That is a very interesting table - thanks for posting it. I'd hardly call the findings surprising though - most of the states that rank near the top also have very low population density. There is a certain amount of "fixed" services that are more easily absorbed across larger, particularly denser, populations. The fact that NJ ranks 9th in elementary/secondary Ed employment per capita is quite telling, I'd say.

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Here's a fascinating table, the number of full-time equivalent state and local government workers per 10,000 residents. You would figure Jersey would be way out ahead with the number of municipalities, but we're barely in the top half. Also interesting is that with the exception of NY, the bigger payroll states tend to be Republican leaning. Go figure.

http://www.governing.com/gov-data/pub ... mployees-by-job-type.html

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Bingo. I'm all for paying for good services, but NJ demands the highest taxes in the country and provides very little in return. And for what? A fat public sector, rife with redundancies and little accountability? Even if it took him a couple extra years to get there, Fulop made a small step in the right direction.

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Lets start by asking the employees what they think...

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At least start with the school boards...

Bayonne Board of Education (K?12)
East Newark School District (K?8)
Guttenberg Public School District (K?8)
Harrison Public Schools (K?12)
Hoboken Public Schools (K?12)
Hudson County Schools of Technology (9?12)
Jersey City Public Schools (K?12)
Kearny School District (K?12)
North Bergen School District (K?12)
Secaucus Public Schools (K?12)
Union City School District (New Jersey) (K?12)
Weehawken School District (K?12)
West New York School District (K?12)

What a joke.

I love how Boggiano thinks that the employees rather than the taxpayers and their elected leaders should have a say in how Jersey City is organized. What business would run that way? Reminds me of the disgusting PA meeting on fare/toll hikes where the loudest voices were the construction workers who wanted our money. I wonder how many of these municipal workers are even JC residents? Is there a residency requirement for these employees and is it enforced?

Also, for those who don't know, the JCIA does NOT collect the trash, it simply hires a contractor to do that. I'm not certain of the recycling but I think that's a contractor too. I'm not even sure what goes on at their Linden Ave facility, but if you look a the sat view half the surface area is just employee parking.

fantastic.

And yes I would love to see another vote on consolidation, I don't think the county has had one in over 50 years. Maybe even 100. Beyond cost savings on a myriad of things, it might also lead to better mass transit expansion, and would definitely lead to more tourism and businesses locating here. Businesses and tourists don't want to visit Brookline, MA, they want to visit Boston. And a consolidated Hudson County would be one of the largest cities in the country, checking in just next to Las Vegas.

Too bad we cant consolidate all the wasted redundant agencies that bleed money from the townships into single agencies for all of Hudson County. Its wasteful to have so many separate city halls, police stations. Waste agencies, parking authorities, etc for an area as small as Hudson County when they could be merged and managed more properly.

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So that might also explain why Healy's guy voted for the Dabney five-year contract extension, two years before his current contract expires? Because, despite knowingly outspending his budget by $9 million the past three years and overseeing the absolute disaster that was the JCIA's handling of the blizzard of 2011 - we were afraid we might lose him (Dabney)???

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It's simple. Healy needs the support of Cunningham, Richardson, Dublin, etal to be reelected. In order to have that support, the Cunningham Patronage Mill aka the JCIA will continue to operate.

Didn't the mayor talk about moving ahead with consolidation back in February or March? Why hasn't anything been done on this?

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I agree with Fulop the JCIA should go. His problem; he's trying to forge coalitions to become Mayor and many of the people he wants to align with won't cross Sandy Cunnigham and the HCDO. The JCIA exists as a Cunningham patronage mill and the HCDO hacks play right along. Each time Fulop confronts a Richardson or a Cunningham he is branded a racist. I know it's all bullshit but they all may end up with Healy and that will make it difficult for Fulop to win.

