The following items are taken from reports issued by legislators and other items of political concern.
2-percent cap
Assembly Republican Budget Officer Declan O’Scanlon, R-Monmouth, issued a statement following a press conference held by Gov. Christie explaining the need for the conditionally vetoed interest arbitration bill (A3067) to be passed:
”The 2 percent arbitration cap is an essential part of managing our property tax issue. Simple arithmetic makes it obvious that allowing an arbitrator to award a 3 percent increase or even greater when we have a 2 percent property tax cap would force towns to raise taxes, reduce services or cut back their workforce.
”These reductions could impact public workers and property taxpayers who are not covered by the arbitration bill, but would become casualties if we don’t retain the cap.
”The governor conditionally vetoed the original arbitration bill because he knows the devastating effect it would have had on property taxpayers. There is bipartisan support for the bill by mayors and legislators across the state. They realize it is vital in helping control property taxes by allowing municipalities to manage costs. The law, which expired on March 31, was working. Property tax growth has declined to its lowest levels in 20 years.
”Those who advocate moving the bill are more than willing to talk. Very few people have spent as much time studying this issue that I have.
”To no avail, I have expressed on numerous occasions my willingness to discuss and help bring the appropriate stakeholders to the table. Notwithstanding my openness to discussion, the laws of mathematics are not open to negotiation. I hope the Assembly will reconvene and concur with the Senate on the bill as quickly as possible.”
Senate Republican Leader Tom Kean Jr., R-Union, Somerset, Morris, also issued a statement after joining Gov. Christie, state and local elected leaders in urging the Assembly majority to take action on legislation extending the 2-percent interest arbitration award cap.
”The Senate Republican Caucus stands with Gov. Christie in urging the passage of this bipartisan legislation to extend the 2-percent cap on arbitration awards. It’s no coincidence that, under the cap, contracts and property taxes grew at the lowest levels in decades.
”Unfortunately, we now stand to lose the progress we have made. How can we expect municipalities to hold down costs if there’s no ability to control arbitration awards for police and fire salaries?
”Failing to extend the cap now will wipe out the momentum gained in controlling property taxes from the historic reforms we all enacted together just a few years ago and decrease towns’ ability to provide the services so many depend on. Any contracts awarded now outside the cap could hamstring municipalities for years into the future.
”The Senate has come together once again on a bipartisan basis to approve this cap extension because we understand it’s the best thing for the taxpayers we all represent. It’s time for the Assembly majority to come to the table and do what we all know is right. The consequence of failing to act is far too high.”
Senators Michael Doherty and Joe Kyrillos, who sponsor legislation capping arbitration awards at 2 percent, also urged the Assembly to pass the current bipartisan cap extension legislation.
”Assembly Democrats’ refusal to extend the cap on arbitration awards has placed towns on the precipice of having to choose between raising property taxes to pay for limitless spikes in salaries or eliminating critical services,” said Sen. Doherty, R-Hunterdon, Warren, Somerset. “We can’t let this ticking bomb explode, eliminating the historic bipartisan reforms made in the last four years to limit property tax growth.”
”Municipal officials have made it abundantly clear that without this means to control public employee contracts, they lose the key tool to keeping costs in check and to stay within the current property tax cap,” said Sen. Kyrillos, R-Monmouth. “The Assembly must act now to extend the cap, or, once again, already overburdened taxpayers across the state will be on the losing end.”
Sen. Doherty co-sponsored bipartisan S1869 to extend the 2-percent cap on arbitration awards through Dec. 31, 2017. Sen. Kyrillos sponsored S1913 to make the cap permanent.
”The arbitration award cap was passed with near unanimous support four years ago and has proven to dramatically reduce property tax increases,” Sen. Kyrillos added.
”There’s absolutely no excuse for backtracking on taxpayers now,” Sen. Doherty concluded.
Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto, D-Hudson, Bergen, released the following statement on police and fire interest arbitration and extending the 2 percent cap on base salary awards.
”It’s disappointing that the governor and local officials have chosen to hold rallies rather than sit down and negotiate with the Assembly to resolve this matter.
”I’ve asked the representatives of local officials to join me for discussions, but they have so far refused to offer any solutions. Still, they take time to join rallies. This is very unproductive and unfair to the taxpayers, who deserve better.
”I’ve made it clear — the Assembly stands ready to settle this issue through good faith negotiations that protect taxpayers and provide fairness to the police and firefighters who protect our safety.
”The Assembly’s commitment to fairness must be met. That’s a balance everyone truly interested in reaching a compromise should be willing to support.”
Zone tax
Assemblyman Joseph Cryan, D-Union, released the following statement after the Assembly Budget Committee heard from the Department of Labor on Gov. Chris Christie’s plan for a new Urban Enterprise Zone tax increase:
”Gov. Christie never hesitates when it comes to providing corporate tax breaks, yet he doesn’t seem to hold that affinity for businesses working to revitalize and create jobs in New Jersey’s most distressed urban communities.
”Under Gov. Christie’s philosophy, big corporations get tax breaks, but businesses trying to create private sector jobs in urban areas get tax increases. This approach is more than troubling.
”The governor’s proposed budget includes a new urban enterprise tax increase. The proposal sets the sales tax paid by zone-certified businesses on certain business-to-business transactions at 3.5 percent. This increase would raise a projected $70 million in additional revenue and make fostering an improved economic climate and job creation in these communities even more difficult.
”To make matters worse, the administration was unable to detail an economic impact study on this projected tax hike to see what it would mean for businesses and workers.
