Politics & Government

Letter to the Editor: Town Needs Better Insurance Deal

Town Council candidate speaks out against the town's insurance contract--and alleged cronyism.

We all make every effort to get the best price and best quality for our money. So we expect that our elected representatives when spending our money will do the same. We expect them to act honestly, responsibly and within established legal requirements. The state’s competitive bid process was established to create a public trust and transparency for taxpayers. It establishes rules that public officials are entrusted to comply with when spending tax revenue on behalf of taxpayers.

In Dec. 2008, Parsippany’s town council was tasked to vote on a new liability insurance provider. Then-Mayor Michael Luther and the town’s business administrator, after analyzing the proposals, recommended Travelers Insurance Company as the best plan presented to the council.

The council, which at the time consisted of our current mayor and two current incumbent members, voted against the former mayor's recommendation to go with this lowest bidder, and instead awarded a three-year $3.7 million contract to the Morris County Joint Insurance Fund (MCJIF). One town council member had the audacity to cite personal relationships with the MCJIF personnel, some of whom were former elected officials or relatives of officials, who the council member considered “family”, as the main reason for accepting the higher bid.

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According to the New Jersey State Comptroller’s Office, the Parsippany-Troy Hills council violated state law and overstepped its power in order to award the insurance contract to the highest bidder. As a result Parsippany taxpayers spent as much as $750,000 more of their tax dollars for insurance coverage than necessary. Parsippany’s town council’s personal interest took precedence over its obligation to taxpayers and residents. They unanimously voted to use $750,000 in taxpayer money to reward friends and political allies.

This is exactly the kind of government practice that for years has contributed to higher property taxes and continues to do so. If the town did not spend an additional $750,000 it may have had funds available to maintain adequate police staff, complete long-pending road repairs, purchase needed emergency vehicles or used the $700,000 from the taxpayer funded $5M sewer surplus to lower residents' utility costs instead of filling a budget shortfall.

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Property taxes are too high and resources too limited to waste money or use any amount of tax dollars to benefit anyone else but taxpayers and residents. If there is going to be a consistently different outcome in the future on how taxpayer money is spent, then Parsippany needs representation that understands and implements those principles and puts taxpayers and residents ahead of political friends.

Janice McCarthy is a Democratic candidate for Township Council.


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