Third Ward Councilman William Fahoury will be donating his $6,979 salary as this year’s representative to the Joint Meeting of Essex & Union Counties (JMEUC) to the borough.
At the January 18th Mayor & Council meeting, Councilman Fahoury said, “Last year there was an issue that arose about compensation for the representative for Joint Sewer. I get compensated this year for going to these lovely meetings. This year, I plan to change it up. For this year, while I’m on Joint Sewer, I’ll be donating the money I make for going to the Joint Sewer meetings. I’ve not decided where to donate the money to, but some ideas I’ve thought of were giving it to the tree trust fund, setting up a one-year scholarship for a high school student potentially or using the money to help other charitable causes. For those who do not know, the representative for Joint Sewer gets paid monthly, and it’s not a lump sum.”
Since 2015, the 11-member JMEUC board has voted and approved to give itself a 2% raise every year for the same number of meetings.
Roselle Park is a member of two sewerage authorities – Rahway Valley Sewer Authority (RVSA) and the JMEUC – and has a representative for each one. Each of these appointments comes with a salary.
This year, after a 2% raise voted on by the JMEUC board, each member will have a monthly salary of $581.62 for 12 months whether a member attends a meeting or not and even though sometimes there are only ten (10) meetings a year with no meetings during the summer. The chair of he JMEUC, the person who runs the once-a-month meetings, will get paid close to $14,000. By way of comparison, an RVSA commissioner is paid $30 per meeting attended for a maximum of $600/year.
Appointments to the board are given to members of the governing body according to an interpretation of NJSA 40A:65-3 that the JMEUC cites. A breakdown of the annual JMEUC board salaries is listed below:
A breakdown of the annual JMEUC board salaries since 2005 is listed below:
| Year | Members | Chair | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | $6,240 | $12,480 | $74,880 |
| 2006 | $6,456 | $12,374 | $76,934 |
| 2007 | $6,456 | $12,912 | $77,472 |
| 2008 | $6,456 | $12,374 | $76,934 |
| 2009 | $6,456 | $12,912 | $77,472 |
| 2010 | $6,456 | $12,374 | $76,934 |
| 2011 | $6,456 | $12,912 | $77,472 |
| 2012 | $6,456 | $12,378 | $76,938 |
| 2013 | $6,456 | $12,912 | $77,472 |
| 2014 | $6,456 | $12,378 | $76,938 |
| 2015 | $6,577 | $13,175 | $78,945 |
| 2016 | $6,708 | $13,439 | $80,523 |
| 2017 | $6,843 | $13,707 | $82,134 |
| 2018 | $6,979 | $13,982 | $83,776 |
TOTAL | $1,094,824.44 |
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A listing of JMEUC appointees from Roselle Park, along with their alternates, is available at the end of this article. Roselle Park is one of the few JMEUC member municipalities that have alternates and change their representative every year. A bit of interesting correlation is that from 2005 to 2010, the councilmember appointed to the JMEUC was also running – or supposed to run – for office that year. It has been said by a former member that the appointment and accompanying salary was helpful in funding campaigns.
Since 2015, the 11-member JMEUC board has voted and approved to give itself a 2% raise every year for the same number of meetings.
JMEUC meetings are scheduled usually for the third Thursday of every month at 4 p.m. in the conference room of the Maplewood Municipal Building located at 574 Valley Street in Maplewood. Meetings are open to the public. The next JMEUC meeting is scheduled for February 15th.
| Year | Amount |
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|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | $6,240 |
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| 2006 | $6,456 |
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| 2007 | $6,456 |
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| 2008 | $6,456 |
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| 2009 | $6,456 |
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| 2010 | $6,456 |
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| 2011 | $6,456 |
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| 2012 | $6,456 |
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| 2013 | $6,456 |
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| 2014 | $6,456 |
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| 2015 | $6,577 |
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| 2016 | $6,708 |
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| 2017 | $6,843 |
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| 2018 | $6,979 |
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$90,890 |