Crime doesn’t pay in West New York, but being a police officer sure does. The working-class north Hudson town of roughly 52,000 spends nearly 20% of his annual budget, or $19.6 million, on its police department, and it doesn’t even have a police chief, according to...
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Posts
Gov. Murphy vetoed a 20-year service pension bill for police and firefighters. Here’s why
A bill to allow police officers and firefighters with 20 years of service to retire early with a reduced pension, regardless of their age, was conditionally vetoed by Gov. Phil Murphy, who said he wants more clarity on how the legislation would impact the state...
Bloustein Local Government Research Center: Serving New Jersey and its Communities
A discussion of the current critical work the center is doing, includig impact of the digital economy on tax policy, the increasing risk of cybersecurity threats, and the consolidation of the multitudes of municipalities.
Small-scale power grids face giant hurdles
In a new report prepared for the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, these microgrids — once touted as a way to increase the resiliency of the electrical network in the wake of extreme storms and widespread power outages — are finding it increasingly difficult to...
Report calls for change as town center microgrids run into roadblocks
Town center, or TC microgrid, projects in the Northeast have foundered in the face of regulatory, statutory and technical challenges, according to a report written for the New Jersey Bureau of Public Utilities (NJBPU). “Town center microgrids are one conceptual...
USDOE, NJBPU provide sustainability planning resources for resilient municipal microgrids
A new report by Marc Pfeiffer of the Bloustein Center for Local Government Research, with support from NJIT Center for Building Knowledge, suggests the idea of a truly successful town center microgrid as an off-grid power supply for critical facilities remains difficult to achieve.
Op-Ed: What Should Happen If State Supreme Court OKs Emergency Debt Issuance
The constitutionality of the new law authorizing state debt without voter approval is about to be reviewed by the New Jersey Supreme Court. At issue is whether the state can issue these bonds because of the COVID-19 emergency, and if the proceeds can be used as...
New NJ property tax guide, authored by Bloustein School expert, answers everyday questions for homeowners
The New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants (NJCPA) and New Jersey Realtors recently released a comprehensive guide for New Jersey residents for understanding property taxes. The publication, “New Jersey Homeowner’s Guide to Property Taxes,” answers...
North Jersey owes $273 million in retirement payouts
Marc Pfeiffer, assistant director of the Bloustein Local Government Research Center at Rutgers University, said payouts were once a benefit for public employees whose salaries were typically lower than those of their private-sector counterparts. And being able to bank...
City tax levy down 70 percent from 2012
Marc Pfeiffer, assistant director of the Bloustein Local Government Research Center at Rutgers University, said the state should receive plenty of credit for getting Atlantic City’s finances under control. In February, state overseers reached a $72 million tax...
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