TRENTON – Senator Bob Smith, D-Middlesex and Somerset, co-Chair of the Joint Legislative Committee on Government Consolidation and Shared Services, issued the following statement today regarding the Committee’s hearing on the successes many New Jersey communities are achieving through joint insurance funds and healthcare pools:
“We heard today that New Jersey is achieving great success in centralizing the administration of health and liability insurance funds. As we continue to explore every option to bring relief to State taxpayers, we should see if we can build on the successes in these two areas to promote shared services across the board.
“Joint insurance funds in New Jersey have wracked up $1 billion in savings to municipalities in property liability insurance rates. Health insurance funds, though not as widespread, have also achieved success in cutting down the cost of government, and providing efficient administration of tax dollars.
“While we’ve heard a lot about how New Jersey can improve the delivery of services to our taxpayers, it’s heartening to hear that we’re on the right track when it comes to joint insurance funds. We should hold the efficient management of our municipal insurance funds up as an example, and try to bring the lessons learned here into every avenue of government services.”