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Well, we certainly wouldn't want to do anything that would save the citizens of JC a "massive" amount of money by consolidating services and reducing redundancy. Who the f**k do these politicians think they work for anyway, the taxpayers or the (probably non-resident) municipal workers? I'll bet these workers wouldn't hesitate to rag on "welfare queens", how ironic.

If you want to know why our taxes are insane, look no further.

New law lets Jersey City Incinerator Authority grow, perhaps merge with DPW

August 10, 2012, 11:22 AM
By Terrence T. McDonald/The Jersey Journal

Gov. Chris Christie signed a bill into law last week that allows the Jersey City Incinerator Authority to expand its services, and makes possible a long-discussed merger of the agency with the city Department of Public Works.

The JCIA is the only incinerator authority in the state. Some political observers in the city claim the bill, sponsored by state Sen. Sandra B. Cunningham, was drafted solely to protect the city agency, which some politicos want to dissolve.

The JCIA, founded in 1951 and currently headed by Cunningham ally Oren K. Dabney, was limited by the previous state statute to the operation of waste disposal only. The bill signed by Christie permits it to perform additional services, including recycling, which the agency has performed for years.

The city has debated for years whether to merge the JCIA and the DPW. Mayor Jerramiah Healy originally favored folding the DPW into the JCIA, but the state in 2010 halted the action, saying state statute prevented the JCIA from performing some of the DPW's duties. The bill Christie signed into law last week changes that.

Healy has since endorsed a plan to keep both entities alive.

Ward E Councilman Steve Fulop has attempted to dissolve the JCIA, but hasn't found majority support on the City Council. Fulop's last attempt, in April, led to a three-hour hearing at which hundreds of JCIA workers and their supporters blasted Fulop and claimed the merger would result in massive layoffs.

Fulop, a mayoral candidate in the 2013 city election, called the new bill "another example of taxpayers losing."

"Expanding autonomous agencies doesn't help the taxpayer in any way shape or form. It only creates a mechanism for abuse and patronage beyond the taxpayers' view, as we saw with the Dabney contract," he said.

The JCIA commissioners two weeks ago awarded Dabney a new, five-year contract that comes with a nearly 5 percent pay hike that Dabney later said he would not accept.

Assemblyman Sean Connors co-sponsored Cunningham's bill with Assemblyman Jason O'Donnell

http://www.nj.com/jjournal-news/index ... ts_jersey_city_incin.html

JC employees have been immune to economic realities for years. They are going to learn that when you have huge debt plus underfunded liabilities and a tapped out tax base that you have to make tough decisions. Plain and simple.

No one ever wants to fire people, but the promises made by the city to its' workers are just flat out not realistic.

"... could AFFECT the jobs of almost 300 employees between the two agencies. But various conflicting studies commissioned by the city have concluded that taxpayers could save $5 million to $10 million if the two agencies were consolidated."

Affecting 300 employees does not say eliminating 300 employees.

Saving at least $5 million is a good start.


"But Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy has in the past suggested that a consolidation of the two agencies is the better option.
The consolidation of the two agencies, the mayor said, would be a priority this year. Plans to consolidate the JCIA, which now has about 134 full-time employees, and DPW, which has 146 full-time workers, have been discussed for the past decade."

134 + 146 = 280 full-time employees

So which 300 employees are being affected?

The sooner people realize that Fulop isn't the messiah(or whatever the atheist equivalent would be) the better. I do think Fulop has a great chance of becoming the next Mayor. But he is going to be like any other politician.

For the average JC resident the best thing to do is. Vote. Pay attention.....and then hold the politicians responsible for whatever promises weasel out of their mouths.

You want JCIA gone then you should have shown up to that little meeting. Those who had an invested interest showed up. And that will be exactly how things will be in a Fulop Admin. Those vested interests backing him....will want something in return and they will make sure to be heard on things they want.

While the rest of you will be surprised that gee....Fulop is just another politician.

