Posted on 03/22/2008 4:42:56 PM PDT by Timeout
Corzine, who presided over mergers and acquisitions as chairman of Goldman Sachs, is telling hundreds of New Jersey's smallest towns and boroughs that they are too small to exist. Multiple layers of government are financially wasteful, he says, and the littlest towns and boroughs need to merge with their bigger neighbors to achieve economies of scale.
Corzine's incentive -- more like a hammer -- is a threatened cutoff of state aid. Under the governor's proposed budget, the state's 323 towns with populations of fewer than 10,000 people would face drastic cuts if they do not consolidate. Towns with populations between 5,000 and 10,000 people would see their aid sliced in half. Those with more than 10,000 would have their aid frozen at 2007 levels. And those such as Moonachie, with fewer than 5,000 people, would get zero state funding. Zilch.
...
...fear, and anger at not being consulted in advance, seem to be stoking the opposition to the merger plan. The governor is facing no less than a revolt of the small towns. At stake, say the small-town boosters, is a tradition, a way of life and the very definition of democracy, which at its best should be the government that is closest to the people.
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The battle has prompted some gallows humor. A blog called "New Jersey: Politics Unusual" speculated on possible new names for merged towns. For example, if Hillsdale, Mount Airy and Clinton merged, they could rename their new town "Hillary Clinton." And Ho-Ho-Kus could merge with Hoboken and become "Ho-Ho-Ho."
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Sounds like trouble ahead for Cozine and he may end up being the one cut from the team.
Right up your alley
Corzine to small NJ towns: “Drop dead !”
Except these towns are bastions of union featherbedding.
I once read somewhere that Bergen county alone has more firemen and fire stations than New York City.
If you want to cut costs, you have to go where the costs are.
I grew up in one of those little New Jersey towns. Corzine is right.
I like my little town, where the only perk we have is a full time road dept. & part time township committee (all Pubbies). No police, no trash pick up (we pay a private hauler) and our municipal taxes are low and waste free. It's the school taxes that are out of control!
Yeah, except they are all unpaid volunteer firemen. So you know there is that.
Corzine is not right. Almost all the towns effected by this proposal receive so little aid that the impact is insignificant.
effected = affected
This is such bull. I live in a town of 700 here. The only salary we pay is a couple thousand for the constable who tells people to move their cars when it snows and cut back their bushes. Volunteer fire, volunteer EMS, volunteer mayor, volunteer council, volunteer school board. Kids go to school in neighboring district. So if we merge with the nearest three towns in the county, all our services are going to be paid - and have those pensions that are breaking the state to go along with it.
You really want to save money, Mr. Corzine? Eliminate state grants. Our town has grubbed for state money for local improvements, just like any other town that once to get back some of what its citizens put in. Make all improvements locally funded; keep municipalities small, and the taxpayers will stop spending out of good sense.
Mrs VS
There's nothing like telling folks that their vote does not count...
Hope you are wearing your seat belt on this one!
Socialism gone wild - New Jersey voted this commie in and now they are gonna get what they voted for.
Hopefully, they’ll take it out on Frank Lautenberg.
I wondered if it could get any worse for New Jersey. Yep. Maybe at least the southern half could save itself by seceding.
But that leaves the northwest portion in a bad spot. Maybe they should secede too. They’d be bigger than Rhode Island.
Salem county should try hooking up with Delaware. The Delaware Memorial connects up there so there is road access.
Yep, we are affected in a big way. The problem is that Corzine is correct. His method may leave little to be desired but these small towns waste money like there’s no tomorrow. And it seems no matter how much it makes sense to combine SOME services to save a buck the stupid local politicians will not cede any power out of their slimy hands.
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