The cap limits the size of raises arbitrators can award to police and fire labor unions that have been unable to reach agreements with their local government employers. | AP Photo/Seth Wenig Task force won't release final report on police, fire salary cap

A task force charged with evaluating the state's newly expired cap on police officer and firefighter salaries does not plan to release a final report sought by Gov.-elect Phil Murphy and legislative leaders.

The decision creates new uncertainty for hundreds of towns and cities across New Jersey, and it leaves Democratic lawmakers without evidence that could be used to justify the sunset of the law, which is unpopular with labor leaders.


Appointees of Republican Gov. Chris Christie, who released their own report back in September, denied legislative appointees on the task force the chance to issue one final, unified report on the so-called interest arbitration cap policy, said Ed Donnelly, president of the New Jersey State Firefighters’ Mutual Benevolent Association.

Donnelly said he and three other legislative appointees on the task force lack the resources to compile their own analysis of the law, which expired on Monday as the new year began.

“We all agreed that we would not do that,” Donnelly said of releasing an independent evaluation. “The statute clearly says this committee is supposed to act and issue a final report.”

Assemblyman Declan O'Scanlon, who was appointed to the task force by Christie, decided in September to release a report that included all the data the task force had collected. That was despite the fact that the members deadlocked, 4-4, on whether to make the information public. The report recommended renewal of the cap, saying that and other measures had saved New Jersey taxpayers an estimated $2.9 billion since its enactment."

On Tuesday, O'Scanlon denied that he had deprived the legislative appointees a chance to join in on a second report. The Monmouth County Republican said they never had any intention of putting their names on a report, and accused them of intentionally leading people to believe otherwise.

"It's a complete joke, and they are laughing all the way back to the bank," O'Scanlon said. "There never was a second report, it was garbage from minute one."

Murphy, Senate President Stephen Sweeney and Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto repeatedly said last year that they couldn't make a decision on whether to renew the cap until the task force released the final report, which was due Dec. 31.

Prieto, who steps down from his leadership post next week, said in a statement Tuesday that he was a "disappointed" that the task force had bot submitted a final report.

“That’s very unfortunate," Prieto said. "Hopefully a report is still forthcoming.”

Before Christmas, Sweeney insisted he was still awaiting the final report, telling reporters at the Statehouse that he considered the September analysis just "one side of the argument." Asked what would happen if another report does not come out, Sweeney said, "We are going to have to sit down and have a discussion pretty quickly."

"I'm absolutely expecting it, and it would be disappointing if we didn't get one," Sweeney said.

A spokesman for Murphy said he had no immediate comment.

The arbitration cap is part of a series of sweeping changes Christie signed in an effort to slow the growth of property taxes. The cap limits the size of raises arbitrators can award to police and fire labor unions that have been unable to reach agreements with their local government employers.

Christie, local officials and other supporters of the cap warn that a failure to extend it could lead to financial turmoil for municipalities, which are also subject to a separate 2 percent cap on annual spending increases. If salaries aren't kept in check, they say, towns may be forced to slash services or potentially hike property taxes to pay for raises.

Fitch Ratings says expiration of the cap could embolden unions to pursue arbitration, potentially leading to much higher salary increases than have occurred since the law was enacted in 2010. While the Wall Street ratings agency said most local governments have the financial flexibility to pay out the increased salaries, it also said the expiration could force local governments to cut services or rely on "one-time resources."

Additionally, eliminating the cap could have an impact on pension liabilities and contributions, according to Fitch.

"The data contained in the September gubernatorial appointees report is left unchallenged, and this demonstrates that the cap has succeeded at reducing property tax increases," said Mike Cerra, assistant executive director of the New Jersey State League of Municipalities, who added that the Legislature still has the opportunity to extend the cap.

But labor unions argue the law is jeopardizing public safety by hurting recruitment and cutting into morale.

Donnelly said he and the other legislative appointees on the committee, in addition to lacking the resources, decided against releasing a separate report because “two wrongs don’t make a right.” He said he hopes the law will not be renewed and believes, in a year or two, state officials will realize that police and firefighter salaries are not driving up property taxes.

“I’m so happy this thing is expired and New Jersey can really see that we are not the cause of your high property taxes,” he said.

Ryan Hutchins contributed to this report.