JCIA workers to council: ?Don?t trash our jobs?
Angry employees rail against elimination plan

by E. Assata Wright - Reporter staff writer
Apr 29, 2012

At the behest of Hudson County Freeholder William O?Dea and dozens of nervous and angry Jersey City Incinerator Authority (JCIA) workers, the City Council has agreed to table a proposal that, if passed, would eliminate the autonomous agency and fold its current functions into the city?s Department of Public Works (DPW).

The council unanimously agreed to table the measure, introduced on April 11, after hearing more than two hours? worth of public comments on the controversial ordinance last Wednesday.

The proposal, initiated by Ward E City Councilman and 2013 mayoral candidate Steven Fulop, could affect the jobs of almost 300 employees between the two agencies. But various conflicting studies commissioned by the city have concluded that taxpayers could save $5 million to $10 million if the two agencies were consolidated.

The state Local Finance Board meanwhile confirmed last week that it is reviewing the ordinance. The board must approve the proposal to eliminate the JCIA before the agency can be dissolved.

Hundreds of jobs on the line

Last spring, the City Council passed a resolution notifying the JCIA that the city?s contract with the agency would likely be terminated in 2012. This 12-month notice is legally required before the city can end its contract with the JCIA. With the requisite 12 months nearly over, Fulop is now formally proposing the JCIA be eliminated.

But Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy has in the past suggested that a consolidation of the two agencies is the better option.

The consolidation of the two agencies, the mayor said, would be a priority this year. Plans to consolidate the JCIA, which now has about 134 full-time employees, and DPW, which has 146 full-time workers, have been discussed for the past decade.

O?Dea criticizes City Council

Freeholder O?Dea, a Jersey City resident who represents the city on the Hudson County Board of Freeholders, railed against the council for failing to understand the scope and limitations of the various reports that have been commissioned on consolidation plans.

He also noted that since the DPW is a department that has civil service protections, it would be impossible to simply absorb JCIA workers in to the DPW. Under civil service rules, workers with seniority who are slated to be laid off can ?bump? employees with less seniority. Any cuts made at the DPW to make way for JCIA workers would directly affect employees working at the bottom of the two agencies, several people argued Wednesday.

Former City Councilwoman and Board of Education Trustee Francis O. Thompson addressed the governing body, insisting, ?When I was a councilperson, we did our homework?We researched, we studied, and at no time could someone like Billy O?Dea come up here with research and statistics and we didn?t have the answers.?

Second Chance grads praise program

As the cornerstone of the city?s Second Chance program for ex-offenders, several graduates of the program who are now employed credited Second Change for turning their lives around.

Launched in 2001 by the late Glenn D. Cunningham when he was mayor, the Second Chance Program gives non-violent ex-offenders job skills through the JCIA. Since the program was started, at least 60 Jersey City residents have completed the Second Chance Program and have been hired, either by the city or some other employer, according to JCIA CEO Oren Dabney. About 30 to 35 of these graduates currently work for the JCIA, he said, and the remainder found jobs elsewhere.

Matthis Sharpless attended the council with his 16-month-old twin sons, Marlon and Matthis, telling the council the Second Chance Program enabled him to provide for his family.

?I?m not proud to say this, I am an ex-offender,? Sharpless told the council. ?Early in my years I had some problems. I got in trouble?I met the distinguished Glenn Cunningham and I explained to him the pitfalls that I was going through in trying to become a public servant and do the right thing.?

With Cunningham?s help, Sharpless became one of the first graduates of the Second Chance program. Today, he said, he is an employed married father of twins. He said he was on his way to becoming a homeowner and taxpayer through the Live Where You Work program, but has now put those plans on hold since he isn?t sure how long he?ll still have his job at the JCIA.

?If this ordinance passes it?s going to demolish families who are trying to rebuild,? Sharpless, a Fulop supporter, said, addressing the councilman.

Another employee, Darlene Costa, said, ?I love my job. I couldn?t get a job before because I have a criminal record for a drug charge. But when I got into that Second Chance Program, my whole life changed.?

