Tuesday, August 16, 2011

A plan for fiscal justice in Harrison


Harrison taxpayers, do you know where your taxes are going? Do you know what you're getting back? Why are we in so much debt that the Harrison Mayor and Council needed to borrow $3.1 million this December to pay off this debt? What is to be shown for getting into this much debt? Combined with the $3.1 million borrowed in 2006 the town has borrowed $6.2 million with no accountability. 

The Red Bulls stadium was built and still refuses to pay property taxes to the town. I have a solution: The governor should send in a team of hand picked professionals to operate on an incentive basis to investigate and evaluate corruption on the municipal and county levels. Any and all business transpired by our hired professionals, those in office and hired to have our fiscal best interest looked after, found to be unethical by NJ standards should be fined. The governor's team should collect 2% as a fee for their services and the remaining 98% should be returned to the municipal and county budgets. A starting point could be the councilmen who are approving budgets for their own paychecks, and the ones responsible for negotiating their contracts.

A call for West Hudson regionalization


Both the Governor and the Senate President Sweeney are pushing for the state to regionalize services. Why haven't we done this yet in Hudson County, where we could benefit the most from such reorganization? According to a 1976 study (yes, the plans go back this far), no apparatus would be more than three quarters of a mile away from the next under a regionalized plan. The county would coordinate existing fire houses and police stations around the county with one centralized point of origin for training and equipment as per New Jersey State Fire Insurance regulations. This point of origin would be an emergency service center fully manned and equipped with training personnel. Only then will Hudson County residents see what they're getting for a third of their taxes each year that go to the Hudson County administration. That's real accountability.

With the way that we're losing man power now we're not going to have anyone to use the preexisting equipment, and the answer isn't to sell it off. The answer is to regionalize the county's emergency support services. County residents pay a third of their taxes to the county and get little in return. Ask a Harrison resident what the county provides for them with the tax revenue they collect each year. Not only do we need to get spending under control but we need to know where every dollar is being spent.

Who's watching the purse strings?


James Doran, the Superintendent of the Harrison school system received a bonus of $100K, bringing his salary to a whopping $350K+ because Harrison students are passing their state mandated tests. The Harrison school district is classified as an Abbott school district, requiring the state to send in millions of dollars a year to remedy the ailing schools. Doran, also a Councilman, voted for a budget of $9 million for the schools to come out of the pocket of taxpaying Harrison residents. Another Councilman, Francisco Nascimento, also voted for this increase while he holds the job of Principal for Washington Middle School in Harrison. The Harrison Board of Education is appointed by the council, where both of these officials hold office. Is this not a conflict of interest? I'd like to know who negotiates and approves these contracts that we're paying for. I want to get to the one person responsible. Is it Senator Menendez? Is it the Mayor, or the Governor? While taxpayers are losing homes and losing police and firemen protection how can we accept this? It is only fair for the authorities to answer for the transgressions being committed against the town.

Big Spending Hurts Harrison


Published in the Jersey Journal, Aug 15th 2011

After being told to get their spending under control in 2006, it's plain to see that the mayor and the council cannot be trusted to provide the residents with services that are essential to their well-being.
They have reduced our police and fire personnel, eliminated our in-house EMT services, and put everyone's lives in jeopardy. This, at a time when every tax dollar must be spent carefully, the town, without conscience, pays the superintendent of schools an enormous salary of $275,000, which doesn't include a $100,000 bonus because the students passed a state-mandated test.
Why are we rewarding a superintendent of schools after the state designated Harrison as an Abbott District. By definition, Abbott Districts are school districts in New Jersey that are provided remedies to ensure that their students receive public education in accordance with New Jersey's state Constitution. They were created in 1985 as a result of the first ruling of Abbott vs. Burke, a case filed by the Education Law Center.
The ruling asserted that public primary and secondary education in poor communities throughout the state was unconstitutionally substandard. There are currently 31 Abbott districts in New Jersey. Then why on earth are we paying the superintendent $275,000 with an assistant superintendent at $195,000, not to mention a quite large support staff?
It's important to note that Harrison is a one-square-mile town with four schools and an attendance of approximately 3,900 students. Governor Christie was critical of Parsippany's superintendent of schools by stating the man was the face of greed with a salary of $245,000. Parsippany has 14 schools and a student population of over 7,000.
Need I make a comparison?
Who would negotiate a contract with a salary this high for a 260-day work year, with nine weeks paid vacation and sick time.
DAN KELLY
COUNCILMAN 1996-2006
HARRISON