Source: Observer – Phil Murphy, the Democratic nominee for governor, remained undecided on extending a 2 percent cap on yearly salary hikes negotiated in arbitration for police and firefighters, even after a report he said he was waiting for was released Thursday showing the law helped slow the rise of property taxes in New Jersey.
The so-called interest arbitration cap has become a top issue in the governor’s race because it’s set to expire at the end of the year. The law is seen as one of the biggest factors in minimizing property tax increases under Gov. Chris Christie. But Murphy, who is backed by public safety unions, has refused to weigh in on the issue. He has said he’s waiting for a task force report on the cap, which is due Dec. 31, the same day the law expires.
Murphy was put in an awkward situation Thursday when Christie’s appointees on the task force released a report much earlier than expected. The report said state lawmakers should permanently extend the 2 percent cap because it has reduced the size of public safety salary hikes and saved taxpayers billions of dollars.
The task force deadlocked 4-to-4 on releasing the report during a meeting Monday, with all four Christie appointees voting in favor of the report and the four Democratic appointees — selected by the Assembly speaker and Senate president — voting against. Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon, a Christie appointee on the panel, went rogue and unveiled the report in a news release Thursday morning…
O’Scanlon (R-Monmouth) said he took it upon himself to release the report because union-supported representatives were stalling on releasing it. “I find it unfortunate that while this report, and the voluminous supporting data, is completely consistent with, and draws the same conclusion as, every previous task force report some members are still inclined to keep this information from the public,” O’Scanlon said in a statement.
