The Issues
I have focused on five themes - five opportunities for change here in Bergen County:
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The County Budget - The 2008 Bergen County Freeholders approved the largest budget in county History -- $462 million!
They increased taxes by $92 million since 2003 - including a $23 million tax increase last year.
WE NEED TO STOP THE SPENDING!
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County Debt - At the end of 2007, the County Debt was $600 million. By the end of 2008 the County Debt was nearly $700 million. If this pattern is allowed to continue, we will soon live in a county with over one billion dollars in debt!
That's over $1000 in debt for each person living in Bergen - just at the County level!
Despite a national recession, the Freeholder Board Keep Spending. The Freeholders voted raises for themselves, the county executive and department heads - while many taxpayers in Bergen County are losing their jobs.
Some of their recent binging:
- $22.75 million for a new communications center
- $3.22 million in golf course improvements
- $5.8 million in unspecified capital projects
- $8.7 million for the sheriff's department and
- $3.83 million for various law enforcement projects
...none of it with any explanation of why we need to make these grandiose expenditures now, in some of the worst economic times in memory.
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Corruption - Within the last two years Federal Prosecutors have indicted:
former Bergen Democratic State Senator Joseph Coniglio in a scheme to funnel taxpayer money to his employer, the recently resigned Bergen County Democratic Party Chairman Joseph Ferriero for multiple counts of fraud, and the former Democratic Party Lawyer Dennis Oury for fraud and failing to provide fair services to one of the towns paying him.
Two former Democratic councilpersons from Bergenfield were recently indicted for assisting the County Party in an effort to commit election fraud by forging signatures.
This corruption takes money out of your Wallets!
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Protect the Small Towns - Democrats want to abolish small towns - and create bloated, expensive bureaucracies that would expand their power.
They want bigger labor unions and more patronage. If bigger were better... Newark and Paterson would be cheaper to run than Allendale and Wyckoff. The fact is most small towns do a better job at running leaner governments with more cooperation and more sharing their bigger towns. I believe that towns should decide for themselves what services they want to share with neighboring towns. This should not be mandated by the state nor county governments- Right now State Aid is being cut for towns smaller than 10,000 people.
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Freeholders are Failing to Represent the County's Interests - On several key issues the county is failing its residents.
Xanadu and EnCap are two glaring examples of the Freeholders' hands off policy towards politically inspired, Democrat party initiatives that are failing the public, wasting resources and created eyesores that benefit no-one except politically connected developers, consultants and lawyers.