The document criticizes the Republican-led Bedminster Township Committee for wasting taxpayer dollars through excessive salaries, pensions, and health benefits for its members. It argues they have cut funding for children's programs to preserve their own perks, while relying more heavily on property taxes. It calls for bidding out professional contracts, more transparency around "other costs" in the budget, and collaborating between the public library and school library to reduce costs.
1. www.StopBedminsterWaste.com Click on any box below to learn how the All Republican Bedminster Township Committee continues to waste your tax dollars. 3 Rising Tax Burden Paid for by the BDC; P.O. Box 7276, Bedminster, NJ 07921. Paula Dolan, Treasurer Fringe Benefits for Township Committee Members 1 Township Committee Jeopardizes our Children’s Future 2 State Pension Padding in Bedminster 4 “ NO BID” Contracts 8 Phantom “Other” Costs 9
2. Bedminster’s Republican Mayor and Township Committee enrich themselves through Salary, Pension Credits and/or Health Care Benefits at the expense of taxpayers, while other municipalities are eliminating these costly perks. Even Republican Governor Chris Christie has implemented limitations on earnings, pensions, and health care for state level appointments to boards and commissions to only $100/month, no pension and no health care benefits – far less than what the greedy Bedminster Township Committee takes for itself. 1. Next Back to First Slide
3. The Bedminster Township Committee FORCED a reduction in the school budget in 2010 while increasing the municipal tax burden (2%), thus cutting programs for out children to preserve their own selfish perks. 2. Back Next Back to First Slide
4. The Township Committee continues to increase its reliance on assessing property taxes to fund the municipal government while other revenue streams are declining (fees, grants, fines, etc.). Click here to view chart. 3. Back Next Back to First Slide
5. For over 4 years the Bedminster Township Committee has avoided discussion of eliminating the 2 nd worst pension ladder in the state of New Jersey -- Bedminster’s own Tax Assessor who makes over $250,000 per year. (source: New York Times 9/1/2006) Advocates have been pushing Bedminster to combine this position with that of other town’s to create 1 full time position spread across many towns instead of many part-time positions in an effort to reduce costs. To date nothing has been done or discussed in an open forum. 4. Back Next Back to First Slide
6. In 2010 the Bedminster Township Committee fronted over $100,000 to affluent Peapack-Gladstone to cover Peapack’s portion of the cost of a new sewer pumping station. This equated to an interest free loan and a drain on Bedminster’s already strapped budget. 5. Back Next Back to First Slide
8. The Clarence Dillon public Library should work in coordination with the Bedminster Township School Library to maximize efficiencies and reduce overall costs to taxpayers. A Township Committee member sits on the board of the Clarence Dillon Library and has failed to explore this and other cost saving measures in an open public forum. 7. Back Next Back to First Slide
9. When was the last time that the Bedminster Township Committee publically bid out contracts for professional services (Planner, Engineer, Attorneys)? It seems like the same suppliers are automatically renewed every year during the annual reorganization meeting. “Let’s get with the program.” Bid these contracts out to create competition and lower the costs. 8. Back Next Back to First Slide
10. Only types of costs listed in the public version of the 2010 budget are “wages” and “other costs”. According to the town officials, “other costs” is a catch basin for anything that is not wages / salaries. How can the public be sure that we are not wasting precious recourses on items we no nothing about. “Other costs” represent X% of the total budget. 9. Back Back to First Slide
