Buena Municipal Utilities Authority
Municipal Utilities Authority · Atlantic County
9 people are enrolled in a State pension fund through Buena Municipal Utilities Authority, reporting a median pensionable salary of $81,230.
Buena Municipal Utilities Authority, a municipal utilities authority in Atlantic County, operates under New Jersey's Title 11A civil service system rather than setting its own hiring rules independently.
Within Atlantic County, 16 local government entities in total carry this same confirmed status.
About municipal utilities authorities in New Jersey
A municipal utilities authority (MUA) runs water, sewer, or solid waste service for a town or region, funded by user fees rather than property taxes. MUAs are created under state law as independent authorities, so an MUA's civil service status is decided on its own, separately from the municipality it serves.
See all 16 civil service jurisdictions in Atlantic County, or browse the full employer directory.
Who is on the pension rolls at Buena Municipal Utilities Authority
9 people are enrolled in a State-administered pension fund through Buena Municipal Utilities Authority. That is a count of active memberships reported by the employer, not a payroll headcount: anyone not enrolled in one of these funds does not appear in this data at all, and no separate headcount for a New Jersey local employer is published anywhere we can check against.
| Fund | Name | Members | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| PERS | Public Employees' Retirement System | 9 | 100% |
1 of these members holds a second public job in New Jersey: their reported salary across all public employers exceeds what they are paid here. Shared and part-time appointments are common in local government, and the salary figures below count only the portion earned at Buena Municipal Utilities Authority.
Pensionable salary at Buena Municipal Utilities Authority
Half of the pension-enrolled workforce at Buena Municipal Utilities Authority reports a pensionable salary above $81,230 and half below, across 9 members with a reported figure.
| Point in the distribution | Pensionable salary |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $57,750 |
| 25th percentile | $67,058 |
| Median | $81,230 |
| 75th percentile | $82,189 |
| 90th percentile | $88,637 |
The range runs from the 10th to the 90th percentile because the extremes are not informative: the lowest reported figures belong to part-time and partial-year members, whose credited salary is a fraction of a full-time equivalent.
Among the 11 civil service jurisdictions in the same county with pension data, that median sits at the 91st percentile, above the county's midpoint of $64,764. Against the 9 bodies of the same kind statewide, it sits at the 100th percentile.
These figures are pensionable salary reported to the NJ Division of Pensions and Benefits for the four most recent quarters, not total pay and not take-home pay. Snapshot of March 31, 2026. How we compile this.
How long people stay at Buena Municipal Utilities Authority
The median enrolled member at Buena Municipal Utilities Authority has 9.7 years of credited service, with the middle half falling between 4.2 and 12.3 years. 11% have passed twenty years, which matters locally because retirement eligibility and the pension formula both turn on service credit.
| Credited service | Members | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Under 5 years | 4 | 44% |
| 5 to 10 years | 1 | 11% |
| 10 to 15 years | 2 | 22% |
| 15 to 20 years | 1 | 11% |
| 20 to 25 years | 1 | 11% |
Membership tier records which pension rules a member was hired under, so the mix is a rough picture of how recently a workforce turned over. At Buena Municipal Utilities Authority, 78% sit in the most recently hired cohort.
| Membership tier | Members | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 2 | 2 | 22% |
| Tier 5 (most recently hired cohort) | 7 | 78% |
Other public employers in Buena Borough
The pension system reports these separate public employers in Buena Borough. Each is its own employer for pension purposes, and only some are civil service jurisdictions — school boards, charter schools and parking authorities are ordinary public employers that were never part of Title 11A. Names link only where the body appears in this directory.
| Employer | Enrolled members |
|---|---|
| BUENA BOROUGH | 13 |
| BUENA BORO MUN UTIL AUTH (this page) | 9 |
| BUENA BORO HOUSING AUTH | 2 |
What civil service status means for jobs at Buena Municipal Utilities Authority
A municipal utilities authority is funded by what it bills its ratepayers rather than by property taxes, and it is created as a separate public body with its own commissioners. That independence is why an MUA's civil service status is recorded separately from the municipality it serves.
Utility work is where licensing matters most. Treatment plant operator titles are tied to New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection operator licences, and the licence class you hold generally determines which level of the series you can be appointed to. Around that licensed core sit repairers, meter technicians, sample collectors, inspectors and account searchers, which is where most people enter.
Passing an examination puts you on an eligible list, not into a job. Lists are promulgated for a fixed life, commonly three years, and the Commission certifies names from the live list whenever an employer reports a vacancy. If no list exists for a title when a vacancy opens, the employer has to ask for an examination to be held.
