I think I am stating the obvious but Camden City’s government has not been motivated to operate efficiently for a long time. Between overspending, PILOTS and reliance on state transitional aid, Mayor and Council receive a failing grade for getting their fiscal house in order. And this is the simple reason why they can no longer fund their own police department.
The math is simple; you can’t spend more than you have. They don’t generate enough revenue and they spend too much. Camden City spends $2,160 per resident in expense, whereas Cherry Hill spends $845. Camden spends 155% more per resident. Why? Because they can. They get handed $100 million per year in “free” money from the State of New Jersey. What incentive is there to be fiscally responsive when that’s happening?
If Camden would get its spending in line with a town like Cherry Hill on a per resident basis, they would need only $69 million per year for expenses versus the $150 million currently in their 2012/2013 budget. They are spending 117% more than they should be spending….
And don’t blame the actual police department expense, Save Jerseyans…
Camden City PD accounts for 18% of the total budget which is the average for most municipalities in the county. The remaining 82% of Camden’s expenses which today cost $123 million could and should only be $56 million. What are they buying $800 toilets!? And, based on my calculations, the net cost for public safety can be $54 million for 400 officers and 80 support staff. I have the details if you want to see them, folks. It can be done.
So if Camden got its spending in line with the rest of Camden County’s towns, they would need a total of $110 million to run the city and this includes a full police department. If the City also stopped giving away tax abatements and PILOTS, they should be able to double their tax revenues to $50 million. Today the city only receives property taxes from 52% of their ratable base, which by the way are mostly residents.
If Camden City followed this simple plan, reliance on transitional aid drops from $105 to $40 million — a $65 million drop. The state should be happy! The expense reduction can happen right away, too. But I realize that the revenue increase from decreasing abatements and PILOTS will take time. This will require smart negotiations and assistance from state legislators that helps not just certain Camden institutions but the entire city.
The bottom line is that Camden City can afford its own police department, state aid can be reduced, and the residents of Camden County can be comfortable they won’t be paying for a county metro police force they don’t want if — but only if — Mayor Redd and Council made the right choices for the right reasons.
Ironic that Camden needs to "strive" to be like the other Camden County towns such as Cherry Hill, which many people would argue already spends too much money themselves! It's sad really…
The thing that has me baffled is that while the premise is that Camden City doesn't have the money for a police force, no one seems to be looking at the obvious that they spend too much elsewhere in the budget. If public safety is a priority then de-prioritize elsewhere.
But without all that money going into Camden City to pay those consultants, lawyers, and unions… how will donations get to the Camden County Democratic Committee?
To compare the City of Camden with Cherry Hill is absurd!!!! You are clueless !
The City of Camden no doubt has fiscal mismanagement issues, but hello….in case you haven't noticed…..not only is Camden a "CITY", but it is also a "GHETTO", and Cherry Hill is a middle class/upper middle class township. Somehow I think the problems with Camden are different, and far more complicated then to simply look to Cherry Hill for answers.
Perhaps a thriving city with similar demographics would be an appropriate comparison.
TO: Camden County Resident
Okay then lets compares others municipalities. How about two other cities of the same population? Passiac City spends $1,234, or Clifton City they spend $1,372. How about Willingboro which has a population of 31,629 they spend $1,173. So lets get Camden to spend $1,200 per resident. That is $57 million in savings.
Idiot – get a job
It might be more of interest to the readers how as Mayor of Haddon Heights you left the Borough close to $2M in debt with Project Garnet – so much for fiscal responsibility. Your mantra of "running the town like a business" – this from a man who used a $100,000 line of credit on a house he did not own (public record)- a mayor who destroyed public records (public record) failed to seek approval of council to sell off the former DPW: Public Notice "by order of the council" yet subsequent approval had to be sought !! A mayor who lied to the public – "a no further action letter from the state is due within 30 days" – yet it took more than 6 more months as the borough engineers paid over $1M with your approval failed to account for egress around an historic monument.
You claim that you did not run for office because you had completed in one term what you set out do do – more like you no longer had the support of your party due to your own arrogance !
I & many, many others hope that your political career started in HH & died there too ! Where is your buddy Christie now ? No longer visiting Heights probably because he has to put some distance between himself & you.
Try using a picture of yourself that wasn't paid for with the taxpayers money ! yet another ethical violation – but then again it has been shown you have no ethics
So now you have established that Passaic, Clifton, and Willingboro spend on an average 50% more per resident then does your first model Cherry Hill…..why is that? I suppose all three should then cut out about 25-30% of their budget to be on par with Cherry Hill? And while Passaic and Clifton are considered cities by virtue of their population size, they certainly have little in common with the complex urban issues of Camden.
Camden is one of the most dangerous city's in the Nation. You would certainly have to pay me extra to work there! I'm not suggesting there is not corruption and waste in Camden – I'm just not following your logic.
I have an idea….why don't you move to Camden so you can run for office then try and cut $57 million from the budget. You would probably get knifed in the parking lot on the first day!
Yes they should all cut their budgets. Why do you think New Jersey has one of the highest property tax levels in the nation. How do 49 other states have lower average property taxes but operate just fine? Look at Tax Foundation data and draw your on conclusions.
Camden's financial problems are over 50 years old. The major industries have left (some paid to leave by federal urban renewal dollars) along with the middle class wage earners while the population of poor and unemployed has increased.
One of the largest employers in the city of Camden is the city of Camden and its workforce including police officers, firefighters, teachers and administrators earn saleries comparable to those in wealtyy communities. If these employees lived in the city and spent their money in the city their contrubutions to the overall tax base would allow the city to reduce its reliance on state and federal dollars.
Unfortunately state laws prohibit the enforcement of municipal residency laws even though the state government has just started enforcing its own residency laws. The people of the city of Camden are forced by state law to subsidise the suburban lifestyle of their employees. Even the most economically ignorant can understand that the poor can not afford this for long.
The solution to this problem is to 1)admit the situation and disband the city government or 2) take common sense steps to allow the city government to hire and pay its own residents.
You make some very good points. Another consideration is that only 52% of the taxable valuation pay property taxes. There are over 33 PILOTS that pay only $4 million in taxes. This is way out of balance.
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