State Against City Spending
By P.T.
Published: September 11, 2012
Last year during the New Jersey State League of Municipalities Convention, a talking shop for elected officials from around NJ, Paterson sent 26 delegates who spent 16,000-dollars, according to an article posted at a local news source site. The mayor of the city received the most expensive suite at almost 500 dollars a night, while the rest spent their evenings inside 150 bucks rooms. But all that splurging has been noticed by the state, and this year that will not happen.
Since Paterson receives transitional aid, Trenton set a cap of $85 per a room, and the delegation can stay only for one day, where the state picks up the tab, anything above the restricted caps are to be covered by each individuals. New Jersey has specifically barred the use of city money for such things: officials will not be able to use public money to finance their profligate spending on rooms and food at the convention.
The Convention allows officials from different locales to exchange ideas as well as learn from each other on how to efficiently manage the city, say those who are against the state’s measure. A point the state acknowledges, but insists on cuts.