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First priority on the list for me would be to consolidate municipalities. Any current municipality that has less than 10,000 residents must combine with others to form new municipalities that meet that threshold.
You could also just leave them in place but simply remove most of their authority. I like my town and would rather have things like planning and zoning under local control. However, with regard to major services such as police, emergency services, public works and schools, it makes literally no sense to have all control at the lowest level of government.
You could also just leave them in place but simply remove most of their authority. I like my town and would rather have things like planning and zoning under local control. However, with regard to major services such as police, emergency services, public works and schools, it makes literally no sense to have all control at the lowest level of government.
This I tend to like it more local. But I understand how much more that means in terms of bleeding off cash to the government guys upstairs.
I think technology and electronic can take care of this in the near future so I'm actually inclined to side with you
You could also just leave them in place but simply remove most of their authority. I like my town and would rather have things like planning and zoning under local control. However, with regard to major services such as police, emergency services, public works and schools, it makes literally no sense to have all control at the lowest level of government.
With schools, it is likely best to keep as local as possible. Doesn't mean there aren't situations ripe for consolidation, but the local nature is likely one of the reasons NJ has one of the top public school systems in the country.
With schools, it is likely best to keep as local as possible. Doesn't mean there aren't situations ripe for consolidation, but the local nature is likely one of the reasons NJ has one of the top public school systems in the country.
Disagree with schools...the best schools in NJ pull from huge geographies. URban and suburban.
With schools, it is likely best to keep as local as possible. Doesn't mean there aren't situations ripe for consolidation, but the local nature is likely one of the reasons NJ has one of the top public school systems in the country.
If you really believe that then all your ranting and raving on this board about bloated government on this board is just that. Talk. It's why we're in the situation we're in. Everybody wants to p--- and moan about how high their property taxes are, but when consolidation talks start, everybody says "OH BUT NOT MY CHILD'S SCHOOL!!!" County government is local enough. One County Superintendent, one Business Administrator, one Director of Buildings and Grounds, one County School Board (unpaid-no stipends), etc...
If you really believe that then all your ranting and raving on this board about bloated government on this board is just that. Talk. It's why we're in the situation we're in. Everybody wants to p--- and moan about how high their property taxes are, but when consolidation talks start, everybody says "OH BUT NOT MY CHILD'S SCHOOL!!!" County government is local enough. One County Superintendent, one Business Administrator, one Director of Buildings and Grounds, one County School Board (unpaid-no stipends), etc...
Tewksbury uses our court system. I also think our dispatch covers Califon. We are in a different county! I guess it's working well. Small steps.
I agree that North jersey needs better transit. The question is how to do it.
Since it only runs in very limited amounts (7 days in June, for example), I'm not sure how relevant it is to the discussion about American Dream needing public transit.
Tewksbury uses our court system. I also think our dispatch covers Califon. We are in a different county! I guess it's working well. Small steps.
In my experience these little "shared service agreements" amount to little more than talking points that small town Mayors can crow about when confronted with residents who are angry about property taxes. Now mind you, that anger is often quite misdirected since the small town Mayors are only partially to blame, and its a small part to boot compared to what we spend on first responders and schools. Also, most of the cases where these shared service agreements exist involve a large-ish town sharing services with an incredibly small town (like Califon). They are quite necessary because it would be impossible (and ridiculous) for a town like Califon to provide it's own 24/7 police coverage. The reality is that towns themselves should not be providing these services in the first place let alone sharing them. It should fall entirely to the counties they are contained within.
If you really believe that then all your ranting and raving on this board about bloated government on this board is just that. Talk. It's why we're in the situation we're in. Everybody wants to p--- and moan about how high their property taxes are, but when consolidation talks start, everybody says "OH BUT NOT MY CHILD'S SCHOOL!!!" County government is local enough. One County Superintendent, one Business Administrator, one Director of Buildings and Grounds, one County School Board (unpaid-no stipends), etc...
Ranting an raving? lol.
I actually said there is probably room for consolidation but that in general schools are best administered locally. No rant. No rave.
Ranting an raving? lol. I actually said there is probably room for consolidation but that in general schools are best administered locally. No rant. No rave.
Most if not all of your 266 posts concern some sort of rant about how New Jersey is overtaxed and that our taxes fund "bloated government programs," yet you would preserve the single biggest driver of high property taxes in NJ. How can you possibly argue that it makes sense to have 600+ school districts, each with 3-4 administrators making six figure salaries? Each with a standalone office and support staff? Most with separate purchasing agreements and contracts with tens of thousands of different vendors. It's the definition of insanity.
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County government is local enough. One County Superintendent, one Business Administrator, one Director of Buildings and Grounds, one County School Board (unpaid-no stipends), etc...
