Gov. Phil Murphy has ordered all state departments to freeze pay raises for most workers, limit new hires and cut budgets by 5%.
According to email correspondence obtained by ROI NJ, the governor’s office sent notices in early October and last week to the heads of all departments. The notices, sent out by the governor’s chief of staff, Tim Hillmann, said the freezes were being made to “conserve state resources.”
Murphy’s call for cuts follows years of increased spending where the annual budget grew from $34.7 billion during 2018 fiscal year to $56.6 billion this fiscal year. The bulk of the increased spending went to New Jersey’s long neglected public-worker pension system, record funding allocated for K-12 public education and billions of dollars earmarked to offset the state’s highest-in-the-nation local property-tax bills.
Many Democrats in the Legislature say the move isn’t a surprise given that nearly all federal pandemic-related funding is set to run out. Republicans say it’s further proof of overspending under Murphy.
Members of legislative budget committees are set to hold hearings, starting in early 2025, in preparation for the annual budget that Murphy must propose by the end of February and that must be signed into law by June 30.
