JohnPinho

Here is a "single, realistic suggestion on reducing property taxes": have the Water Department personnel handle the water meter reading and billing rather than pay United Water over $300,000 per year. A suggestion I made several years ago to the Mayor and council. It was rejected. If you don't agree with the Mayor on every point you are accused of making "personal anti-Santos attacks." I have never made any personal anti-Santos comments but I have voiced my opinion on various town issues. My comments at any council meeting have never been personal. The Mayor's biggest problem is that if you don't agree with him, he stops listening even if your comment makes total sense (i.e. Kuehne Chemical Plant security). Long before I was replaced as legal counsel to the KMUA (Kearny Municipal Utility Authority), I was voicing my opinion on various Kearny issues. The Commissioners who eventually became a majority of Santos appointments voted to replace me not because I was doing a poor job but because Santos wanted another attorney to fill the job. That is politics and I accepted my fate. He had the votes to replace me and he did.

Paul, The town has an annual audit. The audit doesn't judge whether the town is wisely spending its money but it determines whether "the financial statements are free of material misstatement" and makes recommendations on ways to improve the town's accounting system. The audit generally runs around 170 pages. There are additional documents reviewed by the town's Finance committee that should also be posted on the town's website. I am not sure how many pages in total that would be. My point is that if the Mayor wants our input we should be given easy access to the documents (without paying for them) that he and the Finance Committee have to review.

Strife767, Since you appear to have knowledge of what records are public, answer the following question. Could I as a taxpayer get a copy of the town's bank statements including a copy of all the checks written by the town to pay its bills?

I know they are available but if you want to take a copy home (to look at and analyze it) you need to pay. Mayor Santos wants input from Kearny's taxpayers. He should therefore put the town's financial data on the internet so everyone can get a copy for free. There is no additional cost to the town as they have already paid for the disk space on the internet site where they host the town's website. Disk space is cheap. If the town doesn't have a copier that can scan and converts the file into PDF format, he can drop off a copy in my office and I'll scan it and get him a PDF file to post on the town's website. As far as your comment that I "can't handle the facts", I have the following comment. Sometimes it is better to be the horse with the "blinders" on than to be the one without them. Remind me next time I get my property tax bill to put my "blinders" on so I can be as happy as you when I write out my ever increasing property tax check.

Paul, "open up the books" in the context of my post meant "post the information on the web so its easily available to the public". In this internet age, if the Mayor is serious about wanting our input he should put all the town's public financial data on the town's website.

If they are easily obtained from the town treasurer or business administrator, why aren't they published (posted) on the town's website? The Mayor called for a discussion but I have to go and pay for copies of the documents. Give the public the documents that the finance committee has when it looks at the budge. It is all public information correct?

Dear CPA: The Mayor has been asking for input on the budget. He has stated that he is surprised at the lack of public input. As I stated in my Letter to the Editor which was published in the Observer, give us (the Kearny residents) the financial detail and we will give you (the Mayor) some ideas. The Mayor has not rushed to put the financials on the town's website. That speaks louder than anyone could on this forum or at a town meeting. Since you have purported expertise in the field (municipal budgets), you could assist in finding cost savings if you had the line-item detail. You state that "the facts don't support ... [the] criticism". What facts? We have no facts because the Mayor asked for input but didn't give us the details so how are we suppose to discuss the facts. He is hiding the facts. Why? If you have nothing to hide, open up the books and let's see if we can stop the ever increasing property taxes.

Jim, It's nice that you gave me credit for the idea that the Town of Kearny could save money (a reported $300,000 per year) if it simply did its own water and sewer reading and billing. The Town currently outsources the billing to United Water. I pointed out years ago at a council meeting that United Water wasn't doing the job they were hired to do-- reading the residents water meters on a regular basis. I personally had to call recently to have my meter read. My bill was estimated for years. Kearny residents should check their United Water bill to see if it states that the meter reading is estimated. Check the counter on your meter and you may be entitled to a refund. Call United Water and see who shows up to read your meter. My question then and now is "Why are we paying $300,000 to a company who is not doing half of the job that they were hired to do?" Why can't we set up a billing program, transfer the data from United Water, and take over the billing. Don't hire any additional personnel. There are plenty of people in the water department now to do the job. John Pinho

Both Senator Lautenberg and Corzine mention the Kuehne Chemical plant as examples in their testimony before the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. I have urged the Mayor and council to make this their top priority. In my opinion, there is no reason why this plant cannot be retrofitted in the same manner as the Kuehne Delaware plant. It has been almost three years since the Wall Street Journal Article was published. As I stated in my Letter to the Editor published in the Observer, a New York Times reporter did what my friends Frank Ferreira and Rosa Alves did almost three years ago and had a very similar result. Frank & Rosa's video is still available online. It clearly shows the vunerability of the plant. Senators Lautenberg and Corzine mention the same facts in their testimony. I believe that even the Republicans in Congress cannot vote against a loan to Kuehne Chemical to retrofit their plant. The residents of Kearny deserve as much respect as the residents of Delaware. This issue is a Kearny issue. Although Mayor Santos agreed with me that Kuehne must be addressed, he suggested only that we write our federal officials. I agree in part but Senator Corzine and Lautenberg know the facts already and have been fighting for us already. What we need is to think outside the box. I suggested at the council meeting that the Mayor and Council meet with officials of Kuehne Chemical and ask them what they need to increase their security. What funding do they need? What are they willing to do to retrofit the plant? What will it cost? Then go and put together funding to accomplish the task. This can be a model for other chemical plants throughout NJ and the United States. The terrorist attacks have changed our capitalist system as it relates to chemical plants. We must have a modified capitalist system where Government is a partner in chemical companies. John M. Pinho

RobB, What Frank & Rosa found down at the Kuehne Plant and I was down there with them on one occasion was that there was no security. There was less security than there was outside my law office and I do not store dangerous chemicals. The idea behind the Corzine bill is to provide a uniform level of security and assistance to the chemical industry. Nobody is saying they should close down, however, they should be secure. Mr. Kuehne, Sr. (who died in a plane crash last year) lived in Asheville, North Carolina. Have you ever been in Asheville, North Carolina. Pristine Blue Mountains. He had a corporate jet which unfortunately crashed. Kuehne has two plants, one in South Kearny and another in Delaware. (Notice: Asheville North Carolina is as far away from South Kearny and Delaware as you can be and still be on the East Coast). Kuehne retrofitted and moderinzed their Delaware plant to keep only enough chlorine on hand for production purposes but not their South Kearny Plant. I live too close to the plant to not be concerned about making sure that all that can be done within reason is. But for Senator Corzine, I see no leadership from our governor, our mayor, or freeholder. Senator Corzine went so far as to criticize our governor. Do you think Corzine (who lives in Hoboken) knows something we don't? He knows enough to know that Frank & Rosa should be thanked not attacked. I have not been down there recently but I understand that my tax dollars are paying for private security (Kearny Police Officers) to this multi-million(?) dollar company. Why? John M. Pinho