Monmouth County commissioners increase their pay — the legal way this time
FREEHOLD - Monmouth County commissioners unanimously voted to set their pay at $30,000, making official the pay hike they quietly gave themselves nearly two years ago.
No one from the public spoke Thursday afternoon during a public hearing required under New Jersey law for county commissioners to increase their salary.
"At the end of the day, I’m glad we are taking that process," Monmouth County Commissioner Director Tom Arnone said.
The public hearing and vote on the salary resolution was required after a New Jersey State Comptroller investigation found the commissioners — then known as freeholders — did not follow state law when they set their pay at $30,000 a year in April 2020.
The state investigation also found that the county improperly boosted the salary of Monmouth County Sheriff Shaun Golden, the county GOP chairman, who saw his pay increase by $42,210 over a five-year period.
The report: Monmouth County illegally raised pay of commissioners, sheriff, NJ comptroller report says
The salary resolution approved Thursday returns commissioner pay to the amount the elected officials last received in 2008. In January 2009, the county board members cut their pay by 10% because of sharp cuts they needed to make in the budget as a result of the Great Recession.
The 2022 salary ordinance also resets the extra stipend given to the commissioner director at $1,000, which had been at $900 after the 2009 pay cut.
Arnone, however, declined for 2022 the $1,000 director stipend. Arnone said he had not taken the extra stipend for director for "two to three years" and "wants that money to stay with the county."
Arnone, however, did not acknowledge that the commissioners had secretly set their salaries at $34,597 in December 2019, then accepted a cost-of-living increase the next month that boosted their pay to $35,769.
More: 'It's deception': Monmouth County commissioners secretly gave themselves raises
The commissioners were paid the higher amounts until the Asbury Park Press reported about potential raises in April 2020. The board then agreed to set their pay at $30,000 without officially voting on the new salary.
The higher pay was only revealed after an Asbury Park Press investigation published last spring. That reporting found the commissioners were paid based on the $35,769 salary until May 2020.
The Press obtained the commissioners' W-2 tax forms through a public records request. Those records show Arnone, Commissioner Deputy Director Sue Kiley, Commissioner Lillian Burry and then-Commissioner Pat Impreveduto made $32,535 in 2020. Commissioner Nick DiRocco, who started his term on Jan. 7, 2020, made $29,058.
Commissioner Ross Licitra did not take office until January 2021, after winning election the November prior.
It's not clear if the commissioners will be required to pay back any of the extra pay they received prior to Thursday salary ordinance officially setting the $30,000 annual pay.
New Jersey law requires the commissioners to introduce a resolution alerting the public of their intent to increase their own pay; announce the date, time and place for a public hearing about the salary change; provide a public notice in an authorized newspaper at least 10 days before the hearing; conduct a public hearing and have a majority of the commissioner board vote in favor of the resolution.
The state law also gives voters a mechanism to put the pay raises to a vote in the general election. The pay raises would go on the ballot if a group presented a petition challenging the salary resolution within 20 days of adoption. The petition would need signatures of at least 15% of the total county votes cast in the November General Assembly election, or 36,210 signatures.
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Susanne Cervenka covers Monmouth County government and property tax issues, winning several state and regional awards for her work. She's covered local government for 15 years, with stops in Ohio and Florida before arriving in New Jersey in 2013. Contact her at @scervenka; 732-643-4229; scervenka@gannettnj.com.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Monmouth County commissioners hike their pay — the legal way this time
