Hopatcong Saves $40K With Pension, Healthcare Reform

Hopatcong taxpayers will save a little more than $40,000 in Fiscal Year 2012 due to the pension and health benefit reform bill recently negotiated by the state's top lawmakers, and signed by Gov. Chris Christie.

The borough will save $17,632 and the borough's school district will save $24,256 in pension costs, according to a statement from Christie's office, for a total of $41,888. Savings related to the reforms are expected to increase in coming years.

"Every dollar counts," Borough Administrator Bob Elia said. "Otherwise we'd have to come up with more money. Every dollar helps, there's no question about it."

Gov. Chris Christie signed the law late last month after lawmakers  from both major political parties brokered the deal that upset unions throughout the state.

The reform bill requires state and local government workers who belong to the Public Employees Retirement System, as well as teachers and other education workers under their own retirement system, to pay an additional 1 percent of their salaries toward their pensions as of July 1—bringing them up to a 6.5 percent contribution. Another 1 percent would be phased in over seven years, for a total of 7.5 percent.

State and local police, as well as firefighters, must contribute an additional 1.5 percent of their salaries to their own pension funds. Local police and firefighters will be contributing 10 percent; state police will be contributing 9 percent.

The bill will have a more significant impact on the cost of health benefits, as it requires all public employees and certain public retirees to contribute toward the cost of health care benefits coverage based upon a percentage of the cost of coverage. Public employees could see current health costs at least doubled, or tripled in some cases, with increases phasing in over four years.

Jeff Ryder, Hopatcong's teachers' union head, said in June the legislation will hurt workers and is "an unholy coalition between a corrupt governor and a group of spineless legislators."

"Throughout this entire discussion I have not seen this governor make any comment about him committing to make the payments he is obligated to do," Ryder said. "He just spouts off about bipartisan efforts."

Meanwhile, school district Superintendent Dr. Charles Maranzano said he was disappointed in the state's failure to make full required pension payments, as well as with Christie's portrayal of teachers. But said he understood change was "inevitable."

"I'm a realist," Maranzano said. "If anything, I'm upset that the state failed to meet its [pension] obligations over the years and that teachers have been villianized in this process. I don't think that's fair. But when you look at balance, we do want a system that's going to survive over the next few decades. We have to pay a little more so this system remains viable.

"I empathize with the taxpayers. But don't forget that teachers are taxpayers, too."

Police Chief John Swanson said he'd have to just deal with the new laws.

"There's not too much you can say because there are so many different factors that created the current circumstances," he said. "What else can you say? We've found ourselves in very difficult times."

The Hopatcong Policemen's Benevolent Association president, Officer Bob Haffner, declined comment.