Hold Commissioner Derella Accountable

8 December 2009 @ 18:08 | Posted in » New Jersey, Politics

Yesterday I outlined my proposal for where Cumberland County needs to begin to trim its expenditures. Miraculously, Matt Dunn wrote an article today in which it was indicated Freeholder Magazzu was willing to look at cutting health benefits to part-time county employees, including the freeholder board. Bravo! We’ll see if he follows through.

One week from this evening, Millville City Commissioner Joe Derella will present the budget for a vote. The budget has not been reported by the news media. What little we have heard is that there is going to be a 9¢/$100 assessed property value increase for next year. It is also rumored that there will be no lay-offs, a la Freeholder Magazzu.

Under what circumstances would city government ever lay off an employee?

We are constantly told that the economy is the worst since the Great Depression. If this is not the time to trim the payroll then it stands to reason there is never a time to reduce the size of government. Certainly in times of prosperity the size of government is not trimmed. As we will likely find out next week, in times of tough economic turmoil is not the time to cut either. No matter one’s political persuasion, ponder this. If the size of government is not reduced now, it never will be.

Commissioner Derella should address when the size of government should be decreased and why his proposed budget does not do so.

Amid this terrible economy, Commissioner Derella is prepared to raise taxes again on the property owners in the state’s poorest county. When times are tough, Derella (and the rest of government) are willing to take more money from property owners.

Has everything been cut that could be before Millville decided to take our money?

Much like I criticized Cumberland County for not cutting health benefits of elected officials and appointed employees, Millville has a pot of money that can be easily saved. There are four commissioners and a mayor who should not be receiving health benefits.

I do not know what Derella’s day job is (he stated he used to be a teacher), but his e-mail address is from NovaCare. Mayor Shannon owns a funeral parlor. Commissioner Quinn owns a television station. What Commissioners Finch and Vanaman do for a living I do not know. Certainly however, taxpayers should not be footing the health benefits for these gentlemen. Furthermore, health benefits should not be the reason anyone decides to serve the public. All five are paid for their part-time work. Each is in the state pension system because of their service. Just how much are taxpayers expected to pay to have these folks sit on the Commission?

When Derella makes his proposal next week, it will include an increase in the taxes we pay. Will it include cuts to his health benefits? Will the increased taxes that will be taken from us be offset by a reduction in the city’s payroll? The answers to those questions should be telling for Millville citizens.

Eighty to 85% of a public school’s budget is comprised of salaries and benefits. I would imagine municipal governments are similarly constructed. If one is trying to balance the budget, he needs to either increase revenue or decrease expenditures. A government’s revenue is essentially limited to taxing its citizens. As the poorest county, it is easy to be overtaxed. That is the legal issue behind Abbott v. Burke, which has brought in more than an extra $1 billion to Cumberland County.

The beginning of this poor economy is often highlighted as the burst of the housing bubble. That occurred right after Millville conducted a property reassessment. Since then, our property values have been reduced, but our taxes have risen. Now Derella et al. will be taking more while protecting their own benefits.

So, raising government revenue means taxing already burdened property owners. The prudent thing, it seems to me, is to reduce spending. While a school district can nickle-and-dime spending cuts by reducing how much paper it purchases, how many pencils it buys, or cutting field trips, real savings is had only by addressing the 80-85% of the budget.

Millville cut the children’s programs this past summer. It closed the beach. There’s only so much of that it can do before the payroll is addressed. The bulk of the budget is in the city’s payroll. If Derella does not cut the staff, savings will not be had. That means government has to raise taxes on property owners.

If a tax increase is needed, I want to make certain it is as small as absolutely necessary. I have never viewed a public budget that did not have superfluous staff. Raising my taxes while I continue to pay health benefits for part-time elected officials is the definition of chutzpah.

Do not let Commissioner Derella go unchallenged when he presents his “tough times” budget. Tough is a matter of who pays.