Corzine Administration Proposes Reviews Only ‘As Needed’
Assemblyman David Wolfe, R-Ocean, said today that is it imperative that the state continue conducting audits of any city receiving special municipal aid, and anyone who suggests otherwise needs to read the accounts of misspending and lax administrative oversight that plagues many of these towns. Wolfe was responding to a proposal in Governor Jon Corzine’s budget that would relax the requirement for assessing the performance of distressed cities on a continuous basis.
“Taxpayers are entitled to know if the special assistance provided to select towns is being spent wisely and for its intended purpose,” said Wolfe, who is also a member of the Assembly Budget Committee. “After learning of the careless oversight in cities like Paterson and Camden, and a bloated payroll of six figure wage earners in Jersey City, audits of special need towns should be mandatory, not discretionary.”
Currently, reviews of towns that receive aid are conducted by outside certified public accounting firms hired by the Department of Community Affairs (DCA), and not by the Office of the Comptroller as required by law. Audits for cities that have already been awarded special assistance, such as Bridgeton, Paterson, and Jersey City will be released next week, and Camden’s will be made public in July.
“No town should be awarded any assistance until details of their audit are known,” said Wolfe. “The process is convoluted, and cries out for transparency on a timely basis, not after the grant is made. Having DCA contract with outside firms is not within its purview and is inappropriate. They are the agency overseeing the funding and their record of supervision in this area is just as tarnished as the towns that misuse these grants.
“Governor Corzine is doling out nearly $145 million to select cities through a process that has no objective criteria. Suburban taxpayers are supplementing these areas without legitimate justification for the additional help,” continued Wolfe. “No one can answer what it takes to qualify to be included in the Special Municipal Aid Program. That answer may be more of a case of who you know instead of a genuine need. People have a right to be suspicious.”
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April 14, 2009
