James LaCorte Dies

Per newjerseyglobe:

James LaCorte, Union County Surrogate, dies at 74

Son of former Elizabeth mayor and state senator, LaCorte was serving his fifth term.

My only run in with him:

UCIA Departures and Stipends

Since last September when the Union County Government Complex project was initiated there has been $151,041.57 paid out in “salaries” through October, 2021.

Those were actually stipends and here is who got the money:

An Inside Game

That was the headline from today’s lead story in the Star Ledger which asks the question:

Was politics in play when public bidding laws were cast aside for a $123.8M project?

Yes it is about the pay-to-play cesspool that is Union County.

Notable excerpts:

Union County Government Giving ‘Unheard Of’ Raises To Top Admins

This letter was sent to the clerks of the 21 municipalities in Union County for distribution to the local governing bodies and got into TAPinto Westfield.

UCCF 12/2/21: $49 Million Borrowing

Ordinance:

UCCF 12/2/21: Resolutions

Resolutions mentioned:

UCCF 12/2/21: About Those Raises

It was the first in-person meeting in almost two years and the county hierarchy was looking to keep attendance down:

Here are those new salaries along with comments from tonight’s meeting:

UCCF 12/2/21: Back to Elizabeth

Thursday at 5:30 pm the Commissioners return to in-person meetings with a packed agenda that includes more borrowing, more spending, and raises for all.

Among the highlights:

Municipal Budgets 2021 (6) Insurance

Comparing pension records as to employee counts to 2021 budget allocations that municipalities in Union County paid for insurance including group health, health benefit waivers , and general liability including workers compensation yields these spreadsheets with rankings by municipality.

Municipal Budgets 2021 (5) Debt Rankings

Per Capita, Linden has the largest debt payment and (after Winfield which has no debt) Hillside has the smallest debt payment in 2021.