TRENTON — Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver (D-Essex) said parts of Gov. Chris Christie’s proposed compromise to lower the property tax cap are “music to the ears” of Democrats, but said the Assembly would work on its own time frame — not Christie’s. “The governor has made it clear he does not like our approach, but whether the governor agrees...
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Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver (D-Essex) (left) shakes Gov. Chris Christie's hand before he addresses a joint session of the Senate and Assembly in the Statehouse in Trenton.TRENTON — Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver (D-Essex) said parts of Gov. Chris Christie’s proposed compromise to lower the property tax cap are “music to the ears” of Democrats, but said the Assembly would work on its own time frame — not Christie’s.
“The governor has made it clear he does not like our approach, but whether the governor agrees or not, this will be an extensive effort that we plan to undertake over the summer,” said Oliver from her Assembly office immediately following Christie's speech.
Oliver has assigned 12 assembly members to study Christie’s previously proposed constitutional 2.5 percent property tax cap as well as his 33-bill “toolkit” to help towns achieve it.
Christie originally proposed a constitutional amendment that would cap property tax growth at 2.5 percent and could only be overridden by a municipality’s 60 percent majority vote. Democrats answered by passing a 2.9 property tax cap with exemptions for pension, utility and health insurance costs. Christie has not signed it, and countered today with the idea of a statutory tax cap that makes exemptions for existing worker contracts and would require an override vote to exceed it.
Democrats had mixed feelings on Christie's compromise offer. Assemblyman John McKeon (D-Essex) said override votes allow rich towns to more easily exceed the tax caps, which would increase the gap between the “haves and the have nots.” But Oliver would not rule out the idea of an override vote entirely.
Other Democratic leaders said they appreciated the governor conceding the constitutional cap, and offered to work with him.
“The governor moved. It’s our responsibility to move, too,” said Assembly Majority Leader Joseph Cryan (D-Union).
The Assembly Budget Committee is scheduled to meet Friday to consider different property tax cap plans. But Oliver said Christie will not be welcomed back into the chamber for another speech.
“I think the governor delivered to us the message that he required,” she said. “I believe that it is more important for our legislators to delve in the work that he is extremely interested in seeing us bring some closure to.”
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