Administration Hasn’t Provided Estimates of Ultimate Bill
Senator Kevin O’Toole, R-District 40, said this after getting no answers from Governor Corzine about how much the governor’s pension gimmick will cost taxpayers over the long haul.
“The non-partisan Office of Legislative Services says it takes actuarial professionals to accurately forecast how much the huge pension deficit will grow if the Legislature lets towns defer $1.3 billion in payments,” Senator O’Toole said. “If the Corzine administration has hired anyone to make such forecasts, it hasn’t shared the data with all the legislators expected to vote on his proposal. OLS says it is ‘unable to provide’ the ‘professional actuarial statistical modeling’ that’s required to do anything but come up with rough, short-term estimates.
“Nothing illustrates the recklessness and cynicism of this scheme more than the governor’s belief that he doesn’t have to bother providing the public with the information needed to evaluate this proposal,” O’Toole said. “No one knows how much it will cost taxpayers over the long term, and the governor obviously is confident no estimates are needed to win passage in the Democrat-controlled Legislature.
“I suspect the governor isn’t thinking beyond the 2009 election. Under that short-term scenario, the only figures that matter are the temporary property tax relief this may provide while he’s running for re-election. Future property tax increases, after the governor is out of office, are, therefore, irrelevant.
“I praised the governor on more than one occasion over the last few years for his efforts to end irresponsible fiscal practices and work toward fully funding our pensions. Now sadly, it seems the governor is abandoning that effort, and it will cost the state dearly.
“The governor has said he wouldn’t kick state financial problems down the road to our children and their children. That’s exactly what this pension gimmick does. The governor should keep his promises to future generations and to current taxpayers.”
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