UCCF 1/21/21: Raises for Commissioners/ Department Heads

For years Union County commissioners received annual salaries of $29,500 with the Chair of the Board getting an extra $2,000 and the Vice Chair an extra $1,000.

In 2015 raise ordinances started including commissioner salaries and these fixes have become a seasonal event. At yesterday’s virtual meeting, at a time of private sector layoffs and furloughs and a lot less ceremonial work for commissioners to do, we got:

823-2021 FIXING THE SALARIES OF MEMBERS OF THE UNION COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS, COUNTY MANAGER AND DEPARTMENT HEADS.

Those new salaries:

UCCF 1/3/21

Bruce Paterson’s questions on resolutions:

No resolutions to reference as the county website only had links to the ceremony agenda.

Pot Pops

There was a dustup on legalization of marijuana in the state Senate this Thursday though no video, only live stream, as it seems we had one of those BLM folks strongly in favor of S21 defending their record against a racist:

For the record, here is a picture of State Senator, and Union County political boss, Nick Scutari and the fellow he is ranting against with the full exchange:

Rising Union County Pension Payments – Detail

Local Employer Pension Contributions for the year ending Jun 30, 2021 (payable in early 2021) were posted on the state website and a comparison to FY20 costs showed total contribution increases for Union County and municipalities in the county going up by over $15 million, 10% on average, but the hikes were not evenly distributed. Here is a listing of payments to PERS or PFRS sorted by percentage increases.

Are White People Getting Any Of This Money?

Among the resolutions at yesterday’s Union County Freeholder meeting were these:

2020-905: Authorizing the County Manager to award a contract to the Union County Economic Development Corporation, Cranford, NJ, for the purpose of providing procurement training/technical assistance to private businesses within Union County for the period of January 1, 2021 through December 31, 2021, in an amount not to exceed $125,000.

2020-906: Authorizing the County Manager to award a contract to the Union County Economic Development Corporation, Cranford, NJ, for the purpose of providing general economic development services to private businesses within the County of Union for the period of January 1, 2021 through December 31, 2021, in an amount not to exceed $100,000.

Though asked of other resolutions this board is always considering the question:

UCCF 12/10/20

Resolutions:

UCCF 12/3/20

Q&A on an ordinance and resolutions including more on Acting Prosecutor Lyndsay Ruotolo:

More video and resolutions:

UCCF 11/12/20: Resolutions and Legal Costs

From today’s freeholder meeting:

UCCF 11/5/20: Prosecutor Ruotolo, Bonding, & Resolutions

There was a little back and forth on a patronage hire costing taxpayers some money.

Eliciting this ad hominem response:

More on more borrowing and more spending:

UCCF: 10/15/20 Resolutions, VBM, Bonding

Bruce Paterson vote-by-mail and resolution questions:

Daniel Hahn on bonding and Bruce Paterson vote-by-mail answers: