I have been honored to serve my district for the past 14 years. From 1983 to 1988 I served as a commissioner of the Bergen County Utilities Authority, the agency in my county responsible for the oversight and now participation in the solid waste industry. I also come here today with yet another hat, that is, Chairman of the Mayors' Task Force Against Flow Control. The Mayors' Task Force was formed shortly after the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Carbone v. Clarkstown. Mayors like myself saw this decision as a rare opportunity for lower property taxes.
Garbage disposal ranks near the top of most municipalities' budget items.
If I may, I would like to share an anecdote which illustrates just how perverse an effect waste flow control has had in New Jersey. In February 1988 at the beginning of the waste flow control era, I was having some construction done on my house that resulted in a considerable amount of debris requiring a 10 yard dumpster. No longer were municipalities or businesses permitted to choose the disposal facility that made the most economic sense for them. Ironically, the facility in my county simply shipped the waste to a landfill which the rest of us were prohibited from doing business with. After Carbone, communities throughout New Jersey thought rate relief was in sight.