Sponsored by:
Senator STEPHEN M. SWEENEY
District 3 (Cumberland, Gloucester and Salem)
Senator VIN GOPAL
District 11 (Monmouth)
Co-Sponsored by:
Senators Singer and Oroho
SYNOPSIS
Encourages sharing of services; makes appropriations.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act promoting the more effective operation of local government and the sharing of services among local units, amending and supplementing P.L.2007, c.63, amending P.L.2007, c.54, making appropriations, and repealing various statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 2 of P.L.2007, c.63 (C.40A:65-2) is amended to read as follows:
2. The Legislature finds and declares:
a. Historically, many specialized statutes have been enacted to permit shared services between local units for particular purposes.
b. (1) Other laws, permitting a variety of shared services, including interlocal services agreements, joint meetings, and consolidated and regional services[,] exist but have not been very effective in promoting the broad use of shared services as a technique to reduce local expenses funded by property taxpayers.
(2) The goal of encouraging and facilitating the provision of local and regional services through a shared service agreement, joint contract, or consolidation that results in a cost savings that may be passed along to property taxpayers over time, is an important goal of the State of New Jersey, and delays caused by disputes over Civil Service rules and tenure provisions resulting from a shared service, joint contract, or consolidation must be resolved expeditiously to ensure that such provisions do not hinder that goal.
c. It is appropriate for the Legislature to enact a new shared services statute that can be used to effectuate agreements between local units for any service or circumstance intended to reduce property taxes through the reduction of local expenses.
d. It is contrary to public policy that the tenure rights of certain local personnel should effectively prohibit shared services agreements for the services provided by those local personnel, thereby depriving property taxpayers of property tax relief.
e. In order to evaluate the efficiencies related to the sharing of services of certain local personnel having tenure rights in office, it is appropriate to create a pilot program in five counties of the State which embody urban, suburban, and rural characteristics to study the sharing of the services of these personnel between municipalities by allowing for the dismissal of such a tenured local official, as necessary, in order to promote and effectuate the sharing of a service.
(cf: P.L.2013, c.166, s.2)
2. Section 11 of P.L.2007, c.63 (C.40A:65-11), is amended to read as follows:
11. a. When a local unit contracts, through a shared service agreement or joint [meeting] contract, to have another local unit or a joint meeting provide a service it is currently providing using public employees and one or more of the local units have adopted Title 11A, Civil Service, then the agreement shall include an employment reconciliation plan in accordance with this section that [and, if one or more of the local units have adopted Title 11A, Civil Service,] shall specifically set forth the intended jurisdiction of the Civil Service Commission. Unless otherwise agreed to by the parties, the local unit that will be providing the service will be responsible for filing the employment reconciliation plan with the Civil Service Commission. An employment reconciliation plan shall be subject to the following provisions:
(1) [a determination of those employees, if any, that shall be transferred to the providing local unit, retained by the recipient local unit, or terminated from employment for reasons of economy or efficiency, subject to the provisions of any existing collective bargaining agreements within the local units.
(2) any employee terminated for reasons of economy or efficiency by the local unit providing the service under the shared service agreement shall be given a terminal leave payment of not less than a period of one month for each five-year period of past service as an employee with the local unit, or other enhanced benefits that may be provided or negotiated. For the purposes of this paragraph, "terminal leave payment" means a single, lump sum payment, paid at termination, calculated using the regular base salary at the time of termination. Unless otherwise negotiated or provided by the employer, a terminal leave benefit shall not include extended payment, or payment for retroactive salary increases, bonuses, overtime, longevity, sick leave, accrued vacation or other time benefit, or any other benefit.
(3) the Civil Service Commission shall place any employee that has permanent status pursuant to Title 11A, Civil Service, of the New Jersey Statutes that is terminated for reasons of economy or efficiency at any time by either local unit on a special reemployment list for any civil service employer within the county of the agreement or any political subdivision therein.
(4)] when a proposed shared service agreement or joint contract affects employees in local units subject to Title 11A, Civil Service, of the New Jersey Statutes, [an employment reconciliation plan shall be filed with the Civil Service Commission prior to the approval of the shared service agreement. The commission shall review it for consistency with this section within 45 days of receipt and it shall be deemed approved, subject to approval of the shared service agreement by the end of that time, unless the commission has responded with a denial or conditions that must be met in order for it to be approved] the parties to the proposed shared service agreement or joint contract, as appropriate, may request relaxation of the provisions of Title 11A, Civil Service, of the New Jersey Statutes, along with the corresponding rules and regulations, including but not limited to selection and appointment, to require employees of the local units who are not subject to Title 11A, Civil Service, of the New Jersey Statutes prior to the execution of a shared service agreement or joint contract to become civil service employees for the purpose of creating a uniform employee pool from which the new shared service or joint contract provider shall hire employees until the pool is exhausted. This ex