YUDIN DEMANDS ACCOUNTABILITY ON SALARIES AND PERKS AT BERGEN HIGH SCHOOL

By horatio

HACKENSACK, NJ, August 25, 2009 -- Bergen County Republican Party Chairman Robert Yudin says the county’s all-Democratic freeholder board and county executive are failing in their duty to protect taxpayer money by allowing run away costs at the county’s vocational high school.

Yudin said recent published newspaper reports -- coupled with the BCRO’s own research -- show that “the spending at county vocational high school is simply out of control and no one on the freeholder board seems to care.”

Yudin added that county is spending $55.8 million in the current 2009 budget on education, but: “It appears that no one in county government is accountable for how this money is spent or is interested in seeing to it that the money is not spent recklessly.”

Recent published reports in The Record show that the taxpayers have footed the bill for $880,000 in travel expenses at the vocational school. But how that money was spent and on who remains something of mystery because the county high school administration refuses to release unless someone ponies up $2,700 for the records.

Yudin said it was “preposterous” to demand such a large payment for public records. “The county executive (Dennis McNerney) and the freeholder board should demand the release of those records immediately to the newspaper and to the public and a special hearing should be held on how that money was spent,” said Yudin

Additional media reports show that the administration and faculty at the high school are abusing taxpayer funded cars and gasoline. School

Superintendent Robert Aloia tried to justify the cars use, saying they are an inducement for quality workers. Yudin scoffed at the idea, saying that Aloia and most of his administration are grossly overpaid and that their high salaries are enough of an inducement.

Aloia is paid $231,000 and receives and estimated $80,000 in added perks on top of his salary.

A quick examination of state records last year show that the top 36 administrators at the vocational high school made more than $3.9 million in salary alone. The base salary for 10 administrations at the special needs district was almost $950,000

The list includes George Gonzales, a technology coordinator, who makes $187,000 a year and, according to published reports, is one of 170 employees who have access to school district vehicles 24 hours a day.

“If $187,000 in salary is not enough of an incentive to work at a high school, then I don’t know what is,” said Yudin. “Why do the majority of taxpayers earning less than half of that figure paying for Mr. Gonzales car expenses?”

The list of high paid employees includes the vocational school district’s business administration John Susino, who is paid $166,000; Peter Bellani, an account manager, who has two other government jobs, making a total of $137,000; Richard Vanatta, $140,000.

“With one-party rules comes abuses of taxpayer money and that’s what we have been experiencing in Bergen County,” said Yudin.

“There is no transparency in county government and no explanation of the salaries and perks that too many county employees enjoy at taxpayer expense.”

Yudin said the county executive should be forced to produce a list of salaries, perks and benefits for the all the county’s top earners.

“Mr. McNerney has an obligation to produce documentation that will show the taxpayers where their money is going. The county executive and freeholder board must explain the justification for the high payroll costs at the county vocational high school,” added the chairman.

HORATIO can be reached via email at thom55@verizon.net.

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