State Police officers are also retiring at a record pace, a trend that the superintendent recently told a state Senate committee was disturbing. By the end of July, records show, 144 state troopers are expected to retire, significantly higher than any 12-month period since at least 2000. In the previous decade, an average of 61 state troopers retired each year.

Overall, more than 20,000 public workers retired last year, a 60 percent increase over 2009 and the highest number in at least a decade, according to the state Department of the Treasury. The unexpected surge may eventually force the state to pay more money into its troubled pension fund. Every three years, the state examines such assumptions as retirement rates and employee levels, which serve as the basis for pension payments, and adjusts accordingly. The next study will look at the three-year period from June 2008 to June 2011, when retirements jumped.

While public employees ponder whether to remain at their jobs or retire and lock in their benefits, Governor Chris Christie and Democratic leaders are trying to work out the details of health and pension reform. Under all of the proposals that have been floated so far, public employees who have spent a prescribed amount of time on the job, generally 25 years, would not have their benefits cut upon retirement.

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