TRENTON — Under pressure to regain control of the issues in Trenton, Democratic sources said Tuesday that legislators plan to introduce their own budget next week that will include money for police departments and property tax relief for the elderly. The plan to reshape Gov. Chris Christie’s $29.6 billion budget is emerging with time running out before the June...
Sen. Paul Sarlo (D-Bergen), chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, in this April 2011 Star-Ledger file photo, said Democrats were "developing a list of priorities" and that his committee would consider the "total package" on MondayTRENTON — Under pressure to regain control of the issues in Trenton, Democratic sources said Tuesday that legislators plan to introduce their own budget next week that will include money for police departments and property tax relief for the elderly.
The plan to reshape Gov. Chris Christie’s $29.6 billion budget is emerging with time running out before the June 30 deadline and as Democratic leaders break from rank-and-file members on a plan to overhaul benefits for public employees.
The legislation sharply raising the cost to employees for health and pension benefits, and will deliver a political victory for Gov. Chris Christie, was approved by the Senate on Monday and awaits a final Assembly vote tomorrow.
Looking toward passage of the budget, which was delayed as lawmakers fought over the benefits plan, Democrats will propose reviving a program cut by Christie last year that provides property tax relief to residents 65 and older who earn less than $80,000 a year, the sources said.
They also plan to seek financial relief for police departments stung by layoffs while experiencing an increase in crime, like Newark.
The amount to be allocated is still under discussion, sources said.
"That is a priority for Democrats," said Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver (D-Essex), adding that the money would go to departments "where there have been real challenges."
But when asked whether Democrats planned to introduce their own budget or nibble around the edges of Christie’s, Oliver said, "I don’t want to let the cat out of the bag."
State Sen. Paul Sarlo (D-Bergen), chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, said Democrats were "developing a list of priorities" and that his committee would consider the "total package" on Monday.
The Assembly may hear the bill on the same day.
A spokesman for the governor, Kevin Roberts, said Christie has fulfilled his obligation by submitting a balanced budget and will review the budget when lawmakers send it to him for his signature.
"We won’t be responding to abstract proposals in the interim," Roberts said.
Christie had pledged to triple property tax rebates for residents already receiving them if lawmakers overhauled health and pension benefits.
It was not clear whether the Democrat proposal takes into account the governor’s commitment.
The Democratic plan will rely on revised estimates that the state will take in $913 million more in revenue than expected by June 30 of next year, Sarlo said, along with cuts to some line items in the governor’s proposal.
Lawmakers must provide up to $500 million for "Abbott" schools that the state Supreme Court ordered.
They also must fill a $290 million gap between what Christie expected to save through the benefits overhaul and the $10 million the Treasury Department now estimates the state will actually save.
Democrats said yesterday they would also introduce a companion bill establishing a "millionaires tax" and tie it to an issue that enjoys bipartisan support like additional financing for rural and suburban school districts with high numbers of at-risk children, sources say.
Christie has repeatedly said he would veto any tax increase, but acting on such a bill would force Republican lawmakers to cast difficult votes that could be used against them in the November elections and allow Democrats to draw sharp distinctions between them and Christie.
Some Democrats have sought to make the "millionaires tax" a non-negotiable part of the budget agreement, though party leaders and others say that would endanger the process.
State Sen. Ray Lesniak (D-Union) has already sponsored legislation to reinstate the tax, which some consider necessary to craft a budget that includes $300 million for Medicaid and $7.5 million for women’s health clinics.
Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon, (R-Monmouth), the ranking Republican on the Budget Committee, said that although he had not seen the Democratic proposals, Republicans would like to use the additional revenue to provide property tax relief and to restore some cuts that affect poorer residents.
He said it’s important that lawmakers act with restraint because the public is tired of "sending a dollar to Trenton only to see lawmakers spend $1.30."