Passaic Valley Water Commission also hands out generous pay, perks

PASSAIC/BERGEN COUNTY — A review of salary records at the Passaic Valley Water Commission shows about one of every six employees made more than $100,000 in 2010, mostly boosted by overtime and other pay perks. An analysis by The Record newspaper found that from 2006 to 2010 that some of the water commission's 31 workers added as much as...

John Munson/The Star-LedgerA view of a neighborhood in Paterson, a city served by the Passaic Valley Water Commission.

PASSAIC/BERGEN COUNTY — A review of salary records at the Passaic Valley Water Commission shows about one of every six employees made more than $100,000 in 2010, mostly boosted by overtime and other pay perks.

An analysis by The Record newspaper found that from 2006 to 2010 that some of the water commission's 31 workers added as much as $70,000 to their annual income.

Perks include allowing employees to cash in unused sick time, stipends of up to $3,000 for employees with college degrees, and up to $2,000 for those with technical licenses.

About 1 million people get their water from the agency, which is owned by the cities of Paterson, Passaic and Clifton.

Gov. Chris Christie's office has been investigating patronage and fraud at another Passaic Valley authority — the sewerage commission. He recently forced most of the commissioners to resign and announced the firing of more than 70 others at the PVSC.

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