N.J. Admin. Code § 5:31-2.19

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 11, June 3, 2024

Section 5:31-2.19 - Regional sewerage authority appropriations cap

(a) The increase in appropriations in the annual budget of a regional sewerage authority shall not exceed two percent over the prior year adopted budget, except that the percentage of growth in the appropriations in the annual budget shall be determined without consideration of any amounts appropriated by the authority for:

1. Capital expenditures included in the regional sewerage authority capital budget;

2. Payment of principal or interest on debt authorized or issued pursuant to law;

3. Increases in pension contributions and accrued liability for pension contributions in excess of two percent over those expenditures for the previous budget year;

4. Increases in health care costs equal to that portion of the actual increase in total health costs for the budget year that is in excess of two percent of total health care costs in the previous budget year, but is not in excess of the product of the total health care costs in the prior year and the average percentage increase of the State Health Benefits Program, P.L. 1961, c. 49 (N.J.S.A. 52:14-17.25 et seq.), as annually determined by the Division of Pensions and Benefits in the Department of the Treasury;

5. Increases in energy cost expenditures in excess of two percent over those expenditures for the previous budget year;

6. Costs associated with the establishment of a stormwater utility operation pursuant to P.L. 2019, c. 42;

7. Extraordinary costs that are directly related to an emergency, which shall mean any purpose that meets a pressing need for public expenditure to protect or promote the public health, safety, morals, or welfare, which could not be reasonably foreseen when the prior year budget was adopted and for which adequate provision was not made in the prior year budget;

8. Expenditures for the cost of services mandated by any final judgement or order of court, by any Federal or State statute, or by any administrative rule, directive, order, or other legally binding document issued by a State agency including, but not limited to, services required under any project financing agreement within any State or Federal agency, or services required under permits issued by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection for a Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NJPDES) or a Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) system. Any State agency mandating that a regional sewerage authority provide a service shall certify the mandate of such service to the Director of the Division of Local Government Services, unless a service is clearly mandated in the text of the above-referenced items; and

9. Appropriations offset in whole or in part by offsetting grants.

(b) A regional sewerage authority may add to the allowable growth in appropriations in any one of the next three succeeding years, the amount of the difference between the maximum allowable increase in appropriations for the current budget year and the actual amount of appropriations for the current budget year.

N.J. Admin. Code § 5:31-2.19

New Rule, R.2021 d.006, effective 1/4/2021.
See: 52 N.J.R. 1489(a), 53 N.J.R. 53(a).