New Jersey Administrative Code
Title 7 - ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
Chapter 26 - SOLID WASTE
Subchapter 4 - FEES FOR SOLID WASTE
Section 7:26-4.5 - Solid waste facility fee hourly rate calculation

(a) The Department shall compute the solid waste fee hourly rate in accordance with (b) below and it shall be used in calculating solid waste facility fees in accordance with 7:26-4.6 and compliance monitoring fees in accordance with 7:26-4.7.

(b) The Department shall calculate the solid waste facility fee hourly rate for the upcoming State Fiscal Year (SFY) as of the December 1 that precedes the upcoming SFY as follows:

Hourly Rate = (AS+FB+IC+OE+LS)/BH

Where:

AS = The average annual salary of the Direct Program staff assigned to the activity, plus a component that reflects the salaries for Direct Support and Division Overhead staff who perform functions related to the fee activity. To calculate AS, the Department divides the applicable number of Direct Support staff and Division Overhead staff salaries by the number of Direct Program staff and adds this figure to the average salary of the Direct Program staff.

FB = The average fringe benefits for an employee calculated as a percentage of the average salary. The New Jersey Department of Treasury sets the percentage based on costs associated with pensions, health benefits, workers compensation, disability benefits, unused sick leave and the employer's share of the Federal Income Compensation Act (FICA) contribution. The percentage is annually set by the New Jersey Department of Treasury.

IC = The indirect costs, which are calculated at a rate negotiated annually between the Department and the United States Environmental Protection Agency. Indirect costs are those costs incurred for a common or joint purpose, benefiting more than one objective and not readily assignable to the cost objective specifically benefited without effort disproportionate to the result achieved. Indirect costs consist of Department management salaries and operating expenses, divisional indirect salaries and related expenses (personnel, fiscal and general support staff), building rent and the Department allocation of indirect costs listed in the Statewide Allocation Plan prepared annually by the State Department of the Treasury. Indirect costs do not include the salaries for Division Overhead staff and Direct Support personnel. To calculate the IC, the current negotiated rate is multiplied by the sum of AS and FB.

OE = The average operational expenses attributable to an employee. Operating expenses include costs incurred in connection with the program for such items as postage, telephone, training, travel, supplies, equipment maintenance, vehicle maintenance and data system management (internal systems such as the New Jersey Environmental Management System (NJEMS) and external mainframe applications through the Office of Information Technology).

LS = The budgeted annual costs of legal services performed in connection with each of the types of activities for which fees are assessed divided by the total number of Direct Program staff funded through the various fee programs.

BH = 1,428. The billable hours, which is the average number of hours each Direct Program Staff position spends annually performing activities for which fees are assessed, is determined by starting with the total number of days in the calendar year, 365. Then weekends and holidays are subtracted. This figure is further reduced by subtracting days for an average number of used employee leave time (vacation, sick and administrative leave days). Finally, the figure is adjusted by subtracting days for training and other non-billable staff time (such as medical surveillance, time sheet preparation, staff meetings, and other general functions). This results in 204 working days annually that can be allocated to specific objectives (204 days multiplied by seven hours per workday equals the 1,428 billable hours used for most calculations).

(c) Each year, the Department shall prepare a Solid Waste Facility Fee Hourly Rate Calculation Report detailing the factors used to calculate the hourly rate and the excess hourly rate. During the month of December, the Department shall publish in the New Jersey Register a notice that includes a summary of the report and the hourly rate. The notice shall state that the report is available, and shall direct interested persons to contact the Department for a copy of the report. The Department shall provide a copy of the report to each person requesting a copy and shall post a copy of the report on the Department's website at http://www.state.nj.us/dep.