... Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver, D-Essex, said Democrats in the lower
house ³also want to see the money go directly to cities, not into building a
new layer of bureaucracy that obliterates local autonomy. Despite the
governor¹s rhetoric, the DCA has always retained proper oversight
authority.² (AP Press)
This statement above by Speaker Oliver is complete nonsense. There is NOT
proper oversight authority on the extraordinary aid that is given to cities
like Asbury Park.
When I was on the AP City Council I went down to the DCA Office and begged
the Chairman¹s staff to stop giving Asbury Park money until there was true
oversight of city expenditures. My concerns at the time were: (1) we were
wasting money; (2) because of the waste the state might one day (read now)
turn off the money spigot and we should be prepared. I was laughed at by my
colleagues.
To further move us in the direction of fiscal responsibility/accountability,
I pushed for for the first-ever budget hearings within the city. At the
hearings all department heads were to present a department mission
statement, goals and objectives and their budget line items were to be
pegged to the stated objectives. To be frank, I have seen better work from
my former high school students than what some of the department heads turned
in. Also, during the 8 hours of hearings, I was the only council person
that was there, with the exception of Loffredo coming for 45 minutes
that¹s a real commitment to oversight. I also suggested that each
department run through the exercise of cutting 10% across the board from
their budget. I could not get the council majority to support such an
effort.
Let me be clear, I am not against the aid being given, but these funds MUST
be handled with true oversight, not the dog and pony show that the DCA has
traditionally accepted from cities like AP to justify the cash handout.
Peace, JWK
--
Jim Keady, Director
Educating for Justice, Inc.
j...@educatingforjustice.org
732.988.7322
www.educatingforjustice.org
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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