(erielack) Morris County (NJ) Daily Record - State backs improvement authority

["Gary R. Kazin" <gkazin_@_yahoo.com>]

Note the item in the fourth paragraph about the Lackawanna Cutoff!

03/14/02 - Posted 11:11:55 PM from the Daily Record newsroom 
State backs improvement authority
By James A. Duffy, Daily Record

State officials gave Morris County a green light Wednesday to create a
county improvement authority, which would be granted the power to do
economic development work and issue bonds on behalf of other counties,
municipal governments, nonprofits and school boards.  The state’s
seven-member Local Finance Board voted unanimously in Trenton to allow the
authority to be created.

"You can really use the regional powers of the county to save dollars for
the towns and school districts.  That’s the whole concept here,"
Freeholder John P. Inglesino said.  "That’s a concept the local finance
board recognized, too."  Inglesino fielded questions from the state board
with county Treasurer Glenn Roe and Morris County Assistant Administrator
Thomas A. Markt on Wednesday.

The next step is for the freeholders to adopt a resolution — probably at
its March 27 meeting — officially creating the improvement authority. 
After the necessary paperwork is filed with the secretary of state’s
office, a 45-day appeal period will be in place for residents to make
public comments about the proposed addition to the county’s bureaucracy. 
Assuming all goes as planned, the freeholders then will begin appointing
the five unpaid commissioners to the autonomous authority.

Inglesino first pitched the idea to his freeholder board colleague in
December.  He brought to a county meeting Stephen A. Pearlman, a Newark
attorney, who has had dealings with five authorities that already are
established in nearly half of New Jersey’s 21 counties.  Inglesino now
wants to set up a breakfast meeting with mayors, school board members,
chief financial officers and others to explain the benefits of doing
business with the county.

Among the projects to be considered will be an equipment-leasing pool
program for schools and municipalities.  Inglesino also suggested that
Morris County become the lead agency in coordinating financing for the
Lackawanna Cutoff project, which would re-lay tracks on the missing
railway link from Scranton, Pa., to Hoboken in Hudson County.

When the state Legislature adopted the county improvement authorities law
in 1960, the intent was to create countywide agencies that could undertake
a variety of public projects with the advice and consent of freeholder
boards, primarily dealing with public transportation and provisions for
local governments.

Morris County has long maintained a triple-A bond rating, the best that
can be obtained. Pearlman said the freeholders could use that record to
help towns improve their own ratings and secure lower interest rates.

County officials said the cost of creating an improvement authority would
be relatively minor. There are, however, legal costs, the cost of benefits
afforded to members and the costs of a bond counsel and a financial
adviser to consider, Pearlman said.

Authorities can charge fees for their services, Pearlman added.

James A. Duffy can be reached at jaduffy_@_gannett.com or 973-267-7947.

http://www.dailyrecord.com/news/02/03/14/news5-improvements.htm

=====
Gary R. Kazin
DL&W Milepost R35.7
Rockaway, New Jersey

http://www.geocities.com/gkazin/index.html

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