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.
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