Yesterday, the Senate Budget Committee unanimously passed the Senate Committee Substitute S-1, Senate President Steve Sweeney’s Shared Service legislation. S-1 amends the “Uniformed Shared Services and Consolidation Act” and the laws governing the Local Unit Alignment, Reorganization, and Consolidation Commission (LUARCC). The bill amends Civil Service laws to assist Civil Service and non-Civil Service local units in sharing services by removing barriers that have made such agreements challenging. In regard to the LUARCC, the bill expands the commission's membership, requires them to study any municipality that does not have a shared service or has undertaken a shared service study, and requires a certification of the potential shared services. Unfortunately, the penalty of loss of state aid equal to the Commission’s savings certification remains, even if the voters reject the recommendation.
We thank Senate President Sweeney for his willingness to continue to consider our concerns and make corresponding amendments. We are currently reviewing the Senate Committee Substitute and will report back.
Contact: Lori Buckelew, Assistant Executive Director, lbuckelew@njlm.org, 609-695-3481, x112.