This past week the City Council and the Mayor of Passaic walked into the Council Chamber and exercised their right of free speech at the Council meeting.
They introduced resolutions and voted their conscience freely without fear of reprisal from the United States Government.
Then they voted against the Veterans of the City of Passaic, by cutting their grant to have their annual Parade.
They slapped the very individuals who gave their all to protect their freedom, defend the very rights they exercised, and who provided the peace that they enjoy, in the face. With their vote they claimed to the world "Our Veterans aren't worth $8,000.00." They stated that their new desks, new cars and expense accounts are worth more, to them, than the individuals that put their life in the line of fire and risked everything on their behalf and the freedoms they enjoy.
Then Council President and State Assemblyman Gary Schaer as well as Mayor Alex Blanco had the unmitigated nerve to tell the Veterans that if they want a parade to go out and raise their own money.
I personally am ashamed of my City Leaders. I hope that our Veterans, from wars past and present along with their families and friends, remember this insult and when they exercise their vote, they tell the City Leaders and the Candidates they support "We will not forget!"
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Monday, September 04, 2006
True Tax Reform
During these times of sky-rocketing property taxes and the discussion of "true" tax reform on the table the State Government and the voters should be looking towards eliminating existing layers of bureaucracy that are redundant at best, unnecessary at worst. We should be looking to eliminate County Government in its totality.
County Government in New Jersey is archaic and self aggrandizing. In decades past when many parts of New Jersey were considered rural and unincorporated the Freeholder Boards and the departments served an invaluable function, to make sure that people between cities and towns had access to services and decent roads to travel. But in today's New Jersey, where municipalities abut each other on all sides, they are just a layer of service that continues to grow and suck precious tax dollars from residents and local municipalities alike. New Jersey does not have an unincorporated area left.
Taxpayers are paying for County Zoning Boards that do nothing but duplicate the local Boards and add an extra fee, taxes and reviews to those seeking to build along County designated roads, many times trumping the Local Boards who know what is best in their communities. County Health, Weights and Measures, Animal Control and Development offices often duplicate the very same offices located in the municipalities. Even the Department of Public Works at the County duplicates the very services maintained by the locals. In Passaic, Clifton and Paterson by the time the County comes around for snow removal in County designated roads, the municipalities have already eradicated it from the very streets and roads the County supposedly maintains. They cannot wait for the County's limited fleet and workforce to do it since most of the designated roads are main arteries in these towns. But yet we pay for a service we never use, or need.
Years ago, the State of New Jersey took over the Courts in the Counties. The State should do the same for the Boards of Social Services, County Hospitals, Boards of Elections and Jails. With these major and truly necessary systems under the State's auspices, the rest of the County services can be eradicated, resulting in millions of dollars in savings to the taxpayers. In Passaic County alone, all the municipalities have held the growth of property taxes to reasonable levels, only the County Government has continued to grow their expenditures at uncontrollable rates that have resulted in a negation to the savings and controls that the municipalities have maintained.
The elimination of the County Government layer would effectuate a drop in the property taxes, eliminate duplicate services, force many towns into shared services and provide taxpayers with much needed relief.
Jose "Alex" Ybarra
County Government in New Jersey is archaic and self aggrandizing. In decades past when many parts of New Jersey were considered rural and unincorporated the Freeholder Boards and the departments served an invaluable function, to make sure that people between cities and towns had access to services and decent roads to travel. But in today's New Jersey, where municipalities abut each other on all sides, they are just a layer of service that continues to grow and suck precious tax dollars from residents and local municipalities alike. New Jersey does not have an unincorporated area left.
Taxpayers are paying for County Zoning Boards that do nothing but duplicate the local Boards and add an extra fee, taxes and reviews to those seeking to build along County designated roads, many times trumping the Local Boards who know what is best in their communities. County Health, Weights and Measures, Animal Control and Development offices often duplicate the very same offices located in the municipalities. Even the Department of Public Works at the County duplicates the very services maintained by the locals. In Passaic, Clifton and Paterson by the time the County comes around for snow removal in County designated roads, the municipalities have already eradicated it from the very streets and roads the County supposedly maintains. They cannot wait for the County's limited fleet and workforce to do it since most of the designated roads are main arteries in these towns. But yet we pay for a service we never use, or need.
Years ago, the State of New Jersey took over the Courts in the Counties. The State should do the same for the Boards of Social Services, County Hospitals, Boards of Elections and Jails. With these major and truly necessary systems under the State's auspices, the rest of the County services can be eradicated, resulting in millions of dollars in savings to the taxpayers. In Passaic County alone, all the municipalities have held the growth of property taxes to reasonable levels, only the County Government has continued to grow their expenditures at uncontrollable rates that have resulted in a negation to the savings and controls that the municipalities have maintained.
