Lacey to Head BTMUA For Five More Years

James Lacey will remain in his position as head of the Brick Township Municipal Utilities Authority for another five years.

The authority's Board of Commissioners voted in favor of entering into a new contract with Lacey, who also serves on the Ocean County Board of Chosen Freeholders, at its Feb. 1 meeting, according to Patrick Bottazzi, one of the authority’s commissioners.

Lacey confirmed the new contract to Brick Patch, telling a reporter his salary would be $151,000 this year, the same as last year, with 2 percent raises in each of the next four years of the contract.

Lacey, a Brick resident who previously headed water and sewer operations in Beachwood and Point Pleasant Beach, said keeping water and sewer rates affordable and protecting the environment would be his top priorities over the course of the next five years.

“We need to make sure that our water is affordable,” said Lacey. “We have very, very low increases, when we have them, and we don't answer to shareholders. We don't work for a profit.”

The BTMUA is a public water and sewer agency, whereas some other Ocean County municipalities such as Toms River receive their water supply from a private company. The authority is within the top 25 largest water-sewer agencies in New Jersey, said Lacey.

Lacey’s day-to-day duties will continue to include overseeing the entirety of the authority’s operations and 152 employees. Lacey said he is a licensed public works manager and before entering the public sector, worked for 18 years for a company which sold machinery to companies and government agencies, including water and sewerage authorities.