All, It has been a while since I have reported on substantive changes at City Hall. As you have seen, the changes are underway and in many instances like the Zoning Board (ZBA), those changes have come.
I will report separately on a City Council recap which addresses ZBA, but attached is an interesting report with regards to public pension funds in New Jersey issued in early December. We all talk about excessively high taxes we pay in Hoboken (and State wide) towards public schools and municipal government. We know that these entities have inherent waste in their operation - and we stand to fix that in Hoboken. And with the recent indictment of our former Parking Utility Director, there was fraud committed and we are fixing that too. The School District as well found misuse of tax payer dollars, and of all things, misuse of fundraising dollars raised by the students. And they too are on the right track with corrective action plans.
While important, these costs and inappropriate use of funds are a fraction of what's spent on public pension funds in New Jersey, and NJ has 566 municipalities. Many of you may have seen this State investigative report, however, in speaking with several neighbors recently, I am not sure it was as widely read as I thought. So it is attached.
Click on the link below to read the whole report:
In short, it looks at a sample population of NJ municipalities and highlights the excessive waste and abuse of local government pension funds. The perks and benefits are unreal. Literally unreal...These costs make up a substantial part of the City's budget.
Please give it a read. There are anticipated changes in Trenton that may require letter writing to legislative leaders and the newly elected Gov to push for important changes and recognize the simply realities of today.
Thanks again for your interest, and please pass this around.
Happy Holidays to all.
Peter Cunningham
5th Ward Hoboken Councilman ◦