The elimination of the County Government layer would effectuate a drop in the property taxes, eliminate duplicate services, force many towns into shared services and provide taxpayers with much needed relief.
Jose "Alex" Ybarra
Saturday, July 08, 2006
Lonegan Does It Again
Dear Friends,
As a lifetime republican it shames me that "so called" members of my party are once again spewing racist remarks. I am referring of course to this week's statement by Steven Lonegan, Mayor of Bogota NJ, and self appointed leader of the party's "Conservatives"... which criticized the McDonald's corporation choice to exercise their Constitutional right of freedom of speech to advertise to Hispanics in Spanish via a billboard in his City. He is claiming that the Billboard from McDonald's "encourages" Hispanics to not learn English and wants the corporation to eliminate them.
He once again has used the media to further regress the advances our party has made in its efforts to be more inclusive. This is the same racist that criticized Bret Shundler's campaign in Passaic County and other area's for including minorities on his ticket during the 2005 Gubernatorial Primaries in a bogus publication called the Passaic Eagle. Never in my life had I read such a piece of horrendously racist and prejudiced crap. It was anti-Latino, anti-Black, anti-Gay, anti-Semetic, anti-Asian etc...
If left to the Lonegan's in this country, respected publications like El Diario La Prensa (Spanish), Oggi (Italian), Filipino Express (Tagalog), Haaretz (Hebrew), Rzeczpospolita (Polish), would never be printed or distributed in the United States. Foriegn speaking television chains and channels would never be transmitted here.
Steven Lonegan is not a real Republican, he and his regressive types are actually just racists in Republican garb, who have joined our party because they and their ultra right wing extremists friends would never have a National sounding board if they had their own party. They have never, do not, and will ever represent the views of the mainstream Republicans in our State and Country.
If the residents of Bogota wish to allow Mr. Lonegan to continue as their leader, shame on them, but it is their prerogative. We do not have to accept the white robe and hood rhetoric he and his friends spew.
McDonald's answered Mr. Lonegan in an unapologetic press release refusing to remove its billboard or retool its advertising campaign aimed at minorities in their native tongue. They should be applauded.
Personally I am not a fan of McDonald's or their food, but suddenly I have a hankering for a BigMac and I am going over there and saying... Un BigMac porfavor... con papitas... (one BigMac please... with fries)
Jose "Alex" Ybarra
As a lifetime republican it shames me that "so called" members of my party are once again spewing racist remarks. I am referring of course to this week's statement by Steven Lonegan, Mayor of Bogota NJ, and self appointed leader of the party's "Conservatives"... which criticized the McDonald's corporation choice to exercise their Constitutional right of freedom of speech to advertise to Hispanics in Spanish via a billboard in his City. He is claiming that the Billboard from McDonald's "encourages" Hispanics to not learn English and wants the corporation to eliminate them.
He once again has used the media to further regress the advances our party has made in its efforts to be more inclusive. This is the same racist that criticized Bret Shundler's campaign in Passaic County and other area's for including minorities on his ticket during the 2005 Gubernatorial Primaries in a bogus publication called the Passaic Eagle. Never in my life had I read such a piece of horrendously racist and prejudiced crap. It was anti-Latino, anti-Black, anti-Gay, anti-Semetic, anti-Asian etc...
If left to the Lonegan's in this country, respected publications like El Diario La Prensa (Spanish), Oggi (Italian), Filipino Express (Tagalog), Haaretz (Hebrew), Rzeczpospolita (Polish), would never be printed or distributed in the United States. Foriegn speaking television chains and channels would never be transmitted here.
Steven Lonegan is not a real Republican, he and his regressive types are actually just racists in Republican garb, who have joined our party because they and their ultra right wing extremists friends would never have a National sounding board if they had their own party. They have never, do not, and will ever represent the views of the mainstream Republicans in our State and Country.
If the residents of Bogota wish to allow Mr. Lonegan to continue as their leader, shame on them, but it is their prerogative. We do not have to accept the white robe and hood rhetoric he and his friends spew.
McDonald's answered Mr. Lonegan in an unapologetic press release refusing to remove its billboard or retool its advertising campaign aimed at minorities in their native tongue. They should be applauded.
Personally I am not a fan of McDonald's or their food, but suddenly I have a hankering for a BigMac and I am going over there and saying... Un BigMac porfavor... con papitas... (one BigMac please... with fries)
Jose "Alex" Ybarra
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