The overhaul of pensions and benefits was the final piece of Christie's three-pronged plan to bring down property taxes Watch video
TRENTON — Putting his pen to legislation heralded as a money saver for taxpayers, Gov. Chris Christie on Tuesday signed into law a sweeping overhaul of public employee benefits.
But that doesn’t mean New Jersey homeowners should expect their property tax bills to drop this year.
"The first time folks on the property tax side will really see a benefit is in the August 2012 bills," Christie said at a bill signing ceremony Tuesday at the War Memorial in Trenton.
Christie has been emphasizing the effect the new law will have for the state’s 566 municipalities. The bill requires all of the more than 437,000 public employees working at all levels of government to pay more for their health care and pension benefits.
As he signed the legislation, Christie was surrounded by about 70 mayors from both political parties who heaped words of praise on the legislation and the governor.
"It is an important moment for the state of New Jersey, for its citizens, its taxpayers," Christie said. "New Jersey has once again become a model for America."
For towns whose contracts with their public employees have already expired or will expire this year, the changes in health insurance contributions — the cost-saver for towns — won’t take effect immediately.
Mayor Dawn Zimmer of Hoboken, a Democrat, said her city has several contracts that have expired, and that she’ll be hitting the reset button on negotiations to get the contracts in line with the new legislation. She sees an immediate savings for her city.
"It does have an impact on the conversations," Zimmer said.
The overhaul of pensions and benefits was the final piece of Christie’s three-pronged plan to bring down property taxes. The first piece was a 2 percent cap on property tax collections, followed by an identical cap on contracts with police and firefighter unions.
Both of the caps exempted health insurance and pension costs, adding to the push by Christie to get the final piece completed.
The chairman of the Republican State Committee, Sam Raia, who is also the mayor of Saddle River, said the bill will be a "tremendous help" for local leaders
"(Christie) has put the ball in the mayors’ court and said ‘OK, you have a 2 percent cap, go make it work,’" Raia said. "It’s bringing to the forefront mayors who are able to negotiate better contracts and cut costs."
The road getting the legislation to Christie to sign was a bumpy one.
Christie and Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D-Gloucester) began working on the proposal last fall.
At the bill signing Tuesday, the governor again praised Sweeney for his bipartisan effort, saying it would not have been possible without him.
As the negotiations unfolded, the two each presented public proposals, they faced strong pushback from the public employee unions as well as Democratic lawmakers, who contended that health benefits should be decided at the bargaining table, not through legislation.
"People were being misled, some union leadership weren’t being honest with the members," Sweeney said. "This isn’t about picking on anyone. It’s about doing something focused on the citizens of this state who are paying the bills."
Assembly Speaker Shelia Oliver (D-Essex) got behind the legislation earlier this month, adding the final piece to make the bill a reality. Republican lawmakers joined a coalition of Democrats, mostly those with ties to George Norcross, a political power broker whose base is South Jersey, and Essex County Executive Joe DiVincenzo, to provide enough support to pass the bill last week.
Christie offered praise for Oliver on Tuesday although the speaker was not at the signing ceremony.
Oliver helped broker the compromise that led to the inclusion of a sunset provision that would allow unions to resume collective bargaining after increased health care contributions are phased in over four years.
Her efforts also led to a last-minute change to remove the most controversial provision of the bill, which would have limited access to out-of-state hospitals. Christie also signed a separate bill Tuesday that eliminated the provision.
"My schedule is packed with meetings and phone calls," Oliver said in a statement, "now that my focus has shifted to passing a budget that matches the priorities of working-class New Jerseyans by providing property tax relief, adequate school funding, health care for women and job creation."