Allen J. Mailman, West Long Drive
As a long time resident of New Jersey I read your "sacred cow" editorial of May 8 with great interest.
While I can understand your comments regarding Gov. Corzine’s 2009 budget cuts affecting state and county parks, I believe your editorial misses the mark. You notion that everyone has an idea on where budget cuts should occur as long as it’s in another department that doesn’t directly affect them is right on the money. Unfortunately, those directly benefiting from this patronage have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo and have successfully prevented any governor from making the difficult political decisions required to correct the problem.
It’s unfortunate that Gov. Corzine failed to address the serious problems within New Jersey’s political infrastructure. The recent book, The Soprano State, by Bob Ingle and Sandy McClure, outline the structural nightmare that we call New Jersey. State government in New Jersey is too high. There is an average of 81 government employees (state, county and municipal) per square mile versus the U.S. average of six per square mile – the result of years of neglect, political patronage and corruption.
There is no easy solution to the real problem – 566 municipal governments and 616 school districts that push the cost of New Jersey government to unacceptable heights. There are more New Jersey school superintendents than the states of Maryland, Virginia and Delaware combined. The duplication of the administrative overhead can also be found in the multitude of municipal, police and fire departments throughout New Jersey. Obviously, those individuals currently employed by these school districts and municipal governments are opposed to any proposal that would eliminate jobs and eliminate the waste of taxpayer money. Unfortunately, the improved efficiencies and hundreds of millions in dollars in savings are lost.
Municipal and school district consolidation represents the best approach to significantly reduce expense and bring rational thinking to the New Jersey political arena that would free millions of dollars to spend on teachers, books, supplies and reduce property taxes – the highest in the nation.
Gov. Corzine chose not to attack the problem head-on, but tried the back door approach by cutting state funding to small municipalities to force several of these communities to look at consolidation as a means of survival. Unfortunately, we have another example of public policy that’s "too little, too late."
