Union County has declined to comply with a compensation law, prompting the Office of the State Comptroller (OSC) to urge state leaders to withhold funds from the county and require OSC approval for certain compensation decisions until compliance is achieved.
In December 2023, OSC released a report indicating that Union County paid three top officials $417,772 in extra stipends and tuition reimbursement without following the required public legislative process. OSC directed the county to submit a corrective action plan but was met with refusal. The county cited a bill introduced in February 2024 (S2702), which would alter the law in question. However, this bill has not passed the Senate nor been introduced in the Assembly.
Acting State Comptroller Kevin Walsh, in a letter sent today to Governor Phil Murphy, Senate President Nicholas Scutari, and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, emphasized that Union County is legally obligated to cooperate with OSC. Walsh stated that using an unpassed bill as justification for non-compliance undermines the rule of law. “If the mere introduction of a bill by a single legislator, without a vote on the floor of both houses . . . were enough to justify ignoring current law, the rule of law in our state would be undermined,” Walsh wrote.
Walsh recommended that Governor Murphy withhold public funds from Union County and suggested that either the Division of Local Government Services or the Local Finance Board require OSC's approval for supplemental payments to high-level county officials until compliance is achieved.
Since 1972, New Jersey’s Optional County Charter Law mandates that county boards establish compensation through ordinances for themselves and other key officials. While Union County passed ordinances for base salaries, it did not do so for stipends and tuition reimbursements. Instead, resolutions were adopted without disclosing recipients of these supplemental payments. OSC noted that this lack of transparency deprived residents of necessary information.
“Unless the law is actually changed, Union County has an obligation to comply with the law and to fully cooperate with OSC’s directive to prepare a corrective action plan,” Walsh reiterated.
