The 2021 Union County Executive Budget is out and this blog kicks off a series that will look at the numbers in detail. Here are the pertinent pages and we start with items that pop out at you to the point where you assume it is some kind of mistake.
$2.5 in additional Salary and Wages for the County Manager’s Office! How can there be that many people on the Scutari Friends & Family Plan?
$2 million in additional ‘Aid to Union County Improvement Authority’! Obviously to repay bond debt from the Solar Panel fiasco as the UCIA seeks direct repayment by the county rather than diverting money intended for other projects.
On the revenue side we have a big chunk coming out of the surplus:
Along with the perpetual theft of Open Space Tax money. More detail on this in the next blog.
countywatchers 
Posted by Bpaterson on March 5, 2021 at 10:23 pm
At issue throwing a wrench in the works was the Cares act $104 million total sent to Union County govt. That does show up under the appropriations line item “state and ferderal programs”…the 2020 modified budget was $142.2m and the 2021 exec budget of $29.6m a decrease of (-$112.6m). Don’t know why there is an extra ($8m drop) in accountinig for the $104m Cares monies. Another item is the “total salaries and wages” final line summary: 2020 modified budget was $171.064m and the new 2021 exec budget is now $178.9m, and increase of $7.8m or 4.5%. Did they dump a lot of personnel into the Cares act monies as they worked the Kean U site? Then bring them back on board the govt employ? Or is that $4.5 million being showered onto everyone with new positions included. An interesting question that the public will never know.
Posted by BPaterson on March 5, 2021 at 10:32 pm
Just saw the 2019 cnty managers budget–the “salary and wages” line in the 2019 modified budget shows $$171.556m. Interesting that compares to the 2020 mod number of $171.06. So why is that line item going up 4.5% to $178.9m???????????