The work of the NJTPA is supported by a central staff numbering 50 professionals including planners, economists, programmers, engineers, administrators, and clerical personnel (see staff contact list at right). Central Staff is expected to operate in a support role according to the discretion of the NJTPA Board of Trustees.
Under the host-agency agreement, Central Staff members are employees of New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) under the supervision of an Executive Director who coordinates management responsibility through two Deputy Executive Directors, and eight Division Directors. The Executive Director is selected by the NJTPA Board of Trustees and is the chief operating officer of the NJTPA.
Central Staff activity related to the MPO's legislatively-mandated responsibilities is documented in a Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP) that covers a two-year period and is updated annually. The UPWP is reviewed and approved by the NJTPA Board of Trustees. The six-volume UPWP lists the task goals outlined for each division and the budget necessary to complete each task. Once the UPWP is approved, any amendments must be voted on by the Trustees. Guidance for the annual update of the UPWP is provided by the 5-year NJTPA Strategic Business Plan, which was adopted in 2002 and is scheduled for update in 2008.
All the work tasks in the current UPWP flow from the NJTPA’s long-range Regional Transportation Plan (RTP). The plan was adopted in September 2005 and updated in 2007 to be fully compliant with the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), the federal transportation legislation approved in 2005. The plan is the driving force behind the NJTPA’s work. The plan offers a vision of the future of transportation in the region and identifies numerous regional needs and issues to be addressed.
Both the RTP and the UPWP fully reflect the planning priorities of SAFETEA-LU. The NJTPA has incorporated the requirements of specific regulations stemming from SAFETEA-LU into the annual work program where required.