Berdnik Would Rather Make Taxpayers Shoulder The Costs
Paterson, NJ -- Passaic County Democratic Sheriff candidate Richard Berdnik has proven again he is a big spending liberal Democratic who will spend taxpayer money recklessly and fail to capitalize on money making opportunities at the county jail.
Berdnik told a crowd at a debate in Wayne on Wednesday night that he will spend millions of taxpayer dollars to upgrade the jail’s air conditioning system, but will refuse to house federal prisoners even though the federal government pays for those inmates.
Berdnik’s Republican opponent, Felix Garcia, on the other hand, says he will use confiscated drug money -- not taxpayer money -- to make improvements to the jail that will allow the sheriff’s department to use all 2200 beds available in the jail, says Garcia campaign manager George Cole.
According to Cole federal guidelines allow funds confiscated from drug dealers to be used to improve existing detention facilities, such as the county jail.
“It’s really a no brainer,” said Cole. “Why wouldn’t a sheriff want to use money taken from drug dealers to improve the jail so we can put more drug dealers behind bars?” Why would Mr. Berdnik want to put that financial tax burden on the taxpayers of Passaic County , who already suffer from the highest property taxes in the nation?”
Cole said once the jail is upgraded and more cells are available for use, Garcia would entertain a contract with federal authorities to house short term federal inmates in the county jail. Cole noted that the former Republican Sheriff in Bergen County , Joel Trella worked out a lucrative arrangement with the U.S. Marshal’s Service that paid the county $85 a day to house up to 150 short term federal inmates.
The arrangement works out well for taxpayers who do not have fund the building of more federal prisons and for county jails that have unused cells.
“Someone needs to teach Mr. Berdnik to do math. If the federal government is going to give us $85 a day to house a federal prisoner and if we have the space to do so, why wouldn’t the sheriff want to take that money and offset the cost of running the department for taxpayers?” asked Cole.
A former law enforcement officer, Cole says the federal inmates are typically persons who have committed a variety of street crimes and are either waiting for space in federal prisons or are awaiting deportation.
“Felix Garcia wants to put drug dealers and rapists behind bars. I have no idea what Mr. Berdnik wants to do with them,” said Cole.
“The only people who think housing federal inmates in county jails to help offset the costs for county taxpayers is a bad idea are ultra liberals like Mr. Berdnik,” said Cole.
