The champion of the group is state Sen. Nicholas Sacco, D-North Bergen, who is actually a triple dipper. Besides representing nine towns in Hudson and Bergen counties, Sacco is mayor of North Bergen and the district's assistant superintendent of schools. Where

   does he find the time? Through his job with the school district, Sacco has banked 445 unused sick days, which would be worth a shade less than $332,000 if he cashes them in.

Then, there are Democratic Assemblymen Charles Mainor and Sean Connors, both of Jersey City, who have compiled almost $227,000 worth of unused time combined through their jobs as city police detectives.

Joseph DiVincenzo, the Essex County Executive, offers his own intriguing way to game the system. DiVincenzo, who is known as "Joe D" in political circles, has amassed only about $59,000 in unused vacation time. But in addition to his annual salary of $153,207, DiVincenzo has been collecting a yearly pension of almost $69,000 under an absurd state law that allows elected officials to "retire" while still in office.

Governor Christie, to his credit, is trying to correct the situation. What is called "terminal leave" — the paying out of unused sick, vacation and other time to a public employee upon retirement — is now capped at $15,000 for employees hired within the last year. But, so far, nothing has been done to stop the potential for outlandish payouts to current workers. While taking

 terminal leave benefits from employees retroactively could be illegal, the least the state should do is stop current workers from banking any more unused time.

Democrats, who control the Legislature, and the governor seem to agree that should be done, but they are quibbling over the details. Stop the bickering and get this problem fixed.

Just about all veteran public employees are entitled to terminal leave, but we think the onus to act responsibly falls most heavily on those who are in elected office. After all, they are the ones who should be working to rein in unnecessary spending.

And on that score, we find some of the responses severely lacking. Sacco claims that he's been in public education for 43 years and that he has a "nearly perfect attendance record." If that's the case, it's probably only true in theory. How can Sacco be doing his job as assistant superintendent of schools inNorth Bergen when he's physically in Trenton representing his district? The Legislature normally meets on two school days — Mondays and Thursdays. Supporters of Sacco have noted that while his triple dipping is often reported, voters reelect him overwhelmingly. Given Sacco's formidable political power, we are not sure what drives his popularity at home, but we are confident that the majority of New Jersey taxpayers are far less smitten. Whatever legislation emerges can do only so much. The real problem starts with a state of mind, the belief that a job in public service entitles one to grab whatever he, or she, can. That is what has to change. It certainly would be refreshing to see these 16 public officials willingly forgo the unused time they've accumulated over the years. That is what leadership and public service is supposed to be about.