Fear that Gov. Chris Christie will cut benefits for New Jersey public employees motivated about 30 percent of multiple job holders to retire last year, saving taxpayers approximately $55 million in salaries.

But those retirements and last year's unprecedented doubling in the total number of public retirees don't make for an entirely rosy fiscal picture.

Experts and state officials anticipate rapidly increasing costs for the state's overdrawn pension and health benefit systems with the influx of reform-wary and baby boomer retirees.

"We're going to take a hit on benefit systems early, but it really puts the responsibility on so far irresponsible elected leadership to pass (Christie's) reforms," said Jerry Cantrell, president of the nonpartisan New Jersey Taxpayer Alliance.

"With all the negativity surrounding it, I think we'll start seeing movement now."

Assemblywoman Pamela Lampitt, D-Voorhees, has sponsored legislation to cap sick payouts for retirees at $7,500. Ideally, Christie wants a $0 cap implemented retroactively, as sick-time buybacks have cost taxpayers in some communities more than six figures in a given year.

"I don't want to start a firestorm with people thinking they have to leave today," Lampitt said. "I'm not trying to have a major exodus, again."

According to figures provided by Pew Center on the States, New Jersey has a $66.8 billion unfunded liability for its retiree health benefits and a $53.8 billion deficit in its pension system.

Susan K. Urahn, Pew managing director, believes New Jersey and other indebted states facing sharp increases due to retirements will focus first on cutting health benefits, which have far fewer legal protections than pensions.

Christie would be happy to have the state Legislature fully address any of the above; he claims they've failed to implement most of his cost-cutting pension and benefit reforms by their own deadlines.

Doubling down

As many local governments implemented layoff, furlough and attrition plans to balance budgets under a new 2 percent levy cap, hundreds of multiple public job holders collected sizable raises last year, according to payroll and pension data.

The top raise went to Karen Murray, a lawyer and human resources director who holds two school jobs in North Jersey. Her public income jumped by $160,787 last year, to $275,404.

Other raises given to multiple job holders ranged from less than $1,000 to $62,000.

Frank Badessa, a local school administrator in Camden and Cumberland counties, received the biggest salary increase among 60 tri-county multiple job holders who collected raises last year. Badessa added a third public job last year and his salary jumped by $29,011, to $144,460.

Five tri-county multiple job holders were also able to collect raises between $2,000 and $21,000 last year while shedding one of their public jobs.

The data shows eight others -- including school administrators, municipal judges, CFOs and a tax assessor -- earn more than the governor's $175,000 salary.

The top two tri-county earners were the school administrator for Winslow, Eco Charter and Charter Tech, Ann Murphy-Garcia, who collected $231,858 in public income, and Richard Andronici, a municipal court judge for nine Burlington County towns, who was paid $214,100.

Christie is the conductor of a train of taxpayers and some conservative officials who are against the practice of multiple public job holding. How to cut the practice was a key topic in a 2006 special legislative session and remains a main point in Christie's ethics reform plan, which comes as thousands of single-job public workers have been laid off or have retired in a weak economy.

"It's a huge leap for New Jersey" that the number of multiple job holders in state, county, local government and schools declined by approximately 1,010 to 2,205 last year, according to Deborah Howlett, executive director of New Jersey Policy Perspective in Trenton and a former member of Gov. Jon S. Corzine's administration.

Christie is prodding the Legislature to impose a full ban on dual office-holding and also end the grandfathering period at the close of the 2010-11 legislative session, as opposed to allowing current dual office-holders to ride out their terms.

In January, Senate President Stephen M. Sweeney, D-Gloucester, stepped down as county freeholder-director to closer align himself with Christie's agenda and perhaps inspire reform passage in the Legislature. But to the dismay of Christie's administration, there has been little evidence of that since.

Two-sided battle

Many multiple job holders -- such as last year's top raise-earner Murray -- don't want to talk about their multiple jobs.

Murray's primary public job is as the executive director for Human Resources for Elizabeth's board of education. State data show that job paid her $200,004 in 2010. She also is the attorney for the Harrison board of education, which earned her $75,400 last year.

"I thought an HR director would be a full-time job, that you'd have to be there full time," wondered Michael Riccards, executive director of the nonpartisan Hall Institute for Public Policy in Trenton.

Said Murray: "I clearly have no comment . . . no comment on any work I do for any public entities."

"She must be awfully busy," said Christie spokesman Michael Drewniak. "How does she find the time?

"It's reasonable to expect she explain (how she manages her) publicly paid jobs."

South Jersey's Tom Cardis not only explains, he defends multiple job holding.

Cardis -- municipal administrator for Gloucester Township and Pine Hill, Pine Hill Board of Education treasurer and Fieldsboro Municipal CFO -- said multiple job holding provides taxpayers with the most qualified candidates under pseudo-shared service arrangements.

"I've been working multiple jobs for a long time," said Cardis, whose 2010 public earnings totaled $149,120.

"I haven't found that one job takes away from another. Having employees with working relationships in multiple towns is a positive thing" for efficiency or improvement.

Staffing, tax and payroll records show Cardis runs a more efficient municipal government compared with other large suburban towns such as Cherry Hill.

Both townships are around 24 square miles, Cherry Hill with about 6,000 more residents. But Gloucester's budget is $14 million less than Cherry Hill's, its average tax bill is about $1,700 less or $5,706 and it operates with 135 fewer employees.

Cardis' Gloucester Township payroll also features David Bakely, a plumbing subcode official for eight South Jersey municipalities.

Bakely, who is retiring this year, collected $137,216 in public income last year. He didn't return calls for comment.

Cardis says smaller towns can't afford their own full-time employees in roles like Bakely's, so why is it wrong for them to hire experienced and certified workers?

Multiple job holding critics don't buy Cardis' argument. They call the exodus of double-dippers a win to increase the proportion of single public-job holders who better serve taxpayers with their focus on one area of service; open up job opportunities for qualified, unemployed people in a weak job market; and cut payroll costs if open positions are consolidated across government entities.

"This exodus and an end to double-dipping is long overdue," Cantrell said. "It's an affirmation that multiple job holders know the problem exists and recognize that it's wrong and abusive."

New Jersey Press Media Staff Writer Andrea Clurfeld contributed to this report. Reach Jeremy Rosen at (856) 486-2456 or jrosen@gannett.com