Passaic Valley Water Commission
Municipal Utilities Authority · Passaic County
Passaic Valley Water Commission, a municipal utilities authority in Passaic County, operates under New Jersey's Title 11A civil service system rather than setting its own hiring rules independently.
Within Passaic County, 20 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 20 civil service jurisdictions in Passaic County, or browse the full employer directory.
Pension and salary data for Passaic Valley Water Commission
Passaic Valley Water Commission's staff appear on Passaic City's pension rolls: 476 enrolled members, a median pensionable salary of $67,514 and a median 10.3 years of credited service. Single-purpose public bodies are often reported through a parent municipality or county rather than as their own pension employer.
See every civil service jurisdiction in Passaic County for the ones that do report, or how we compile this.
Other public employers in Passaic
The pension system reports these separate public employers in Passaic. 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 |
|---|---|
| PASSAIC BOARD OF EDUCATION | 1,838 |
| PASSAIC COUNTY | 1,430 |
| PASSAIC CITY | 476 |
| PASSAIC CO BD OF SOCIAL SERVIC | 411 |
| PASSAIC CITY HOUSING AUTHORITY | 31 |
What civil service status means for jobs at Passaic Valley Water Commission
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.
Your title, not your assignment, defines what you are supposed to be doing. If the duties you actually perform drift outside the specification for the title you hold, that is a classification question rather than a management preference, and an employee can ask for the position to be reviewed and reclassified. It is one of the quieter protections in the system and one of the least used.
New Jersey does not require an employer to hire whoever scored highest. When a list is certified, the appointing authority may choose among the top three interested candidates, which is why a rank of two or three on a list is still a serious position and why interviews still decide outcomes.
Civil service employers in Passaic
Passaic Valley Water Commission serves Passaic City, a city in Passaic County, but it is in the listing as a municipal utilities authority on its own account rather than as part of the city government.
The Passaic government is listed too: Passaic City. Both run under Title 11A, and both certify their own appointments, so applying to one tells you nothing about openings at the other.
One further Passaic body is listed as well, which puts three separate civil service employers inside one town.
- Passaic City Library, public library
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 Passaic County
Passaic County holds 20 confirmed jurisdictions in the Commission's listing: 8 municipalities, 7 public libraries, 3 municipal utilities authorities, 1 board of social services, and 1 county government.
8 of the county's 16 municipalities are among them.
Passaic 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: Paterson, Paterson Library, Pompton Lakes Borough, Pompton Lakes Library, Pompton Lakes Municipal Utilities Authority, Ringwood Borough, Wanaque Borough, Wanaque Library. See all 20 in Passaic County.
Common questions about Passaic Valley Water Commission
Is Passaic Valley Water Commission a civil service employer?
Yes. Passaic Valley Water Commission 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 Passaic Valley Water Commission cover the rest of Passaic?
No. Passaic 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.
Are there jobs here that never go through an examination?
Yes. Unclassified positions, which typically include department heads and confidential staff, are filled at the discretion of the appointing authority. Noncompetitive and labor titles inside the classified service are also filled without a competitive examination, though they still sit under civil service rules for things like layoff rights.
Do veterans get a preference on these lists?
Yes, and in New Jersey it is unusually strong. On an open competitive list, disabled veterans who pass are ranked ahead of all other candidates, and other veterans who pass are ranked ahead of non-veterans, regardless of score. Preference has to be claimed and verified in advance, and it does not carry over to promotional examinations.