“Policing” the Budget Cuts

By Debbie Holtz | March 27th, 2008 - 9:00am
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With dismal revenue predictions for the state now capturing the headlines, the focus appears to be shifting to the unpopular subject of budget cuts.

Republicans legislators should be happy.  They claim they have been calling for cuts for far too long and the press has been unwilling to yield real estate to the issue.  In fact, Republican staffers have developed a cut list – although some of the slices lack specific line-by-line cost savings.

Others are not impressed by the effort and charge the list is NIMBYish -- sparing Republican constituents at the expense of others.

All the more reason to return to the basics: for every cut the press reports about, both the effects and the alternatives should be part of the story.

Let’s take the State Police cuts to local towns – or should I say the State Police tab to be sent to about 100 rural communities who are patrolled by troopers. The Governor wants to charge those towns some $20million next fiscal year for its state policing services.

Sound fair?  What’s the financial impact to those communities who will now be charged for services, at the same time the Guv is slashing aid to small towns?  Credit goes to Paul Mulshine at the Star Ledger for shedding some light on the question in his recent column: “To small towns, the State Police are real troopers”.

But that’s not the full story.  In the category of Questions We’d Like to Ask, here’s a few more:

·        How much revenue is deposited into the state treasury by trooper-issued summons, particularly in those small communities? 

·        Do the monies these towns receive to adjudicate traffic hearings and other offenses charged by NJSP cover the local administrative court costs?

·        And how are these rural state police services calculated – the former Administration pegged the expenditures at $70 million in 2002 as compared to today’s estimated $20.5 million?

 

Tomorrow:  Some answers to our questions.

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all right, let's get to work.....

Submitted by TheRagingCentrist on March 29, 2008 - 6:40am.

I'm getting a little bored with all this bitching about the budget and the state debt. Everyone appears to have an opinion, but when it's time for solutions, you hear owls and silence. Can someone here send me a link or a look at the core numbers in the state budget, as well a breakdown of the state debt, please?

Let me get a crack at figuring this out, k, thnx.....

PS: can't find the "cut list" once you go to the link.......

Why is it the state police burden to patrol rural towns.

Submitted by JDouglasFisher on March 29, 2008 - 7:50am.

 Every municipality is part of some county government. As far as I know, every county has some sort of a Sheriff's Department. Why aren't the Troopers pulled out of these small towns, and require the counties to do their own patrolling.

 In counties like Sussex, it makes no sense to continue to build barracks for these Troopers, when for a much smaller cost, the Sheriff's Department can be expanded a bit (without getting crazy like Jerry Speziale did in Passaic County) and patrol these small communities. 

 You can reduce the size of the State Police by keeping Troopers on the Interstate Road Networks, and allowing the counties to better equip themselves to meet the needs of their rural policing needs.

Check Out: http://www.murraysabrin.com

You see, now that's a start.....

Submitted by TheRagingCentrist on March 29, 2008 - 8:49am.

Thanks, JFisher.

More ideas, please? Let's get a dialogue going on how to fix this.

Just another idea.

Submitted by JDouglasFisher on April 5, 2008 - 10:45am.

State Owned Land. New Jersey owns a lot of real estate which for whatever reasons, will not sell, develop, or otherwise utilize. Now as much as I am aware that McDonald's is not in the business of making hamburgers (yes, Real Estate is their bread and butter) New Jersey should also too not be in the business of real estate.

Although no expert, I do know this. The Long Pond Ironworks in West Milford is a historic landmark. The place is run down because the state owns the land, and yet cannot afford to operate or maintain the property. There is an organization called the Friends of the Long Pond Iron Works which is very, very interested in preserving this national historic landmark. But for whatever reason, the state refuses to sell the land to them to allow them to preserve it for future generations.

There are rampant cases state wide of places which can be preserved through the private historical preservation sector, but New Jersey insists that only themselves can do it, meanwhile state wide these valuable assets to our history sit in deteriorating condition.

Just another idea.

 

J. 

 

Check Out: http://jdouglasfisher.blogspot.com

good post

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