Scutari, OPRA, and the Missing Answers in Union County’s Budgets

Union CountyUnion County Government

After we published questions on the Union County Budget last week (Executive Summary), a resident reached out with more detailed budget docs (from the county) along with his notes. We took a hard look at the spreadsheet and his notes. This is what we found.

2024: Big Increases, Few Answers

The 2024 budget ended a four-year tax freeze with a 1.75% levy jump with inflation and labor markets cited as the reasons. However, the resident notes told a different story and pointed to millions in new expenses without any initiatives attached.

The County Manager’s Office (p.10) saw its salary line rise slightly, while Other Expenses actually declined sharply from the prior year. The resident’s notes described this as “discretionary” money, but in the official 2025 Executive Budget, the discretionary pool is smaller, not larger.

The Sheriff’s Office (p.13c) added more than $4.7 million, an “800%” jump, with no initiative listed.

The Office of Public Safety Director (p.13d) grew by more than $1.2 million, noted as a “1200%” increase, again with “no reasoning given.”

The Parks Director’s Office (p.13i) added more than $4 million. The resident wrote: “no initiative, possible planetarium or clark reservoir?”

Not every line was left blank. The Board of Elections (p.11) increase connected to “presidential and added elections.” Social Services (p.13h) was described as “create central call center.” The Prosecutor’s Office (p.13e) listed “36 license readers, ARRIVE program, many outreach programs.”

Notes show $15.4 million in new expenses. $10.5 million of that listed “no reason given.”

Spotlight on Laura Scutari

Hidden in the salary tables, one name stood out. Laura Scutari, a county administrator and a relative of Senate President Nick Scutari, saw her pay rise from $139,224 in 2019 to $158,000 in 2022, a 13.5% jump over three years.

The spreadsheet called this out separately as a “(3 yr %).”

Unlike commissioner salaries, which rose about 2% annually, Laura Scutari’s line shows a faster uptick without explanation in the executive budget.

Transparency Concerns

Senate President Nick Scutari has separately been criticized for his stance on transparency. As Senate President, he backed legislative changes that weakened the Open Public Records Act (OPRA). If you recall, we worked hard to fight his overhaul, which included shorter retention periods, barriers in attorney fee recovery, greater discretion for government bodies to withhold records, and opened the door for government entities to block and even blacklist residents based on quantity of requests, all while removing the original intent the bill was marketed under: reducing commercial requests.

For taxpayers trying to follow the money in county budgets, those moves make access to the truth even harder.

2025: A Study in “Polar Opposites”

The 2025 budget avoided eye-popping spikes. On the surface, it looked restrained, but the resident notes described it as a “study in polar opposites, what lies underneath.”

The notes highlighted:

  • ARPA funds winding down.

  • The county jail closing down “possible sell jail.”

  • Hiring/purchase freezes connected to an OSC report.

  • Juvenile facility reuse “juvy used for fire acad.”

Transparency Deficit

The notes drive home the point that not much explanation surrounds the jumps in dollar amounts.

At the end of the surplus section, the resident wrote: “taxpayer monies should be returned not buried year after year.”

They Have a Point

Taxpayers are being asked to absorb:

  • A smaller discretionary pool in the County Manager’s Office, though residents flagged it as “$700,000” in their notes.

  • A $4.7m unexplained jump in the Sheriff’s Office.

  • A $4m increase in Parks with no initiative.

  • Rapid salary growth in Administrative Services.

  • Sale of the county jail.

The budgets total more than half a billion dollars, and the resident’s spreadsheet notes make the same argument again and again: if the story isn’t in the budget, taxpayers can’t see where their money is going.

An earlier version of this story misattributed the “Scutari” in Union County salary tables to turf field politics and incorrectly connected that entry to Senate President Nick Scutari’s legal controversies. The budget records in question refer to Laura Scutari, a county administrator and a relative of Nick Scutari. Laura Scutari has no involvement in the turf field issue, and her role is limited to county administration.

Correction (Sept. 23, 2025): This article has been updated to clarify that the County Manager’s Office saw a slight salary increase but a significant drop in “Other Expenses,” not a $700,000 increase. Capital appropriations remained flat at about $6 million, rather than being cut. Resident notes referenced higher figures, but those reflect a separate multi-year capital budget.

Reference Links

Sourcing Note: Figures in this article are drawn from Union County’s adopted 2024 budget and the 2025 Executive Budget Book. Departmental increases noted from resident spreadsheets are identified as such. Where the county’s 2025 documents do not publish consolidated totals for debt service, grants, or capital appropriations, comparisons are limited to the appropriation lines that are available.

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Also Read:

Somerset County’s 2025 Budget – Aid Dropped, Debt Popped

Middlesex 2025 Budget – Same Song, Different County

Morris County’s 2025 Budget- A Flat Rate That’s Not So Flat

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John Migueis

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