Credit: mtstradling via Openverse licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.

Hospitals, schools, libraries, the State Police and other entities hit hard by COVID-19 are among those that will benefit from the latest round of spending backed by New Jersey’s federal pandemic aid.

But also getting funded through the state’s share of the American Rescue Plan are several projects that don’t appear, at least upon first glance, to be as directly connected to the health crisis.

Money is also going to pay for the prevention and mitigation of damage caused by spotted lanternflies and for a New Jersey Hall of Fame center at the American Dream shopping and entertainment complex in East Rutherford.

Story continues after the graphic.

The state’s latest batch of federal-aid spending was cleared on Friday by a special legislative committee tasked with overseeing how the state is using large portions of the more than $6 billion New Jersey has received through the $2 trillion federal-aid initiative.

Majority Democrats praised the new spending package, which totals more than $154 million, saying it would bolster public health and promote job creation, among other benefits.

Not transparent enough?

But several Republicans who participated in a virtual meeting that lasted less than 20 minutes raised concerns about transparency. They also questioned the process Gov. Phil Murphy and the Democrats who control the Legislature have been using to advance individual projects to the finish line — even as Republican lawmakers also acknowledged many have merit.

“We keep talking about transparency,” said Assemblyman Harold Wirths (R-Sussex). “A lot of good things usually don’t happen on a Friday in Trenton.”

In all, a list of 42 separate appropriations was put before the Joint Budget Oversight Committee, a panel comprising six members drawn from the Senate and Assembly budget committees authorized to approve spending items forwarded by the governor’s office outside of the state’s traditional appropriations process.

There was no opportunity for public comment during Friday’s meeting and members had to vote on the spending as a package instead of each item individually.

The largest individual appropriation on the list is $17 million for a Tonnelle Avenue bridge project in North Bergen. It will allow car traffic to travel over the entrance to a new Gateway trans-Hudson rail tunnel, according to background descriptions for each item drafted by the state Department of Treasury’s Office of Management and Budget.

NJ Hall of Fame

Among the other appropriations is $12 million for the New Jersey Hall of Fame center at American Dream. Treasury’s description of this appropriation said the center will “attract visitors to the site” and “support the COVID-impacted retail industry.”

North Bergen High School is receiving $10 million to modernize buildings and to offset cost overruns “resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and attributable inflation.” Union City’s municipal government is receiving $5 million in “budget relief” to address shortfalls that were “caused by or exacerbated during the health crisis.”

Meanwhile, $5 million is now set aside to support the Salem Medical Center in South Jersey, and $3 million is earmarked to fund a new emergency management and storage center at Hunterdon Medical Center, according to the list of appropriations.

The New Jersey State Police is receiving $3.25 million to “replace current fleet vehicles,” and more than $500,000 is appropriated for a “mobile command post vehicle” for the Franklin Township Police Department in Somerset County.

Dealing with spotted lanternfly

The appropriation related to the invasive spotted lanternfly totals $4 million, with the funding going to the state Department of Agriculture. It will be used to “ameliorate the nuisance caused by invasive spotted lanternflies in outdoor spaces,” according to Treasury’s description.

“Among other things, the public health crisis identified the utilization of outdoor spaces as a critical element to public health efforts,” the description said.

In response to Wirths’ criticism and similar concerns aired during the meeting by Sen. Declan O’Scanlon (R-Monmouth), committee co-chair Paul Sarlo (D-Bergen) highlighted the benefits of several individual spending items. They included the funding set aside for the hospitals, as well as an appropriation for lead service line replacement in Camden.

“Democracy works with input from a lot of different individuals,” said Sarlo, who was one of four Democrats on the panel to vote in favor of the spending package.

“There are some items on here that I would not have added and there are some other items that I would have added,” said Sarlo, who also chairs the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee.

Those comments came after Wirths questioned the Democrats’ priorities and accused them of being “out of touch with what is going on in the state of New Jersey.”

Wirths said many public schools in New Jersey are facing state-aid cuts this year under the current education-funding formula and won’t benefit at all from this funding.

He also singled out the appropriation for the New Jersey Hall of Fame before recounting courageous testimony provided during a recent public budget hearing by a victim of ALS, who relied on computer technology to make a plea for more state funding to combat the debilitating disease.

“This list is the perfect example of political deals being prioritized over people’s needs,” Wirths said.

‘Adhered to all rules’

Last year, the Murphy administration accepted written comments from the public and also held a series of invite-only events to solicit ways the state should use what was at the time a more than $1 billion balance of federal aid.

Murphy, a second-term Democrat, also inserted into his proposed budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1 several proposed appropriations of the state’s remaining federal dollars. They include an earmark to help local governments manage increased public worker health-insurance costs and the establishment of a new fund to update Jersey Shore boardwalks.

Two members of the Murphy administration attended the virtual meeting, but neither spoke before it was adjourned.

Afterward, Murphy spokeswoman Jennifer Sciortino said the administration has “consistently allocated funding in collaboration with legislative leadership.”

Maggie Garbarino, a spokeswoman for the Assembly Majority Office, noted the full list of spending items was posted on the Legislature’s website on Wednesday and said the committee “adhered to all rules outlined in federal and state legal guidelines for approval of the funds.”

“From funding to improve public health infrastructure to investments bolstering our police, this federal funding will be used to create jobs, promote economic development and enhance our ability to serve the over 9 million people who call our state home,” she said.

— Graphic by Genesis Obando