Assad Pinkney, another graduate, credited the program with ?making me a man.?

Other community members who attended the public hearing addressed the larger societal impact of the Second Chance Program.

?This is what really makes me mad, when ex-offenders come out [of jail], they?re not coming to your neighborhood,? said former warden Ralph Green, pointing to Fulop. ?They?re not coming home to Ward E. They?re coming home to Ward F. And you wonder why crime in our neighborhood is so high.?

Initiatives like Second Chance help stabilize families and neighborhoods by giving troubled community members marketable skills and economic stability, said Green.

Several other residents and taxpayers also spoke in support of the JCIA employees and expressed concern about the possible elimination of the agency. These residents gave the JCIA high marks for being responsive to the requests and needs of neighborhood associations.

Fulop, Richardson respond

Most members of the council did not address those who spoke from the community. But as the council member who introduced the ordinance to eliminate the JCIA several workers addressed Fulop directly and he eventually responded.

?The goal of putting this forward is not to get rid of the Second Chance Program,? Fulop said. ?I believe you can enhance it and make it better. It was reported in the [Jersey City Reporter] that there have been 60 graduates of the Second Chance Program in 11 years. That comes to five per year. Why can?t we do 10 or 15??

The consolidation of the JCIA and DPW, he added, ?is not about cutting at the bottom, it?s about cutting at the top.?

Redundant jobs at the management and professional services level are what would be eliminated under his consolidation plan, Fulop said, not the rank and file workers on the street.

In a sidebar conversation with Councilman David Donnelly, an exasperated O?Dea exclaimed, ?Does this guy not understand how Civil Service works?? referring to Fulop.

Councilwoman At-Large Viola Richardson later countered Fulop, saying, ?We keep hearing that the JCIA and DPW are ?top heavy.? But there are a whole lot of other departments in this city that are more top heavy than the DPW and JCIA. I don?t hear any plans to cut those departments.?

When Fulop?s proposal was introduced on April 11, Richardson and Ward F Councilwoman Michele Massey were the only two members of the council who voted against introduction.

State reviewing proposal

The council voted unanimously to table the ordinance so it can be examined more closely.

The city has, meanwhile, sent the ordinance to the Local Finance Board in Trenton for review.

?The board received an application,? said spokesperson Lisa Ryan. ?It is in the process of being reviewed. We won?t comment further until we have completed a review and have had a chance to discuss it with the applicant. The next board meeting will be May 9 and the application may be heard then, if the application is sufficient.?

If approved by the city council and the state Local Finance Board, consolidation would begin sometime in spring 2013.

Fulop told the Reporter he is planning to meet with several rank and file JCIA workers to discuss their concerns further.

http://hudsonreporter.com/view/full_s ... ndary_stories_left_column

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Support is there.

Look, there happens to be two groups of people involved here: city taxpr and city employees. The first group will support rational cost cutting measures, the second group will - just as naturally - oppose.

I, being a taxpayer, hope Fulop remembers which group he was hired to represent.

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Look at that sign, "Outcomes the butcher block math." WTF is that. Someone forgot to get their sign checked by quality assurance.

http://www.jerseycityindependent.com/ ... -push-for-jciadpw-merger/

So..........what now, fulop? What happened to your support?

Long-planned elimination of Jersey City Incinerator Authority appears stalled

April 25, 2012, 3:03 AM
By Terrence T. McDonald/The Jersey Journal

A move to dissolve the Jersey City Incinerator Authority has hit the skids, with critics of the proposal seeking to delay or halt the long-discussed elimination of the city agency.

The City Council was set to hold a final vote tonight that would have dissolved the JCIA and hand over its duties to the city Department of Public Works. But that vote may be tabled after critics of the proposed merger said at Monday?s council caucus that the council was moving too fast with too little information about the consequences of the change.

Meanwhile, city officials are devising a plan that would keep both the JCIA and the DPW alive.

