Dear Editor:
The centerpiece of my Freeholder campaign earlier this year was to push for an independent performance audit of county operations, so that we can get a road map for achieving cost savings. This year, Hoboken was hit with a 14.5 percent county tax hike and Jersey City was hit with a 5.8 percent county increase. This is especially hard on Hoboken residents, as county taxes represent the single largest piece of the Hoboken taxpayer’s dollar. We all know that Hudson County can – and must – do better.
I have attended a number of Freeholder meetings since the June primary, and advocated for the Freeholders to issue an RFP to retain an independent auditor, so that we can get an independent, apples-to-apples comparison of Hudson County’s operations to other counties, and learn how Hudson County (like other counties) can produce a budget with a flat levy, instead of one that increases, every year, by 3 percent to 5 percent. I have been heartened by the Freeholders’ receptiveness to my proposal.
Thanks especially to Freeholders Bill O’Dea and Junior Maldonado for your enthusiastic support of my proposal to move forward with issuing an RFP for an independent performance audit, and thanks to all the Freeholders for your willingness to entertain a new approach to addressing the county budget next year.
Phil Cohen