Governor Jon Corzine should immediately release a full accounting of which Democrats decided how to spend the $128 million in the secretive and unlawful “Property Tax Assistance and Community Development” fund and where they sent taxpayers’ money, Republican legislative leaders Tom Kean and Alex DeCroce said.
“Democrats are selectively leaking questionable information to avoid blame for hiding spending from taxpayers,” Senator Kean said. “As a result, news accounts suggest that $6 million went to projects in Republican districts. The assertion is misleading because Democrats controlled where this money went, but even if it wasn’t, that leaves at least $122 million in funds unaccounted for. If information is available about grants allegedly going to Republican districts, then even more should be available about spending on Democratic initiatives. I urge Corzine to order his Treasurer to put a complete listing on the Governor’s Web site of which legislators had control over the money in this program, how much they were allocated and where it was spent.”
“Governor Corzine takes credit for freezing spending from the slush fund exposed during ex-Senator Bryant’s corruption trial, but the governor’s action came only after extreme legal pressure from a courageous private citizen,” Assembly Leader DeCroce said. “The governor says his administration did an ‘investigation’ of this program, but he hasn’t produced even one document showing the results. There needs to be an accounting, and the state Treasurer has all the information on hand to provide it to the public immediately, if the governor orders it.”
“Republicans voted against the Democrat budgets that created this slush fund,” Kean said. “The point is that money should never be dispersed in this unaccountable and unconstitutional way, and Republicans have consistently opposed the unconstitutional process.”
“It’s despicable that scared Democrats are dribbling out details about a few projects that they hope the press will use to smear Republican legislators,” DeCroce said. “It’s time for every spending decision to be detailed and explained completely. The Treasurer should produce an accurate list of who had control over how the money was spent and where it was spent. The governor should order full disclosure on his Web site today. His Treasurer has all the information needed to get this done. Over the last two years Republicans have repeatedly tried to obtain the facts. The governor should ensure that, finally, the truth is revealed.”
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