Every year, all of our municipalities enter into contracts with professionals, compensating them with our tax dollars for doing specific kinds of work for our towns. Unfortunately, so many of these public contracts are awarded as a part of a pay-to-play system. Pay-to-play culture remains far too pervasive across the region and state. It has the pernicious effect of enriching unscrupulous politicians and professionals, all on the public's dime.

But this year there’s even more at stake than usual and even more reason to care about ethics in municipal professional contract agreements. Virtually every town in Camden County enters into contracts, sizeable ones, with the firms of George Norcross, Phil Norcross, and Bill Tambussi, all of whom have been indicted for RICO violations. The New Jersey Attorney General’s indictment accuses these individuals of using their power over government officials to craft legislation to aid the Norcross enterprise in obtaining property rights along the Camden waterfront “through coercion, extortion, and other criminal acts.”

It is essential that our public dollars be used responsibly to advance the well-being of our communities, not to enrich individuals under state investigation for corruption. Please join us in calling on the mayors of Camden County to be responsible custodians of our public dollars and NOT contract with George Norcross, Phil Norcross, and Bill Tambussi’s firms while they are under RICO investigation for corruption charges. Take a minute to send your message in support of the ethical use of our public tax dollars.