Eliminate Municipal
Government?
June 22, 2010
Bergen Community College
“It is impossible to defend the
present system that legitimizes
municipalities the size of Bill
Gates’ living room.”
- Alan
Karcher
Bergen County:
The Good…
The Bad…
More local governments per square mile
than ANY other state in the US and more
than these eight states combined:
Wyoming
Rhode Island
Nevada
Delaware
Maryland
Arizona
Hawaii
New Mexico
The Bad…
70 municipalities, 76 school districts
68 Police Chiefs
 76 School Superintendents
 70 Borough Clerks
 In 2009, the total payroll for these
three positions ALONE totaled
over $30 million.

And The Ugly
Crushing tax burden for families and
businesses
 Wasteful spending and duplication
of services
 Too much reliance on property taxes
 No access to Federal Community
Development Program Dollars

What Is The Answer?
Maintain Status Quo?
Shift Services?
Increase the Number
of Municipalities?
Is It Reasonable?
Sustainable?
Desirable?
The answer is
NO!
What Is The Answer?
CONSOLIDATION
Combine Bergen County’s 70
municipalities into professionally
managed regional structures while
maintaining individual town identity.
Consolidation
will look
something
like this.
How Will it Work?
Regional Administration will professionally
manage these services
Executive
Administration
Police
Fire & EMS
Public Works
Court System
School Administration
The County Government
Will Change, Too
The County government will be
critical to the successful
transition to the regional
structures that we propose.
A Regional Example
Glen Rock – HoHoKus - Midland Park –
Ridgewood - Washington Twp.
Population 58,000
Municipal Budget – Over $100 Million
School Budget - $170 Million
A Regional Example
• 5 Mayors
• 4 Emergency Mgmt Officers
•
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•
•
•
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•
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5 Borough Administrators
5 Borough Clerks
5 Police Chiefs
5 Superintendents
5 Boards of Education
5 Assessors
5 Borough Attorneys
5 Municipal Courts
5 Building Code Officers
5 Court Administrators
5 Fire Chiefs
5 Judges
5 Library Directors
4 Recreation Directors
4 Recycling Managers
5 Boards of Health
3 Social Services Managers
5 Public Works Managers
8 Tax Collectors/Treasurers
The Whole Picture
The Cost of Municipal Government
Current Budget
Over $3.8 Billion
70 Municipalities
Proposed Savings
10 - 20% or $385 - $770
Million Per Year
$427 - $855 Per Resident
This is not a Utopian
Ideal …Others Have Done It
Louisville, KY



Similar to Bergen County – tri-state area; pop. 1.2 million
Voted down two times before collective mentality changed
20% reduction in operating costs and employees since 2000
consolidation
Fulton County, GA


Similar population to Bergen County (about 1,000,000)
Property taxes about 30% less for same house value
Seneca Falls, NY


March 2010 - voters chose to disband government to save tax $$
Projected tax rate will go from $16.93 to $8.82 for a savings of
$811 per $100,000 in property value
Standing Between Now and The Future
How Home Rule Hurts
The Home Rule myth keeps residents of individual
towns separated and creates a system of inefficiencies.
Expensive
Secretive
Wasteful
How Consolidation Helps
Communities partner to create dynamic regional
structures that support and enhance each town’s
culture, character and affordability.
Affordable
Collaborative
Efficient
What Will Consolidation Mean
for Your Family?
Lower property taxes
 Better services
 Even distribution of services

Affordable future
 Increased transparency in government


Eligibility for Federal Grants
Setting Expectations for Success
Timeline:
 One
Year to get State Mandate
 Two Years to Implement
 One Year for Review
 2-5 Years to Realize Cost Reductions
What do we need to make this work?

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



Political courage
Leadership in the political and civic arenas
Funded state mandate
Revised tax structure
Detailed implementation plan – 2 to 5 years
PR strategy
Transparent monitoring
You need to be engaged!
We Can’t Afford NOT to Change!
Cost of running Bergen County
for one year:
Billions of $$
Future Cost of Maintaining
The Status Quo:
Billions MORE $$$
Changing our Perspective:
Priceless
Many Thanks To…
We would like to thank the following people for their time and counsel.
Paul Aronsohn, Ridgewood Council Member
Sheila Brogan, Ridgewood Board of Ed and Founding member of Dollars$ and Sense
Tony Cancielleri, Former Deputy County Executive, Nassau County NY
Dr. Henry Coleman, Bloustein School, Rutgers University
Kevie Fiet, Mayor of Teaneck
Ken Gabbert, Ridgewood Village Manager and Upper Saddle River Mayor
Gina Genovese, former Mayor Long Hill Township and Executive Director, Founder of Courage
to Connect NJ
Leo McGuire, Bergen County Sheriff
Dennis McNerney, Bergen County Executive
Dr. James Montesano, Paramus Superintendent of Schools
Chris Poynter, Deputy Director, Louisville Metro Council
Dr. David Redlawsk, Eagleton Institute, Rutgers University
Professor Ernest Reock, Rutgers University
Pete Rustin, Mayor of Tenafly
Peter Shapiro, Former Essex County Executive
William “Pat” Schuber, former Bergen County Executive
Bob Smith, New Jersey State Senator
Loretta Weinberg, New Jersey State Senator
And all of you!