Joseph Zavarindo is a busy man.Those government workers sure are "special".
In addition to serving as a captain in the North Hudson Regional Fire and Rescue, he also serves as a fire marshal, building sub-code official, fire sub-code official and fire prevention official in three Bergen County towns. (Like many firefighters, Zavarindo works 24 hours straight in the firehouse, followed by 72 hours off.)
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Zavarindo, who refused comment, earns about $163,645 in taxpayer money annually.
He also can look forward to a nice retirement, courtesy of a state law that allows him to increase his pension through cobbling together a number of different part-time public jobs.
A Jersey Journal review of state pension records obtained under the Open Public Records Acts shows that in Hudson County, roughly 440 government workers collect paychecks from at least one Hudson County government agency plus hold at least one other public job here or elsewhere.
The combined salaries of these government workers - including one who holds seven jobs - amounts to more than $36 million in taxpayer money now, and millions more later in retirement benefits.
"It's a cultural problem in Hudson County, clearly," said Jersey City Councilman Steve Fulop. "People still have this machine party mentality that you repay people with multiple jobs."
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
The New Jersey Government Workers With Many Other Jobs
New Jersey.com reports: