REPUBLICANS CALL ON FREEHOLDERS TO SUSPEND OPEN SPACE TRUST FUND IN LIGHT OF FERRIERO INDICTMENT

BERGEN COUNTY REPUBLICANS

CALABRESE HELLER & DUGGAN 

County Newsletter Misleading the Public 

Hackensack – In the wake of indictments of top Bergen County Democratic Party officials,  county Republicans are calling on the all-Democrat Freeholder board to suspend the county’s open space trust fund until an the fund can be investigated for political influence.  

Republicans say there should be a local investigation  -- to complement a federal investigation -- into how county grant money is being used and if Democratic Party leaders played a role in steering county grants to a consulting firm controlled by Democratic chairman Joseph Ferriero and Democratic lawyer Dennis Oury. Both Ferriero and Oury were indicted this month by the  U.S. Attorney’s Office for their role in forming Government Grants Consulting LLC. One of the towns the grants company consulted for – Bergenfield --- received an $800,000 grant from the Bergen County open space trust fund.  

Republican Freeholder candidate Chris Calabrese said  as the federal investigation continues the county’s open space trust fund should be suspended.  

“It’s not a trust fund, it’s a  political slush fund,” said Calabrese.   

Republicans say the trust fund is being used in ways in which taxpayers never envisioned, such as paying for expensive municipal recreation projects such as artificial turf fields and bleachers.  “That’s not what the funds was originally set up to do” said GOP freeholder candidate Jeff Heller. “It was sold to the public as a way to protect dwindling open space, to be enjoyed by all, not to tax people in one town and send their money to another town.” 

MISLEADING THE PUBLIC

The Republicans noted that a recent newsletter created by the Democrat administration of County Executive Dennis McNerney is misleading people into thinking their money is going to preserve open space  

“The brochure is purposely misleading people into thinking all their tax money going into the trust fund is going to preserve open space. When in fact millions are being diverted to other uses,” said Paul Duggan, a GOP candidate from Bogota. 

The Republican candidates say the freeholders should fully disclose where the trust fund money is going, and why. They also say the trust fund should be put back to the ballot in the form of a referendum to ask people if they still want to support the fund and at what cost to taxpayers.  

Originally the trust fund, which began in 1998, was to expire at the end of five years. But the Democrat administration in the county removed the sunset provision of the trust fund in 2003 and doubled the tax that now takes $20 million a year from taxpayers.  

“It’s now five years and millions of dollars later, voters should be asked to if they support the tax at that level and the way the county is abusing their money,” said Calabrese.