Monday?s discussion arose as the council debated a separate proposal set for initial approval tonight that would permit the city to borrow roughly $9 million to pay bills the JCIA owes for garbage collection and disposal.

Councilwoman at large Viola Richardson asked to postpone both that vote and the final vote to eliminate the JCIA. Richardson said the nine-member council seemed to be ?speeding? toward the elimination of the JCIA to meet some arbitrary goal.

?What?s the rush?? she asked.

Two weeks ago, the council, led by Ward E Councilman Steve Fulop, voted 7-2 to scrap the JCIA, with Richardson and Ward F Councilwoman Michele Massey voting against. That measure was set for final adoption tonight.

The proposed merger has been discussed for years, with Mayor Jerramiah Healy originally hoping to fold the DPW into the JCIA. That move was blocked in 2010 by state officials who said the JCIA was not permitted by state statute to perform some of the DPW?s duties, such as park maintenance.

On Monday, city Chief of Staff Rosemary McFadden said the administration would like to investigate whether both the JCIA and DPW can survive by paring down their staffs and eliminating duplicative services.

The measure to eliminate the JCIA is still on tonight?s council agenda, though it seems likely the body will move to table it during the meeting. A public hearing on the measure scheduled for tonight is likely to go on as planned.

The council meets at 6 o?clock tonight at City Hall.

http://www.nj.com/jjournal-news/index ... ed_elimination_of_je.html

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It figures Viola would be against it. She wants to protect the JCIA patronage mill for her buddy Sandy Cunningham.

Plan To Fold The Jersey City Incinerator Authority Into Department of Public Works Introduced

By Matt Hunger ? Apr 12th, 2012

The plan to fold the semi-autonomous Jersey City Incinerator Authority into the city-operated Department of Public Works was finally introduced at Wednesday night?s City Council meeting, 7-2. This, the latest version of a plan that has been discussed for years, was introduced by Ward E Councilman Steve Fulop and follows the third of three studies commissioned by the city to look into how best to consolidate the agency and the department.

?This is a good thing,? said Fulop, who acknowledged, ?there are a lot of employees in both organizations and our pledge is to move forward recognizing that there are families and lives impacted by this [consolidation.]?

The process, he maintained, would not be politicized. Fulop had previously suggested the JCIA was bloated by patronage jobs.

?It?s not based on individuals or individual relationships,? he said. ?It?s what?s in the best interest for the 250,000 residents in the city.?

However, the decision was criticized by At-Large Councilwoman Viola Richardson, who called into question the savings that would be generated by the merger. Fulop has cited a study provided by an independent firm that suggested there would be a $10 million saving numerous times, but Richardson said she?s ?not quite convinced that this consolidation is going to net us? as much money as the outdated report says. It?s an argument that the Healy administration has also made.

Read the rest at jcindy.com.

"Healy has since said he is OK with either entity taking over the other."
huh


and it should be clarified that last night was just the vote to introduce the bill for a later vote. It was successfully introduced, but no final decision was made.

this is a real litmus test for whether there is any chance of cleaning up the cronyism/bs that is rampant in JC govt...

I can hear the wheels turning, the gears meshing, and hear the screeching a howling. Lots of friction, lots of pain.

This is major stuff. Lots of patronage potentially in play.

And: "Healy, who opposed dissolving the JCIA back then [2010], now says he does not take a position on whether the JCIA should absorb the DPW, or vice versa." Hmm . . .

(good luck fulop. I hope it passes and the RR expansion into Little India doesn't)

Proposal to dissolve the Jersey City Incinerator Authority set for council vote tonight

Published: Wednesday, April 11, 2012, 10:40 AM
By The Jersey Journal

A proposal to dissolve the Jersey City Incinerator Authority is set for initial approval by the City Council tonight, The Jersey Journal reports.

The measure, to be introduced by Ward E Councilman Steve Fulop, would assign the city agency?s duties to the city Department of Public Works.

Full JJ piece?

http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/20 ... o_dissolve_the_jerse.html