Passaic County Commissioner John W. Bartlett was elected to a two-year term as Chair of the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority (NJTPA) at the January 10 Board of Trustees meeting.
“I am honored that my fellow Board members have entrusted me to serve as chair of the NJTPA,” Commissioner Bartlett said. “This is a critical time for transportation in North Jersey with billions of dollars in new federal infrastructure money flowing to New Jersey. I look forward to working with the Board, our many partners and the NJTPA staff to ensure this funding addresses critical transportation needs, while also growing our economy and improving quality of life for our residents.”
The NJTPA oversees regional transportation planning and annually authorizes more than $1 billion in federal surface transportation funding for 13 counties in northern and central New Jersey.
Chairman Bartlett also recognized outgoing chair Kathryn DeFillippo, a Morris County commissioner.
“Commissioner DeFillippo did an extraordinary job in incredible difficult circumstances,” Commissioner Bartlett said. “She kept things moving when it would have been easy for everything to grind to a halt, and she kept a camaraderie and positive attitude through a very grim time for many of us, and that was really something extraordinary.”
Commissioner Bartlett joined the NJTPA Board in 2012 and became a member of the Executive Committee when he was elected Second Vice Chair in 2018. He served as First Vice Chair from 2020-2021, before being elected Chair. He has held several leadership positions at the NJTPA, including serving as Chair of the Project Prioritization Committee from 2020-2021. He previously served as Chair of the NJTPA’s Planning and Economic Development Committee and was Vice Chair of the Freight Initiatives Committee.
NJTPA Board of Trustees Executive Committee
At the meeting, the NJTPA Board also selected four other members of its Executive Committee. In addition to Commissioner Bartlett, the elected members of the Executive Committee are Ocean County Commissioner John P. Kelly, First Vice Chair; Middlesex County Commissioner Charles Kenny, Second Vice Chair; and Union County Commissioner Bette Jane Kowalski, Secretary. In accordance with the bylaws, Chairman Bartlett appointed Warren County Commissioner Jason Sarnoski to the position of Third Vice Chair.
The Executive Committee provides guidance and leadership to the full Board on a wide range of planning, policy and administrative issues. It meets as needed to review financial, personnel and policy matters. Board membership is an uncompensated position.
The NJTPA is the metropolitan planning organization (MPO) for 13 northern New Jersey counties. Under federal legislation, MPOs provide a forum where local officials, public transportation providers and state agency representatives can come together and cooperatively plan to meet the region’s current and future transportation needs. It establishes the region’s eligibility to receive federal tax dollars for transportation projects.
The NJTPA Board consists of one local elected official from each of the 13 counties in the region (Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Hunterdon, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, Union and Warren), and the cities of Newark and Jersey City. The Board also includes a Governor’s Representative, the Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Transportation, the Executive Director of NJ TRANSIT, the Chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and a Citizen’s Representative appointed by the Governor.