Company: MSEX
Filing Date: 2025-04-10
Form Type: DEF 14A
Source: 0001174947-25-000561
Chunk: 33

Company: MIDDLESEX WATER CO
Filing Date: 2025-04-10
Form: DEF 14A
Chunk 33
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 the date of issuance and the the three- or five-year vesting term as the number of shares is fixed at the time of grant. The Restricted Stock Plan provides for accelerated vesting in the case of a retirement. Shares fully vest for retirements occurring on or after age 65 or in the case of a Change In Control. Although the Restricted Stock Plan does not specifically address re-pricing or cash buyouts relative to unvested restricted stock awards, such practices are prohibited as a matter of policy and have never been employed. Following the three- or five-year period during which the employee held the award prior to vesting, there is no additional holding/retention period for restricted shares that become fully vested. The Company does however have minimum stock ownership and holding requirements. See Stock Ownership and Holding Requirements on page 28. The Restricted Stock Plan is designed to compensate the NEOs for executing specific financial and non-financial elements of the Company’s business plan. The target award is comprised of a single corporate financial goal, in addition to one or more individual non-financial performance goals. The corporate financial goal, for which incentive compensation was earned for 2024, was Income Before Income Taxes. Separate from this metric, a qualitative assessment of financial performance relative to the company’s peer group is made through an evaluation of the total shareholder return over a 5-year period, as presented as part of the Form 10-K. The corporate financial goal comprised 60% of the target award for NEOs other than the President and CEO, whose corporate financial goal comprised 80% of his or her target award. The remaining portion of the target award for all NEOs is based upon the level of achievement of individual non-financial performance goals. The non-financial individual performance goals are intended to further incent the NEOs to implement operational, technical, management and other initiatives that benefit the Company’s customers and shareholders, and which require effort and achievement above and beyond what would normally be required as part of the NEO’s base job responsibilities. The Compensation Committee evaluates the reasonableness of attaining designated incentive goals relative to the importance of such goals to the overall mission and strategies of the Company and the required effort to achieve such goals. The Committee recognizes that some level of calculated risk is required to achieve business objectives that ultimately benefit customers and shareholders. However, the Committee discourages taking risk that, in the judgment of the Board, is inappropriate relative to the expectations of our regulators and shareholders. Delivered performance during the applicable measurement period may exceed, or fall short