By Brenda Flanagan
Correspondent
A marathon session. More than 80 people stepped up, mostly to ask the Assembly Budget Committee for a larger — or, at least, not a smaller — slice of the proposed $33.8 billion budget pie. Looming over everything — how to fuel a Transportation Trust Fund that’s running on empty, and make full payments into a state pension system that’s running out of money.
“And what’s going on in the state there, it’s like a Kabuki theater,” said Piscataway Mayor Brian Wahler.
Wahler heads New Jersey’s League of Municipalities. He says the towns fear state politicians will try to keep the troubled state pension system afloat by somehow merging it with local municipal pensions that are healthy and fully funded.
“It’d be no different for anybody who has a credit score, FICO score. Say you had 825 FICO score and you take on another obligation and get downgraded to 500,” he said. “So that’s why we’re very concerned about what’s gonna happen at the budget level here and I think what the governor and some members of the Legislature are trying to take the pension money and shore up their problem — and frankly it’s just not fair.”
Several speakers observed the state budget needs a more stable, long-term spending plan, a vision.
“It seems so often with the state that our plan is to get through another day — hopefully — before we hit that brick wall, which we seem to be approaching so fast,” said Assemblyman Gary Schaer.
“Even the possibility of thinking outside the box, maybe look at a two-year budget process so it does give a little more insight. My members are always saying if you can give certainty and predictability to us you know that helps them plan accordingly,” said New Jersey State Chamber of Commerce Senior Vice President of Government Relations Michael Egenton.
The Chamber of Commerce asked the committee not to roll back business tax cuts and credits while others claim billions of dollars in tax breaks awarded by the Christie administration sap much-needed revenues from towns and agencies.
“It’s just one more example of the kind of choices the governor and his administration have made that disproportionately affect middle class New Jerseyans while benefiting private companies and the wealthy,” said NJEA President Wendell Steinhauer.
“On the one hand everybody wants us to improve New Jersey’s business climate and create jobs. One of the ways to do that is to reduce the cost of doing business in New Jersey. That’s what those tax cuts do. These people that say New Jersey is under-performing the country in some categories. It means these things aren’t working. That’s a fallacy. They can’t say that with certainty,” said Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon.
“Is it success the fact a company was paid hundreds of millions of dollars to move its corporate offices literally across the street and down the block? On the other hand, one might say that if we didn’t they’d have moved out of state. It’s very difficult to be fair. It’s very difficult,” said Schaer. “We’re not analyzing the data and frankly, we’re not being provided the data with which to analyze.”
Meanwhile, lawmakers seem no closer to finding money for the TTF or pension system.
“The governor’s right to focus on them and we have to come up with solutions,” said O’Scanlon. “Discussions are ongoing.”
Revenues are the lifeblood of any budget and we’ll hear whether New Jersey’s are healthy or anemic next Monday when the OLS and State Treasurer present revenue estimates for the upcoming fiscal year.