John Curley FREEHOLD — Entering the final year of his three-year term as a freeholder, John Curley was unanimously elected as freeholder director by the Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders at the Jan. 5 reorganization meeting.
In a fiery speech to the few hundred attendees at Biotechnology High School, Curley called for new standards on finances throughout county government.
“The era of pragmatism in Monmouth County starts today. You don’t spend more than you take in. You know that in your home. You know that in your business, and government in Monmouth County will learn that tonight,” Curley said.
“I will not entertain any tax increases. I will not tolerate accepting the status quo and I will not allow government to expand.”
He called for an overhaul of any jobs and departments rendered obsolete, especially those created by grant funding.
“We will not create any new positions from grant funding where there is no foundation and no tomorrow to the trail of money coming through. We will end all of that, and any departments that are funded with grants will be brought to an end,” Curley said.
“We will cut management salaries, hopefully. State administrators’ [salaries] are capped at $141,000 per year. They deal with 21 counties.
“We have people making far more than that in Monmouth County. It is ludicrous for what they do and what they’re paid, and we will make sure that is capped,” he continued.
Curley delivered a vow to restore integrity at Brookdale Community College, where he uncovered a misuse of college funds by then-president Peter Burnham.
“It is my commitment and the commitment of our board to clean house at Brookdale and place new trustees once and for all, so that confidence is given back to the taxpayers, that confidence is given to the students who depend on their education to find jobs in this difficult economy,” he said.
The privatization of county services wherever possible is a major goal over the next year, he said, citing various examples.
“To provide better care for the people in our nursing homes, we will make every attempt to outsource and privatize those programs so that their services [and patients’] health and well-being are improved,” Curley said.
“Each of our nursing homes is losing $3 million per year. You, the taxpayer, are paying for that, and it will come to an end.
“We have some golf courses that are losing a great deal of money. You should not be forced to subsidize those golf courses. We should allow the private sector to bring them from deficit into fruition, into the black,” he continued.
At the reorganization meeting, the board unanimously elected Freeholder Thomas Arnone as its deputy director and swore in Freeholder Lillian Burry to her third consecutive term, as well as newcomer Gary Rich, who won election over former Freeholder Amy Mallett in the Nov. 8 election.
“When I began to think of a third term as freeholder, I thought for a moment of what my first two terms had accomplished. Then I turned my attention to the things that still remain to be done and the promise of 1,000 tomorrows given by the people of Monmouth County,” Burry said.
“Each promise holds the opportunity to take one more step toward the bright, shining future that is still ahead. It is a future with a welcoming hand for the returning veterans who need help or a helping hand for those veterans soon to be homeless.”
Burry explained her plan to utilize the Soldier On program, a program to provide housing for homeless veterans that is mostly funded by the federal Veterans Administration, in the redevelopment of Fort Monmouth.
She also expressed her plans to ensure the survival of the horseracing industry in the county and continue to expand the park system and preserve farms.
Rich emphasized the need to keep residents living in “the best county in New Jersey.
“Too many of our residents in New Jersey and Monmouth County have left the state to avoid high property taxes. We must do everything possible to control that, and keep Monmouth County an affordable place to live,” he said.
The reorganization meeting was also the last appearance of Freeholder Robert Clifton, who is stepping down to represent the 12th District in the State Assembly.
“I am confident that the board seated here today will continue to move Monmouth County in a positive direction that it has been over the last several decades,” Clifton said.
Longtime Middletown Township Committeewoman Rosemarie Peters was sworn in to her second term as the county surrogate, after winning re-election on Nov. 8.
“The Surrogate’s Office requires a special type of employee because the segment of the population we serve has special needs. They are people who are experiencing stressful, difficult times,” Peters said.
“I may be the face and the voice of the Surrogate’s Office in the public sphere, but the 19 employees who staff that office and work there every day are really the heart and soul of the operation.”
She noted that in the last year, the office had overseen some 3,400 estates and appointed 400 guardians for minors and incapacitated persons.
In addition, Peters said the office oversaw 700 accounts in its trust fund, totaling $27 million.
An election for Clifton’s replacement is scheduled for Jan. 14, and candidates include Holmdel Deputy Mayor Serena Di- Maso, Atlantic Highlands Councilman Peter Doyle, Manalapan Committeeman Ryan Green and Howell Mayor Bob Walsh.
Contact Mike Davis at [email protected].