TRENTON — The Christie administration is making “very substantial progress” reversing New Jersey’s poor fiscal practices, while also funding priorities such as property tax relief and state aid to schools and towns, the state treasurer told lawmakers today. “Last year, the executive and legislative branches defied the expectations by negotiating a budget that protected essential priorities within a framework...
State Treasurer Andrew Sidamon-Eristoff looks at a chart during a press conference in this January file photo.TRENTON — The Christie administration is making “very substantial progress” reversing New Jersey’s poor fiscal practices, while also funding priorities such as property tax relief and state aid to schools and towns, the state treasurer told lawmakers today.
“Last year, the executive and legislative branches defied the expectations by negotiating a budget that protected essential priorities within a framework of fiscal responsibility,” Treasurer Andrew Sidamon-Eristoff told the Assembly Budget Committee during an afternoon meeting.
“This year, let us once again listen to each other, engage in an open dialogue and honest discussion, and bring our best thinking to the table,” the treasurer said during his first appearance before lawmakers since Christie proposed a new budget last month.
The new, $29.4 billion spending plan was put forward by Christie on Feb. 22, two weeks after a major Wall Street credit ratings agency downgraded the state’s credit rating over concerns about high debt and unfunded public employee pension and health benefits liabilities.
The credit rating plays an important role in the process the state must follow when it needs to borrow money to pay for long-term investments.
The proposed budget calls for reduced public employee benefits to fund a partial payment into the pension system and increased funding for property tax relief and aid to local schools. Some business taxes would also be reduced.
The governor’s budget benefits from a rebounding economy, which is expected to produce about $1.2 billion more in tax revenue during the next budget year. But it also absorbs with the loss of about $1 billion in federal funds that were used to balance the current budget, which is in place until June 30.
And the new budget is also being compiled as the state Supreme Court considers whether cuts Christie ordered for local school districts last year violated the state constitution’s guarantee that students in all communities receive a “thorough and efficient” education.
That could force the state to increase spending on local school aid by more than the $250 million Christie has included in the proposed budget, something the treasurer addressed during today’s meeting.
“It’s not for me to opine on legal theory or the ongoing litigation,” Sidamon-Eristoff said. “However, as the state’s chief financial officer, I must express my hope that the justices of the Supreme Court, in weighing the important issues before them, will give due deference to the broad discretion the executive (branch) and Legislature must have to protect the state’s fiscal integrity, particularly in times of economic stress.”
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