GIORDANO CALLS FOR END TO EXCESSIVE TAXPAYER FUNDED CARS Freeholder Recommends Doing Away With Non-Public Safety Related Take Home Vehicles (Hamilton Township, NJ) – Freeholder Frank Giordano (D-Hamilton) today introduced a cost-cutting measure to trim the county budget which he believes will save Atlantic County taxpayers thousands of dollars annually by eliminating "taxpayer funded" take-home county cars for public officials. Giordano's recommendation excludes public safety related vehicles for first responders and emergency management.
"Doing away with taxpayer-financed cars that include the cost of insurance, maintenance and gasoline will put more money back into the pockets of our taxpayers," said Giordano. "Ending this unnecessary perk for public officials who should be using their own cars and paying for their own gasoline and insurance - just like the rest of us - is long overdue."
Giordano called on the County Administrator to provide a complete inventory of take-home, public safety, and departmental vehicles, and identify which non-public safety related vehicles could be cut from Atlantic County's fleet. Giordano also requested an outline of how much Atlantic County taxpayers would save annually if government officials gave up their 24/7 non-public safety related take-home cars, and cut other departmental cars. The county's fleet is estimated to exceed over 300 vehicles.
"Making these cuts not only will save taxpayers money, but it will also show our residents that we are serious about sharing their burden of doing more with less," Giordano said.
"With the cost of living soaring and people working multiple jobs to make ends meet, every cost-saving measure we take to save taxpayers money helps." |