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On March 11, 2015, we posted a blog wherein Senator Sweeney stated that Governor Christie needed to change his tactics at the bargaining table regarding pension reform and if he instead concentrated on “growing” New Jersey’s economy, additional tax revenue would be created that would result in more money to fund the Public Employees’…

Yesterday, I received an email from one of our readers, Ed Mecka, from Hoboken, New Jersey, who turned me on to an article regarding the pension crisis that is taking place in Memphis, Tennessee.  The crisis in Memphis has caught the national media’s attention, and an article was printed in the Wall Street Journal a…

As reported by NJ.com, Governor Chris Christie’s administration has filed a formal notice that it will appeal a Court ruling that it broke the law by slashing this year’s payment into New Jersey’s public worker pension system.  A State Superior Court Judge sided with public unions who sued Governor Christie to force him to…

As reported on the website, the New Jersey Politicker, Senator Sweeney recently questioned the labor negotiating tactics of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.  Sweeney went on the record stating “When you hear [Governor Chris Christie] focusing on pension reforms and benefit costs, it got the attention of a lot of people nationally. But the reality…

As reported in NJ.Com, Judge Jacobson’s ruling this week that public worker pension contributions are contractually protected will constrict the state’s ability to balance its budget in the future, Moody’s, a Wall Street rating agency, said today.  The flexibility of the state’s pension payment has been “a tool essential” to balancing the budget, Moody’s Investors…

As reported on NJ.Com, The State of New Jersey argued before a State Superior Court Judge today that Governor Chris Christie cannot be forced to make full pension payments because the 2011 law committing him to fully fund the state system in exchange for union concessions was unconstitutional.

Interrupting the assistant attorney general, Superior Court…

As reported in NJ.COM, New Jersey’s unfunded public employee pension liabilities have soared to $83 billion, more than double previous estimates, as the state comes into compliance with new accounting rules, according to a report released today by Moody’s Investors Services,  a Wall Street ratings agency.

Governor Chris Christie’s administration acknowledged the change in a…

As reported by nj.com, a divided State Supreme Court said judges and justices don’t have to chip in more for their pension and health benefits like other state workers because New Jersey’s Constitution prevents them from having their pay cut. The 3-2 decision drew swift responses from the leaders of New Jersey’s two other branches of government, which last year enacted a law requiring higher contributions from state workers.

Governor Chris Christie called it a case of “liberal activist judges running amok” while Democrats who run the state Legislature said they may ask voters to change the state constitution to force judges to pay more. The state’s bar association, however, called it a win for judicial independence, saying judges “will remain free from political retaliation when judges make an unpopular but just decision.”

The highly anticipated decision, which affects most of the more than 375 Superior Court judges and Supreme Court justices who were on the bench when the law went into effect, strikes at a key component of Christie’s effort to trim spending on employee salaries and benefits and stabilize pension plans.

The Court said making judges contribute more for their benefits constitutes a pay cut, and that the state Constitution forbids the other branches from reducing judges’ salaries to make sure they are not punished for making unpopular decisions. “Whatever good motivation the Legislature may have had when enacting (the law) with its broad application to all state public employees, the framers’ message is clear,” the Court said. “The constitution forbids the reduction of a justice or judge’s take-home salary during the term of his or her appointment.”

Superior Court Judge Paul DePascale brought the challenge, saying his pension and health contributions would increase by more than five times after a seven-year phase in. The State argued health benefits and pensions are part of a total compensation package and should not be considered as salary. But the majority of the justices said the terms “salary” and “compensation” were used interchangeably by the framers of the state Constitution and every time lawmakers imposed pension requirements on judges, it included a corresponding pay raise.Continue Reading NJ Supreme Court Rules Judges Don’t Have to Contribute More For Health Care and Pensions