”Whether it’s his opposition to a livable wage or his failure to resolve problems that are costing New Jersey waterfront jobs or his failure to promote job creation, this governor continues to make clear he is no friend to working-class residents.”
Medicaid overhaul
State Sen. Paul Sarlo, D-Bergen, Passaic, has called upon the Christie administration to be more transparent and candid about the state’s finances after the commissioner of the Department of Human Services could not tell the Budget Committee how much of the expected savings the state realized under the ongoing massive overhaul of Medicaid.
In 2011, the Christie administration told the federal government it would realize up to $300 million in savings under a comprehensive Medicaid waiver. The savings would be realized gradually over time as the state transitioned into a managed care model for recipients, the state said at the time.
However, the Christie administration has realized few savings thus far and is proposing to increase spending by $125 million in the upcoming budget.
”Once again, this administration cannot provide answers to the most basic of budget questions,” said Sen. Sarlo, chairman of the Senate Budget Committee. “In order for us to put forth a budget, we need confidence that the administration has provided us with real figures. When administration officials decline to answer the most basic of questions, it erodes the public’s confidence and makes our job more difficult than it needs to be.”
The latest denial of basic information comes as Standard & Poor’s downgraded the state’s credit rating. In justifying the downgrade, the agency said the administration repeatedly has overestimated revenue estimates, then employed unusual, one-time measures to close budget gaps when those revenues failed to materialize.
”Not realizing expected savings is the same as not meeting revenue expectations, and both create budget shortfalls,” Sen. Sarlo said. “Unfortunately for the state’s taxpayers, that has often meant foregoing the state’s financial future to close the gap. The administration needs to be more transparent in order for us to help stop this cycle.”
OTW
State legislators Sen. Kip Bateman, Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli and Assemblywoman Donna Simon, all R-Somerset, Hunterdon, Mercer and Middlesex, said they will introduce a bill that reverses a section of law changed in 2011 that eliminates a municipality’s right to have the final say on whether an off-track wagering business could operate within its borders.
Though approval still is needed by the New Jersey State Racing Commission, the state’s fifth OTW is proposed for the former Hillsborough Township Maestro 206 restaurant on Route 206 by Veterans Industrial Park. The New Jersey State Racing Commission will be scheduling a public hearing in the township.
”Municipal officials are elected to give residents a voice in the decisions that shape the quality of life and future of their communities,” Sen. Bateman said. “Approval of an off-track wagering business is a decision that impacts the unique character of a municipality, and it’s one that should be made by the local officials who understand and represent the best interests of those in the community. It’s time we give the authority to make this important decision back to those best suited to do so.”
”While the racing commission still needs to sign off on this plan and not before a public hearing, the decision-making authority for an OTW facility should be the municipality, not by fiat,” said Assemblyman Ciattarelli. “Home rule has its drawbacks, but local land use is not one of them.”
Under current law, there is no requirement for notice to be given to a municipality nor can a town disapprove of the wagering facility by resolution. Under that same law, an OTW operation is a permitted use in any commercial or industrial district and does not need to appear before the local planning board.
”This legislation will make a town the determining authority as it was prior to 2011,” Assemblyman Ciattarelli said. “It will empower a municipality to decide if it wants an off-track wagering facility. This bill will also repeal the abatement automatically granted to any commercial building housing an OTW operation as I am personally opposed to incentive programs that relieve property owners of paying, at the very least, school taxes.”
”Municipalities and its taxpayers should have more than a say about whether they want OTW,” Assemblywoman Simon said. “Removing this responsibility from a town lets an important quality of life decision be made by outside interests. Residents can hold their elected officials accountable for the way they run their town, but who is answerable under this structure? A town’s local officials know the issues surrounding proposals such as this, and they should have the final say.”
”We need to return to the fundamental fairness concept that a town should play an active role in its planning and zoning,” Assemblyman Ciattarelli said. “With that in mind, I ask Hillsborough citizens, once the date for the public hearing is set, to join me in attending and expressing our sentiments.”
Autism
Assembly Republican Conference Leader David Rible has lauded Gov. Christie for recognizing World Autism Awareness Month and for declaring April as Autism Awareness Month in New Jersey.
”An early diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder is essential to providing a child with the necessary services to ensure that he or she is able to reach his or her full potential,” said Assemblyman Rible, R-Monmouth and Ocean. “That’s why it’s so important to educate the general public about this developmental disorder that affects nearly 1 in 45 children in New Jersey.
”Gov. Christie has done a tremendous job in raising awareness about ASD. He and his administration are to be commended for their commitment in supporting and improving the lives of families throughout the Garden State who have been impacted by this disorder.”
Assemblyman Rible said he is pleased the governor has included in his 2015 proposed budget $135 million for the Department of Health’s Early Intervention System, which provides early identification and referral, service coordination, evaluation and assessment and developmental early intervention services for children from birth to 3 with developmental delays and disabilities.
Assemblyman Rible is the sponsor of legislation (A1365) Gov. Christie signed into law last year, which streamlines special education programs in the state’s public schools. He introduced the bill in response to a newspaper series in 2010 on New Jersey’s special education system.
The series questioned the cost and effectiveness of the state’s various special education programs. It revealed a lack of standards and little oversight of how the $3 billion spent on special education every year is utilized.
”I spent several years visiting schools and observing their special education programs,” Assemblyman Rible said. “At the same time, I spoke with hundreds of parents who felt the educational system wasn’t meeting the needs of their special needs child. This new law, in conjunction with this administration’s efforts to raise awareness about ASD and provide support to those impacted by it, should go a long way in making sure none of their children or others with developmental disorders fall through the cracks.”
