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Resident urges Bergen County to reassess surplus policy tied to AAA bond-rating guidance
Summary
During public comment a resident argued the county should reconsider holding elevated surpluses tied to bond-rating expectations and suggested alternative revenue measures; the board responded by citing Moody's guidance and potential savings from the county's AAA rating.
A resident raised concerns during the Bergen County Board of Commissioners public comment period about the county's approach to maintaining surpluses to preserve its AAA bond rating and urged the board to reassess that policy.
Mr. Farish, a resident of Emerson, told the board he was skeptical that rating agencies require the county to increase surpluses year-over-year and suggested the county examine how other counties’ ratings changed relative to their surpluses. "The storm has come. The storm has gone," he said, arguing that if anticipated budget cuts did not materialize, the county should consider relaxing surplus accumulation and explore other revenue options such as surtaxes on part-time employment to increase revenues.
Chairwoman Amoroso responded that the administration has been in regular contact with Moody's Investors Service and said Moody's had indicated the county was not yet at the level it expects for a AAA-rated jurisdiction. She told the board the rating firm had explained the value of the AAA rating in dollar terms, saying being rated double-A or single-A would increase borrowing or project costs compared with AAA; the transcript records figures the chairwoman described as approximately $1,500,000 more if rated double-A and about $4 million more if single-A, and she said the county's AAA rating saves municipalities millions of dollars.
The transcript records the exchange as public comment and administrative response only; no formal board action, directive to staff, or vote on surplus policy was recorded in the meeting minutes. Several commissioners also spoke in the meeting later about budget review and upcoming county budget consideration, but the transcript does not record a formal change in policy as a result of the public comment.
Mr. Farish also suggested subjecting certain part-time employers to surtaxes to discourage the fracturing of full-time positions into multiple part-time jobs; that concept was raised as a public suggestion and was not proposed as a specific ordinance or motion in the meeting record.
The board did not take formal action on surplus levels or the surtax suggestion at this meeting.
