News from

John Amodeo and Vince Polistina

New Jersey General Assembly, District 2

 

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE            Contact:  John Amodeo or Vince Polistina at 609-677-8266

October 22, 2008       

 

AMODEO AND POLISTINA APPLAUD RULING ON STATE POLICE RURAL PATROLS

 

NORTHFIELD – Declaring it a victory for small town New Jersey, Assemblymen John Amodeo and Vince Polistina applauded today’s Council on Local Mandates’ ruling the requirement that rural municipalities pay for State Police patrols was an illegal unfunded mandate. 

“This is a victory for property taxpayers throughout the state,”  said Amodeo.  “State government cannot cover up its fiscal mismanagement by passing costs onto local towns.”

“Smaller towns tend to be the best managed, most efficiently run governments we have in New Jersey,” said Polistina.  “Unfortunately, there has been a movement to consolidate small towns while dumping more money into large cities which are rife with corruption and mismanagement.”

            Decisions by the Council cannot be appealed.  Though it is unclear at the moment what the administration’s reaction will be, both assemblymen noted that rural State Police patrols could easily be funded by taking $12.6 million from the Special Municipal Aid program.  That program, said the assemblymen, only rewards a select group of seven politically connected cities which cannot balance their own budgets.