On August 7, 2023, the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA) approved changes to Local Finance Board rules regarding uniform traffic control. The UTCA has been working closely with the staff at DCA, especially now Acting Commissioner Jacquelyn Suarez, and Jason Martucci.
UTCA fought for our contractors to reduce the cost of uniform traffic control rates by capping the administrative fees that counties and municipalities (local units) add on to the officer’s rate.
What did we achieve for our contractors?
- The following criteria shall be considered when establishing and administrative fee: Personnel, Administrative, Vehicle, Equipment and Other Costs.
- A cap on the amount of administrative fee that a local unit may charge per hour for the hiring of an off-duty officer. This includes the use of a vehicle and equipment. While calculating the administrative fee, the local unit has to use the hourly rate of the lowest paid employee who can perform such task. Administrative costs shall be limited to the scheduling of officers for off-duty employment, maintenance of time records, payroll processing and billing.
- The local unit must place into ordinance or resolution identifying the hourly rate for the officer and the administrative fee.
- The only costs a local unit may include for personnel-related costs are payroll taxes and any additional liability insurance, if required.
- For the use of a vehicle, the local unit can only charge for the cost of the vehicle going to and from the project. That cost will be determined as per the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act. The local unit can only charge the hourly rate and mileage as dictated by federal law.
- The local unit must establish a trust fund and, upon completion of the project, the local unit has up to 30 days to return any remaining balance in the trust fund to the contractor. Our contractors have complained that they do not receive the remaining balance due to them for up to 6 months.
- The local unit must, prior to the project, provide written notice to the contractor of the cost of the off-duty officer along with a breakdown of the administrative fee.
It’s important for you to alert your accounting departments of this new regulation as it is now in effect.
Please click here for NJDCA rule
If you have any questions, please contact Dave Rible HERE