MONMOUTH LEGISLATORS ASK ARMY TO UPDATE COST SAVINGS ESTIMATES FOR FORT MONMOUTH

In a letter dated February 10, 2009, all 9 members of the Monmouth county legislative delegation requested that the Army provide to the General Accounting Office updated cost savings estimates upon which the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC) based its decision to close Fort Monmouth and move a substantial part of its operations to Aberdeen Proving Ground.

The letter, addressed to Secretary of the Army Preston M. “Pete” Geren, stated in part “By now it is well documented that the original cost savings estimates are woefully inaccurate. In this time of historic economic difficulty, it is essential that every taxpayer dollar spent is necessary and any decision of this nature should be based on accurate, up to date cost estimates. We believe there is an overwhelming case that the escalating costs of moving the operations of the Fort to Aberdeen will override any perceived benefits from such an action.”

The legislators were referring to Asbury Park Press investigations which have shown the cost of closing the Fort have more than doubled , from $780 million to $1.6 billion, since the decision was made to close the Fort by the 2005 BRAC decision.

Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon, speaking for the group, said “we know the cost of moving the Fort has ballooned and there’s an argument to be made that moving the Fort’s operations would compromise the safety of our troops. On that basis alone the Army should be required to go over and above to prove that the costs outweigh the benefits. But just as importantly, there’s this sense that the government has been less than truthful throughout this whole process and in the interest of restoring people’s confidence that they can actually trust what their government tells them, I think it’s incumbent upon the Army to do the right thing and update the numbers.”

The letter was signed by Senators Sean Kean (R-11), Jennifer Beck (R-12), and Joseph Kyrillos (R-13) and Assembly Members Mary Pat Angelini and David Rible (R-11), Caroline Casagrande and Declan O’Scanlon (R-12), and Amy Handlin and Sam Thompson (R-13).