So that's why he called me an FA

Lawrence Caroselli officially retired as Finance Director of Union County last week. At his last freeholder meeting he said his goodbyes to two of us who regularly attend. He shook hands with Bruce Paterson and warmly reminisced over old times. He called me a “fucking asshole” and threatened me with physical violence. After some reflection, I think I see why.

Bruce Paterson has been going to freeholder meetings much longer than I have and he has frequently referred to the freeholder board as “running a criminal enterprise”. But….he has publicly praised the financial acumen of Lawrence Caroselli.

I never attack anyone personally and deal strictly with the numbers and the conclusions I draw from them. In recent years I have seen:

• $182.7 million in Bond Anticipation Notes outstanding
• Budgets with missing revenue and inflated expenses looking to mask the non-use of surplus
• Two years of the state rejecting the county budget
• Faking numbers ($600,000 in utility costs) to justify closing a golf course
• Faking numbers to pretend that golf operations are now profitable
• Net debt rising and the county’s debt rating lowered in 2011 yet debt service is supposed to be lower
• UCUA/Covanta deal falsely claimng $276 million in savings through ignoring 22 years of additional payments in this refinancing scam
• $2,350,000 revenue item labeled ‘Open Space’, which is supposed to be a trust, put into the operating budget
• Lifetime health benefits awarded two months ago to non-union employees retiring with 25 years of service (Lawrence Caroselli being among the first)

The 2011 Union County budget is a work of fiction. I see that. Lawrence Caroselli must see that and he’s the main author. I don’t believe anyone else does.* That’s why his only possible response to me is to call me a “fucking asshole”.

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* You can’t honestly blame the freeholders for this financial mess. It would be like blaming Mickey Mouse for a drop in Disney stock. They’re the entertainment product, what people see, but not the engine. You are far more likely to see Mickey Mouse questioning the Disney Board on their rationale for purchasing Marvel than you are to see any freeholder question the wisdom of piling up a quarter of a billion dollars in Bond Anticipation Notes in this market. And I’m serious about that, especially with what they can do with holograms these days (for Mickey I mean, not the board).

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