Post by admin on Apr 11, 2009 8:29:28 GMT -5
www.app.com/article/20090410/OPINION01/904100327/1029/opinion
The Democratic board majority on the Monmouth County Board of Freeholders this week apparently abandoned its plan to house juvenile offenders from Gloucester County in its half-empty, 40-bed Youth Detention Center.
But it refuses to heed a recommendation by Monmouth County Sheriff Kim Guadagno to shut down the facility in Freehold, which cost $5.48 million to operate in 2008, and send the detainees to the Middlesex County youth lockup in New Brunswick.
Doing so would save the county about $2.1 million a year, according to Guadagno. The facility will remain underutilized and the cost per detainee will continue to rise. But the Democrats, in a vote along party lines in February, quashed further discussion of an arrangement with Middlesex. The issue must be put back on the table.
Rather than doing the fiscally responsible thing, the Democrats were actually considering taking Gloucester County's youth detainees. Republicans rightly pointed out that Democrat Amy Mallet was out of line when she initiated the negotiations in the first place. And the county would only receive $200,000 a year for it, at most. The proposition was derailed at Tuesday's workshop meeting.
The idea of taking in Gloucester County detainees raised the hypocrisy level of the Democrats to new heights. One of their chief objections to closing the facility and moving detainees from Monmouth County to New Brunswick was that it would create a hardship for the youth and their parents, who would have to travel further to visit. The hardship Gloucester County residents would face driving to Freehold from South Jersey apparently didn't factor into their thinking.
Even if the Democrats' compassion were sincere, it's hard to muster much sympathy for the offenders at the Monmouth County facility. These are not kids who got caught smoking a joint or spray-painting graffiti on an overpass. "Only the most serious offenders who pose a true flight or safety risk to the public are now housed at the YDC," the report said.
At a time when the county is being forced to cut back on essential services, lay off employees and freeze wages of others, it's unconscionable the Democratic board majority would reject a recommendation from the sheriff that would save taxpayers $2 million.
The Republicans don't have the votes to shut the detention center down. Citizens should make their voices heard, now and in November, when party control of the board is at stake.
The Democratic board majority on the Monmouth County Board of Freeholders this week apparently abandoned its plan to house juvenile offenders from Gloucester County in its half-empty, 40-bed Youth Detention Center.
But it refuses to heed a recommendation by Monmouth County Sheriff Kim Guadagno to shut down the facility in Freehold, which cost $5.48 million to operate in 2008, and send the detainees to the Middlesex County youth lockup in New Brunswick.
Doing so would save the county about $2.1 million a year, according to Guadagno. The facility will remain underutilized and the cost per detainee will continue to rise. But the Democrats, in a vote along party lines in February, quashed further discussion of an arrangement with Middlesex. The issue must be put back on the table.
Rather than doing the fiscally responsible thing, the Democrats were actually considering taking Gloucester County's youth detainees. Republicans rightly pointed out that Democrat Amy Mallet was out of line when she initiated the negotiations in the first place. And the county would only receive $200,000 a year for it, at most. The proposition was derailed at Tuesday's workshop meeting.
The idea of taking in Gloucester County detainees raised the hypocrisy level of the Democrats to new heights. One of their chief objections to closing the facility and moving detainees from Monmouth County to New Brunswick was that it would create a hardship for the youth and their parents, who would have to travel further to visit. The hardship Gloucester County residents would face driving to Freehold from South Jersey apparently didn't factor into their thinking.
Even if the Democrats' compassion were sincere, it's hard to muster much sympathy for the offenders at the Monmouth County facility. These are not kids who got caught smoking a joint or spray-painting graffiti on an overpass. "Only the most serious offenders who pose a true flight or safety risk to the public are now housed at the YDC," the report said.
At a time when the county is being forced to cut back on essential services, lay off employees and freeze wages of others, it's unconscionable the Democratic board majority would reject a recommendation from the sheriff that would save taxpayers $2 million.
The Republicans don't have the votes to shut the detention center down. Citizens should make their voices heard, now and in November, when party control of the board is at stake.