Dear Editor:
Last week’s two cover stories, one on a hoped for $200 million for school construction and one on the possible closing of St. Mary, demonstrate the real human costs of the pay to pay and patronage mentality so ingrained in the politics of our state and city.
Many in town are hoping that UMDNJ will rescue St. Mary. Unfortunately, UMDNJ is in a lot of trouble, and funds will be tight for them, having overcharged the federal government for Medicare and Medicaid claims. Where did the money go?
Mary Ellen Schoonmaker writes in the Bergen Record, that it went to “patronage hires, bloated salaries, extravagant bonuses and perks, no-bid contracts, no-show jobs, political favoritism and other waste of hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer money.” Given UMDNJ’s fiscal health, what are the odds they can take over St. Mary? Even if they do, will there be massive layoffs, pay cuts and service cuts? For those who have been receiving those inflated bonuses and perks, things have been great. Unfortunately, it will be the staff and patients of St. Mary who pay the price for this political waste.
For schools, at this point all we know is that the School Construction Corp has run out of money, and everyone in Trenton is trying to figure out why. Perhaps the tens of millions lost in cities like Paterson is the reason. Perhaps there is nothing untoward here, just simple failure to stick to a budget. On top of whatever happened, the state budget has a multibillion-dollar deficit, and the state pension system is short even more billions. Either way, those paying the price will be those most vulnerable, students in need of decent schools.
Our fellow Hobokenite, Gov. Corzine, has the responsibility to work on these issues at the state level. Locally, however, we have responsibilities of our own. It is time to end the short term use of patronage and pay to play and focus on putting the city and school district on a sound long term fiscal plan. Corruption and cronyism are not victimless, and real people in Hoboken are now paying the price.
Bill Tobias