Cap sought on salaries for N.J. public employees

A New Jersey lawmaker is introducing legislation that would cap the salaries of employees at local sewage, utility, and county improvement authorities.

The measure would limit their compensation to the $141,000 a year that the governor’s cabinet members are paid, said Sen. Sam Thompson, R-Middlesex.

“The bill is to put a muzzle and leash on piggish public employees who think they can fill their gaping mouths with the people’s money because no one knows who they are or what they do,” he said. “A newsflash to them — more and more people are starting to realize that you make excessive incomes and are afforded outlandish perks.”

Thompson’s proposal comes in response to a state audit that showed the executive director of the Middlesex County Improvement Authority gets more than a quarter-million dollars in salary and benefits and stands to receive an annual pension of $150,000.

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Thompson says it’s time for the Legislature to end the type of “indefensible greed” that he said makes New Jersey one of the most frustrating places to be a taxpayer.

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