February 2, 2010
Press of Atlantic City.com
by The Press Citizens Editorial Board

It's easy, so easy, to sit on the sidelines and criticize public officials for high taxes, waste, abuse and overspending. How much harder - but far more rewarding and productive - to be part of the solution, to offer concrete recommendations and work toward making local government more efficient and less costly.

That's exactly what the Citizens' Campaign is all about. And southern New Jersey residents who want to get involved in that campaign can learn how Friday night at The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, where Citizens' Campaign is offering a South Jersey Call to Service Summit.

We urge local residents upset about soaring property taxes and concerned about maintaining the quality of their communities to attend. There has never been a more critical time for this kind of effort.

On today's Commentary page, Citizens' Campaign Chairman Harry Pozycki lays out the idea behind the Jersey Call to Service.

Previously, the campaign unveiled 10 cost-savings measures that municipalities could adopt immediately.

Some are basic, good-government ideas that offer immediate savings - such as the elimination of benefits for part-time elected officials and professionals, a move that would save between $12,000 and $20,000 per person.

Others look to trim services with minimal pain - such as reducing the number of trash pickup days after the summer months.

Others include joining or forming a regional dispataching service; sharing computer equipment between the municipality and the school board; performing energy audits; posting top salary information, overtime and labor contracts online; merging zoning and planning boards for small towns; contracting with counties for road repairs; contracting out vehicle maintenance and forming a mayor's task force for further efficiencies.

The list of recommendations would result in modest but significant savings. Still, this list is a beginning, not an end. The goal of the effort is not just to win adoption of the 10 suggestions, but to brainstorm more ideas and ultimately build "a culture of savings and frugality," according to Pozycki.

A culture of government frugality? In New Jersey?

It may sound far-fetched, but it's crucial. The state is a fiscal disaster area. Permanent savings and efficiencies - beyond the kind of Band-Aid approaches used in the past - will take grassroots pressure.

For more information and to register for the Stockton summit, go to jointhecampaign.com and click on South Jersey Call to Service Summit.