BERGEN COUNTY FREEHOLDERS CONTINUE RECORD BREAKING SPENDING PACE

BERGEN COUNTY REPUBLICANS ORGANIZATION

BERGEN COUNTY FREEHOLDERS CONTINUE RECORD BREAKING SPENDING PACE

$84 MILLION IN NEW BORROWING APPROVED WITHOUT EXPLANATION 

HACKENSACK -The Bergen County Freeholders approved another $28 million in taxpayer spending last night – adding to the county’s back breaking debt load. 

Last night’s spending comes on heels of May’s $56 million spending spree by the freeholders, pushing the county toward a debt of $700 million.

Republican Freeholder candidate Paul Duggan said the freeholders have no regard for the taxpayers or the economic times we live in.

“These are tough economic times for New Jersey residents. Taxes and expenses are going up and the freeholders, like the state legislature, just continue to spend public money with no regard for the people who pay the taxes,” said Duggan.

Duggan’s running mate Chris Calabrese, a South Bergen business owner, said the freeholders spend money without bothering to explain why the expenses need to be made now.

“The prudent thing to do would be to delay some of the spending. I am sure that it is not critical to the operation of the county to spend $84 million between May and July,” said Calabrese. “Yet, the freeholder keep piling up the debt and saddling taxpayers with a huge debt fee.”

 The county’s current debt service – the cost to taxpayers to pay the debt incurred by the county this year -- is more than $46.3 million. The total 2008 county budget is $462 million and property taxes increased by more than $23 million this year.

Jeffrey Heller, the third GOP freeholder candidate said the spending from the freeholders is a demonstration of “the arrogance of one party rule.”

After sitting through several freeholder meetings, I can see that there is no dissent, no objection to the outrageous spending that is going to line the pockets of the Democrat campaign donors who benefit from this  extraordinary spending spree,” said  Heller