Vic DeLuca, Maplewood Mayor co-signed the below letter I wrote, which was sent to the Essex County Freeholders as a follow up to my request that the recently implemented tuition credit program Middlesex County implemented for volunteer EMTs and Firefighters be considered in Essex. Read the full letter below: April 14th 2015 To the Essex County Board of Chosen Freeholders: College tuition costs are rising. Since 1978, average college tuition costs have risen by 1,120%, outpacing food costs and even healthcare. A 2014 report from Bloomberg showed that tuition costs actually rose four times faster than the Consumer Price Index. 70% of students borrow money for college, and the average borrower will take on $33,000 of debt, adding up to a total student loan debt in the United States of $1.2 trillion as of last year. And yet, even in difficult economic times with college and other critical costs rising so quickly, there are many men and women who continue to volunteer their time, hundreds and thousands of hours a year, risking their own safety to help others as volunteer Emergency Medical Technicians and volunteer firefighters. In South Orange, the all-volunteer rescue squad contributed over 17,000 hours last...