Ruling puts $160M in affordable housing funds out of Christie’s reach for budget balancing
Friday, June 7, 2013 Last updated: Friday June 7, 2013, 11:29 PM
BY ANTHONY CAMPISI
STATE HO– USE BUREAU
The Record
Governor Christie will not be able to use up to $160 million in affordable-housing funds to balance the state’s budget after an appeals panel on Friday ordered new protections on the money. The new rules, if they stand, mean the administration most likely won’t see any of the money before June 30, the end of the fiscal year.
Though small in the context of the state’s $31.7 billion budget, the funds have become increasingly important because tax revenues earlier this year were lower than expected, giving the Christie administration a narrow margin to balance the budget. The New Jersey Constitution requires that the state end the fiscal year in the black.
Opponents of Christie’s plan to seize the funds, which are used by towns to finance projects for low-income and disabled New Jerseyans, say it could put construction of thousands of housing units at risk even as residents struggle to rebuild homes destroyed by Superstorm Sandy.
https://www.northjersey.com/news/Christie_denied_use_of_160M_in_affordable_housing_funds.html
