Senator Christopher J. Connors, Assemblyman Brian E. Rumpf and Assemblyman Daniel M. Van Pelt, all R-Ocean/Burl./Atl., issued the following statement after reviewing the impact of Governor Corzine’s budget on small towns in their Legislative District:
“Once again, regardless of their effectiveness to operate in a fiscally disciplined manner, municipalities have been designated as the scapegoats for New Jersey’s severe fiscal problems, which are deeply rooted in excessive state spending and borrowing. Under the Governor’s proposed plan, residents of towns with less than 10, 000 people will feel the heavy ax of state policies which deliberately target them for no other reason than their population.
“While we applaud the Governor’s efforts to reduce the size of the State Budget, we must ask why small towns are being asked to bear a disproportionate share of the spending cuts in comparison to medium-sized towns or even big urban areas, which are the beneficiaries of a greater portion of state aid.
“Consolidation of local services is fiscalyl sound policy which should be encouraged but not dictated through a heavy-handed approach by slashing desperately needed aid which is instrumental in staving off significant property tax hikes for homeowners. This is a matter of fairness and there is reason to be skeptical considering the state’s abysmal track record on bonded indebtedness, reckless spending and the imposition of regressive tax increases.
“It’s hard to ignore the correlation between this proposal and the Governor’s toll road monetization scheme which disproportionately targets residents living in close proximity to toll roads. Both plans seem to be part of or separate versions of a grand social engineering project devised so that rural and suburban taxpayers subsidize our state’s urban areas, including Camden and Newark, only on a greater scale.
“It is unacceptable to divert attention from what should be a shared responsibility of both parties and representatives from every part of the state to making the necessary cuts in state government spending. This should not entail penalizing rural communities solely because of the number of people living in them.
“Before devoting significant time and resources to the planned withholding of state aid for smaller towns, the Governor’s Office and the Legislature should be wholly committed to a comprehensive and equitable plan to reduce the size, scope and cost of the massive state bureaucracy. Politicized spending, multimillion dollar projects, such as stem cell facilities paid for at taxpayers’ expense, as well as a massive state workforce are true culprits of our state’s perennial financial problems.
“We fear that a ‘bait and switch’ scheme is in the works here where the fiscal restraint promised in the Governor’s Budget Address will consist of primarily fleecing taxpayers of rural and suburban communities.”
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August 1, 2008
