Donald Nelsen: Too much separation of powers, too much taxation with all these school and fire districts

by donaldnelsen on May 23rd | Email

Our founding fathers instituted a balance of power within our federal government. The framework has carried all the way down to the municipal level. For those that think they are not familiar with each branch, you have probably dealt with them during your life time but just weren’t aware of it. If you have ever spoke to the mayor or a council member, or appeared before the municipal judge for a motor vehicle violation, then you have been in contact with a member of a different branch of our government.

The three branches of government are the executive, legislative and judicial. Basically, the executive branch enforces the laws, the legislative branch makes the laws, and the judicial branch interprets the law.

Really, is it necessary and effective and efficient for fire districts to have their own elections in February and the school board to have their own election in April?

The state government is set up the same way with the governor being the chief executive and having his cabinet of commissioners heading each department, the bicameral legislature (comprising the General Assembly and state Senate), and the state Supreme Court. The municipal government is also similar with one exception. The mayor is the chief executive with his cabinet of department heads, the municipal judge heads the judiciary or Courts, and the Township Council heads the legislature.

There is much to be said for the balance of power, or more accurately the separation of powers. In order to form a lasting and responsive government, our Founding Fathers limited their powers and separated them for balance. They imposed term limits upon the chief executive. They delineated a system to be as free from politics as possible for appointing and confirming Supreme Court Justices. But they left great latitude toward the legislature because they were supposed to be elected directly by the people and the state legislatures.

On a grand scale, and in general overview, many would probably say that a lot of that minutia doesn’t really apply to us. Okay, so let’s look at right here in our township for a moment. Let’s look at some sanctioned and codified aberrations of our Founding Father’s principles. I can think of no more graphic examples than our board of education and fire districts.

Education is a function of the executive branch. Fire protection is a function of the executive branch. Yet, we have elected legislative bodies overseeing each, and each setting its own taxing rates. How absurd is that?

Why the different tax rates for what is supposed to be the same service provision to everyone in the community?

Think of how much money could be saved, how much politics could be eliminated, and how much more effective and responsive our local governments would be to the people if both education and fire protection were written into a municipal charter (which Woodbridge Township does NOT have) rather than have their own legislative bodies acting in place of an executive. Really, is it necessary and effective and efficient for fire districts to have their own elections in February and the school board to have their own election in April?

Why is it that the sixth largest municipality in the state does not have a municipal fire department but relies on an ancient and archaic fire district system?

Why is it our school board spends more money than any other non-Abbott district in Middlesex County yet we cannot break our home county’s top 10 lists for best schools?

Why is it we can elect a governor and have a state treasurer appointed to state government from our hometown yet we, as a community, continue to settle for more politics as usual whereby these inefficient and politically beholden entities are allowed to continue to fester? We like to publish we are a great community and how well we do this or that, but in reality the facts show otherwise when all the smoke is cleared.

We have nine taxing fire districts which each employ a board of five elected fire commissioners. Some get large salaries and pensions and free medical benefits, some have full time fire inspectors, some have fulltime fire fighters, some have full time administrative staff, and others employ part time or per diem “janitorial staff” who act as fire fighters when the alarm sounds. Forty-five elected fire commissioners are doing a part time job which much better could be served by one appointed fire commissioner or chief serving as department head on the mayor’s cabinet, after receiving confirmation from the Township Council in true cabinet member format of course.

Why the different tax rates for what is supposed to be the same service provision to everyone in the community?

There is absolutely no reason why Woodbridge Township cannot absorb a contemporary combination fire department from the antiquated fire districts system.

Why do some districts provide emergency medical care and hazardous materials response yet other fire fighters show up and wait for their so-called sister services to show up? There are just way to many problems present to justify the continued adherence to this obviously broken system. There is no reason why we, collectively, have more fire apparatus than Newark, New Jersey’s largest city. There is absolutely no reason why Woodbridge Township cannot absorb a contemporary combination fire department from the antiquated fire districts system.

The school district has nine elected board members who receive neither pay nor pension or benefits. So what is their reasoning for doing such service? You can’t tell me it is for the kids. How about we look briefly at what really goes on behind closed doors under the guise of “personnel actions.” How about we need to hire so and so as a secretary or so and so as an assistant, or whatever you could imagine? The reasons? They know this board member or the mayor or council person referred them, or they promised not to put our secrets out there, or – well you get the idea.

Why is it that every time a right minded person actually tries to do the right thing when he or she is elected is summarily dismissed by the machine at the next election?

Why is it friends and accomplices get no bid or insider information on contracts?

Right now both types of taxing districts operate as rogue entities accountable to nobody as friends and family members account for the overwhelming majority of their votes.

Why is it that the school board strong arms the public with their funding schemes for new roofs with photovoltaic panels, otherwise it will cost you X amount of millions of dollars just for the roofs alone? What type of a threat is that? How about they publish the truth that rather than repair the roofs when needed, we chose to jump priorities and hire political appointees instead of doing the right things? Well, obviously that would never happen.

But even if they did, only a third of the school board members are up for election in any given year and it is done on an election day in which the winning vote getter of this year’s past election received just over one half of one percent of the vote from the 50,000+ registered voters in the township. He actually received .06 percent of all registered voters with 3,114 votes received. Would it not be more responsive of the voters to have the school district absorbed into an Education Department with the head a member of the mayor’s cabinet? Would there not be more accountability?

Would not implementing an Education Department subject to civil service rules almost eliminate patronage and nepotism where we currently experience five, six, seven, eight, and even nine people from the same family employed by the school board?

While eliminating the fire district and school district property taxes would increase the municipal property tax, at least the taxpayer would now have elected officials responsive to their needs and held accountable at election time. When done right, the adding of the fire and school district taxes to the municipal taxes should still result in an overall property tax decrease provided fiscally conservative practices which are prioritized and reality based are employed.

Right now both types of taxing districts operate as rogue entities accountable to nobody as friends and family members account for the overwhelming majority of their votes. Try filing an Open Public Records Act request through any of those districts and see how far you get. They will charge the exorbitant fees allowed under the administrative code for photocopying and research time. They will NOT publish such detail on their own web sites. The idea is they want you to give up and keep their malfeasance confidential and out of the public eye.

In these modern times, returning to our roots with the smallest possible government foot print not only makes sense, it is economical and beneficial to everyone. Having a local government which is responsive to citizens and accountable to taxpayers at election time is an absolute no-brainer. Why do we collectively as a community continue to settle for more of the same time and again?

Donald Nelsen, a Woodbridge resident, is a Constitutional Conservative and political activist who believes in the smallest possible government footprint in our lives to enhance our freedom and liberty.