Bergen County Executive Dennis McNerney

Dennis McNerney is the County Executive of Bergen County, New Jersey. Image File history File links DennisMcNerney. ... A County Executive is the title assigned to a person hired to run the day to day operations of a county. ... Location in the state of New Jersey Formed 1683 Seat Hackensack Area  - Total  - Water 606 km² (234 mi²) 33 km² (13 mi²) 5. ...

Dennis McNerney is currently serving his first term as County Executive, the highest elected office in Bergen County. He took office in January 2003 after being twice elected to the Bergen County Board of Chosen Freeholders in 1998 and 2001. 2003: January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December A timeline of events in the news for January, 2003. ... The Board of County Freeholders is the legislative body for each of the 21 counties in New Jersey. ... 1998(MCMXCVIII) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ...

During his first term as County Executive, McNerney has placed the sharing of services as one of his top priorities. Believing it is crucial to find solutions to Bergen's spiraling property taxes, he has worked with local and county officials to find ways to work cooperatively to provide the residents of Bergen County with essential public services while helping to lower the tax burden. Property tax is an ad valorem tax that an owner of real estate or other property pays on the value of the target of the tax. ...

In these uncertain times, McNerney has fought for the resources needed by our emergency response personnel and to place more police officers on the street. Through his leadership, Bergen County has installed a Community Notification System that can automatically contact every county household within minutes and provided our first responders with over 1,600 "personal protection ensembles" that can help protect them in the case of a chemical attack. McNerney has also directed the Bergen County Police Department to work with local police to secure our county's transportation hubs.

As County Executive and previously as a Freeholder, McNerney has been a pioneer in the fight to preserve open space in Bergen County. During his first year as County Executive, he fought for the reauthorization of the Open Space, Recreation, Farmland and Historic Preservation Trust Fund, which has helped the County acquire hundreds of acres of open space since its inception in 1998. The voters of Bergen County overwhelmingly approved the referendum, which included increasing the amount of funds available to preserve and protect the remaining parcels of open space in Bergen County. The Board of County Freeholders is the legislative body for each of the 21 counties in New Jersey. ... A referendum (plural: referendums or referenda - note though that referendums is more correct as referendum is the gerund of the Latin verb ad referre which therefore, formally, cannot be put into the plural) or plebiscite is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or...

McNerney has also committed himself to helping the growing senior population in Bergen County. In 2003, he worked with the Freeholder Board to institute a prescription discount card program that is available to every resident of the county and can save them up to 10% to 50% off the cost of their prescription drugs. In addition, he has worked to improve and expand the services available through the Community Transportation and Meals-on-Wheels programs and also at the county's twelve senior activity centers.

During his tenure on the Freeholder Board, County Executive McNerney was instrumental in passing the first county-level campaign finance reform ordinance in New Jersey. In 2001, McNerney served as Vice Chairman of the Board and as Chair of the Budget and Finance Committee and cut $7 million from the County budget and led the crusade to abolish frivolous Freeholder perks such as the Freeholder car allowance. Campaign finance reform is the common term for the political effort in the United States to change the involvement of money in politics, primarily in political campaigns. ...

Dennis McNerney is a lifelong resident of Bergen County. He graduated from Bergen Catholic High School, attended Bergen Community College, the University of Delaware, and went on to receive his Masters Degree in Public Administration from Columbia University. Prior to his election as County Executive, McNerney was a vice president for a municipal finance firm. He currently resides in Ho-Ho-Kus with his wife Catherine and their two children. Bergen Community College is an accredited, co-educational, two-year, public, community college located in Bergen County, New Jersey. ... The University of Delaware (UD OR UDel) is the largest university in the state of Delaware. ... Columbia University is a private university in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. ... Map highlighting Ho-Ho-Kus location within Bergen County. ...

External links

• Bergen County Executive Page