N.J. agency mum on Christie loyalist's six-figure job

TRENTON, N.J. — NJ Transit, which wants to raise fares 9%, won't say what Gov. Chris Christie's former press secretary has been working on since being added to the payroll with a six-figure salary three months ago.

The railroad and bus agency hired Michael Drewniak as chief of policy and strategic planning at a salary of $147,700. Drewniak, who came with no experience in transportation planning, made $134,000 when he worked for Christie.

Drewniak's first day was April 1. He's one of 1,000 agency employees who are paid more than $100,000 annually.

In response to a records' request by the Asbury Park Press for Drewniak's work, the agency didn't supply anything, with an official saying the request was too broad and failed to name "identifiable government records."

That flies in the face of 2011 guidance from the state Government Records Council urging record-keepers to maintain the "spirit" of the state's Open Public Records Act.

"Requestors may not know the names of certain records. The spirit of OPRA implies that custodians assist requestors with identifying the records they are seeking,'' the council said.

The NJ Transit official also said that the records' request "would require NJ Transit's Records Custodian to perform research in order to respond.''

The fare increase along with service cuts will be voted on by the NJ Transit board July 15.