Christie wants to use the forgotten money to pay down the state's debt, but he needs the OK from Democrats in Trenton
Gov. Chris Christie's administration had some good news yesterday: The state is $26 million richer after finding unused money that was buried in bank accounts going back to the 1960s.TRENTON — It took two years of scouring through the books, but the state came out $26 million richer yesterday after the Christie administration found unused money buried in bank accounts going back to the 1960s.
State Treasurer Andrew Sidamon-Eristoff announced the windfall yesterday and said he hopes to pay down a small portion of the state’s massive debt with the money.
For that to happen, the Democrats who control the Legislature will have to sign off on Sidamon-Eristoff’s plan — a difficult proposition since many lawmakers are still sore over Gov. Chris Christie’s wide-ranging budget cuts, which cut mostly from the social safety net this year.
"I’ll wait to hear what the treasurer says, but I know there are a lot of people out there that are suffering," said Assemblyman Lou Greenwald (D-Camden), chairman of the Budget Committee. He added that Christie already padded the state surplus this year "at the expense of a lot of other people that are struggling in this economy."
Treasury spokesman Andrew Pratt said the $26 million was left over from bond issues going back decades. The state borrowed the money for specific projects, finished them, and basically let the left-over cash collect dust.
"A lot of this is legally encumbered," he said. "You can’t just go and spend it on paper clips for the Statehouse."
Pratt said the Treasury and the Attorney General’s Office had gone through the laws and determined that the cash could be put safely toward debt service. The Christie administration will reach out to legislators and present data on Monday, he said.
The hunt for the forgotten cash began when Christie took office, Pratt said, and Treasury is expecting more money to be lying around in other corners.