>Bergen County Executive Kathleen A. Donovan Vetoes NBCUA for Forcing County Taxpayers to Pay Twice
the staff of the ridgewood blog
March 29,2012
(RIDGEWOOD-NJ ) Bergen County Executive Kathleen A. Donovan is announcing a veto of the minutes of the Board of the Northwest Bergen County Utilities Authority (NBCUA). During an emergency meeting on March 28, the NBCUA voted to approve the hiring of a lawyer to file an appeal to the Local Finance Board. Twice the Division of Local Government Service (DLGS) upheld the County Executive’s vetoes demanding that the agency end the practice of receiving stipends and benefits paid for by the taxpayers. The Authority was given a deadline, by the DLGS, of March 23, 2012 to end the practice.
County Executive Donovan said this is proof of this Board’s “abject failure to comply with the County of Bergen’s fiscal policies.” She further stated that Bergen County taxpayers will not be paying the legal fees for this appeal.
Donovan has warned the part-time commissioners of the NBCUA that she will not allow them to stick local residents with legal fees associated with their campaign to retain taxpayer funded cash stipends and health benefits.
According to Donovan, “This would be the worst ‘double dip’ imaginable. Part-time commissioner’s rip-off full time benefits and cash stipends and then charge the taxpayers again for their legal fees. We are not going to allow the commissioners to force taxpayers to fund a legal challenge which is not in the taxpayers’ best interests.”
“If the commissioners insist on pursuing a legal challenge to my efforts to halt the practice of them lining their pockets, they will do so on their own dime,” said Donovan. “What hubris! We are not going to allow them to have Bergen County residents pay twice!”
