The statement below is by Freeholder Jonathan Young in regard to Governor Phil Murphy’s proposed $33 million cut to the firefighters’ relief fund.
“The governor is wrong to siphon funds dedicated from firefighters and first responders. It is that simple. Period. Full stop. These brave men and women have served their communities and selflessly put their lives on the line to protect their friends and neighbors. That the governor cannot see past his own priorities to understand the importance of supporting these individuals is staggering.
The New Jersey Firefighters Association uses these funds to provide burial benefits, financial assistance, and medical care to firefighters across the state. Thankfully, the Association has been able to build a reserve with some of those funds because our local heroes have remained largely safe in recent years. Now the governor wants to punish the Association for not being a spendthrift and needlessly bleeding money that it rightfully decided to save to support public servants struck by future tragedies.
The Camden County Freeholder Board stands united with all of our first responders. The governor would be best served to apologize to those in the line of duty and remove this heartless cut from consideration before the legislature. We are ecstatic that our firefighters have not needed to spend every dollar they are allocated for funerals and medical care, but we are not so blind as to think that means there will never come a day when they may have to. This $33 million was collected for our firefighters, and those are the only ones who should receive it.”