Permanent employees carry layoff rights. In a layoff, rights are determined by permanent status and seniority within the affected unit, displacement into another title can be available, and laid-off employees go onto a special reemployment list that takes priority when the title is filled again. None of that applies to provisional or temporary service.
Civil service employers in Buena Borough
Buena Municipal Utilities Authority serves Buena Borough, a borough in Atlantic County, but it is in the listing as a municipal utilities authority on its own account rather than as part of the borough government.
The Buena Borough government is listed too: Buena Borough. Both run under Title 11A, and both certify their own appointments, so applying to one tells you nothing about openings at the other.
Civil service titles used by New Jersey municipal utilities authorities
Real classifications that New Jersey municipal utilities authorities draw on, each linked to its official specification: the definition of the work, the requirements, and any licence the title depends on. A sample of the system rather than a roster or a list of openings.
- Water Treatment Plant Operator
- Senior Water Treatment Plant Operator
- Water Treatment Plant Superintendent
- Senior Sewage Plant Operator
- Sewage Plant Superintendent
- Water and Sewer Utilities Superintendent
- Water Repairer 1
- Sewer Repairer 2
- Water Meter Repairer
- Water Sample Collector
- Sewer Inspector
- Water and Sewer Account Searcher
Civil service coverage across Atlantic County
Atlantic County holds 16 confirmed jurisdictions in the Commission's listing: 8 municipalities, 3 municipal departments, 2 public libraries, 2 municipal utilities authorities, and 1 county government.
8 of the county's 23 municipalities are among them.
Atlantic County is a jurisdiction too, though a county's decision does not bind the towns, authorities, libraries or districts inside it.
Also in the directory: Buena Borough, Egg Harbor City, Hammonton, Margate City, Margate Library, Margate Public Safety, Margate Public Works, Margate Revenue and Finance. See all 16 in Atlantic County.
Common questions about Buena Municipal Utilities Authority
Is Buena Municipal Utilities Authority a civil service employer?
Yes. Buena Municipal Utilities Authority appears in the New Jersey Civil Service Commission's listing of local civil service system jurisdictions as of July 2024, which makes it an appointing authority under Title 11A. Permanent appointments to competitive titles there come from eligible lists the Commission certifies, rather than from purely local hiring.
Does civil service status at Buena Municipal Utilities Authority cover the rest of Buena Borough?
No. Buena Borough has more than one employer in the listing, and each holds its own status, runs its own examinations and keeps its own eligible lists. Seniority and permanent status earned at one do not transfer automatically to another, even inside the same town.
Do you have to live in New Jersey to work here?
Generally yes. The New Jersey First Act requires public employees hired after September 1, 2011 to live in the state, with a grace period for new hires to relocate and a narrow exemption process. Separately, individual examination announcements sometimes carry a local residency preference, which affects the order of the list rather than eligibility.
Does permanent status transfer to another civil service employer?
Not automatically. Permanent status belongs to a title at a particular appointing authority, so moving to another jurisdiction usually means a new appointment and a new working test period. Intergovernmental transfers between civil service employers are possible in the same or a comparable title, but they need agreement on both sides rather than being a right you can exercise.
How many Buena Municipal Utilities Authority employees are in a State pension system?
9 active memberships are reported through Buena Municipal Utilities Authority, split across 9 in PERS. This counts pension enrolment rather than payroll, so employees who are not in one of these funds are not included.
What is the median pensionable salary at Buena Municipal Utilities Authority?
$81,230, with the middle half of members between $67,058 and $82,189. These figures are pensionable salary reported to the NJ Division of Pensions and Benefits for the four most recent quarters, not total pay and not take-home pay. It excludes overtime and most supplemental pay, and it is before tax, before the member's own pension contribution and before health premiums.
How does pay at Buena Municipal Utilities Authority compare with the rest of Atlantic County?
Its median pensionable salary of $81,230 sits at the 91st percentile among the 11 civil service jurisdictions in Atlantic County with pension data, where the midpoint jurisdiction reports $64,764. Local pay is set by ordinance rather than a State schedule, so spreads inside one county are wide.
How long do people stay at Buena Municipal Utilities Authority?
The median enrolled member has 9.7 years of credited service, and 11% have passed twenty years. Credited service drives both retirement eligibility and the pension formula, so a long-tenured workforce usually means fewer open competitive appointments in the near term.