NORTH BERGEN AND UNION CITY — North Bergen has demanded that Union City pay what they say is an overdue contribution to the North Hudson Regional Fire and Rescue (NHRFR) squad – which serves five towns in Hudson County – or face legal action.
The demand has furthered a political rift between the two towns’ mayors, Brian Stack and Nicholas Sacco, two local Democratic rivals.
At issue is $5.7 million plus interest that Union City owes to the NHRFR. Each town must pay several million dollars into the squad’s annual budget.
Lawyers for North Bergen have said that Mayor Stack and Union City’s failure to pay its allocated shares towards the NHRFR’s costs has disrupted the regional company’s business, including limiting its ability to make pension fund contributions, according to a letter released last week.
The letter was sent on Aug. 16 and gives Union City 10 days to pay up or legal action will be taken against them.
“This has been a habitual thing, for many years they’re six months late, they’re 10 months late, then they pay,” said North Bergen Town Spokesperson Phil Swibinski. “It really damages the Regional’s ability to operate. It’s led to close to a million dollars in interest charges by the pension system. North Bergen taxpayers should not subsidize Union City. Union City should get its finances in order, they should pay their bills.”
Union City makes the largest contribution, $18 million a year, of all five member towns in the NHRFR, which also includes North Bergen, Weehawken, Guttenberg and West New York.
“The cost is too high for Union City,” said Mayor Brian Stack last week. “This is definitely politically being done by Mayor Sacco. They didn’t regionalize fire prevention and fire inspection, which are the two most important aspects of fighting fires. This is Sacco playing politics because I don’t adhere to his political plans for the county.”
Stack said he was never contacted by anyone from North Bergen. He wants a reassessment of the NHRFR’s budget formula, which is based on assessed property values.
Stack says the men in the fire department do an outstanding job and this has nothing to do with them.