Dear Editor:
Hudson County, our bloated, patronage ridden tax sinkhole is once again raising taxes. Congratulations to the Democratic voters for continuing to elect individuals who can’t find a way to stop spending decade after decade. The preliminary budget figures are as follows:
Overall spending is rising by $11.4 million or 4.1 percent.
Jersey City’s share: $48.6 million or + 4.5 percent.
East Newark, $28,622 less, or 15 percent.
West New York: $420,037 less or 3.33 percent.
Bayonne, $1.7 million more, or 6.6 percent.
Union City, $1.1 million more, or 6.7 percent.
Guttenberg: + 16 percent.
Of course Hoboken gets socked again!
Hoboken, $2.4 million more, or 5.2 percent.
In Hoboken under Mayor Zimmer and the reform majority we have witnessed a decline in the municipal levy for 4 straight cycles. The same holds true with the School Board Kids First majority who have constrained additional spending in our school system. Hudson County on other hand continues to spend more each year without initiating any tax payer friendly reforms. The Board of Freeholders should take notice of Hoboken and emulate the sound fiscal sobriety we maintain.
In Hoboken we have undergone a series of operational audits that have exposed overstaffing and inefficiencies that have now been corrected. I am confident that a mediocre management consultant can find millions of dollars in savings if our county elected officials would actually care about their taxpaying constituents.
Our county is infamous for its large patronage mill where doling out political favors is commonplace over competence. It also maintains institutional corruption. The latest being two raids on the Hudson County Improvement Authority (HCIA) related to alleged no show jobs at a golf course on Route 440. The previous indictments and convictions are too long to list.
Unfortunately Jersey City being the largest entity in the county controls the purse strings and has no vested interest in reforming or saving money. I can only hope that Freeholder Anthony Romano has the courage to vote no and demand Hoboken style reforms and audits. I’m not holding my breath that anyone can change the fiscally irresponsibility that we are witnessing year after year. I can only wonder when Hudson County voters will stop this fiscal irresponsibility and corruption and elect fiscally sound individuals. Otherwise expect the tax and spending trend to continue on into the future.
Scott Siegel