NJ budget problems - THE RIDGEWOOD BLOG.

Analysis: N.J. budget can’t shake familiar problems

JULY 5, 2014, 11:49 PM LAST UPDATED: SATURDAY, JULY 5, 2014, 11:50 PM
BY JOHN REITMEYER
STATE HO– USE BUREAU
THE RECORD

Governor Christie’s latest state budget delays property tax relief, offers more tax breaks to businesses and slashes the state’s pension fund payment. It also highlights the fact that New Jersey is still struggling to overcome long-standing fiscal problems nearly five years into his tenure.

The state’s economy has recovered only half of the jobs lost to the last recession and borrowing has increased each year Christie has been in office, to a record $40 billion.

Property tax bills now average nearly $8,000, but revenue shortfalls have forced Christie to delay relief until next year. Sources of funding for transportation upgrades and open-space preservation have run dry.

And after several years of not making full state payments into the public employee pension fund, Christie is now using the poor health of the pension system to compare New Jersey to bankrupt Detroit.

All three major Wall Street ratings agencies have taken notice of New Jersey’s financial predicament with each one lowering the state’s credit rating and warning that additional downgrades may occur. A poor bond rating can compound the state’s fiscal problems by making it more costly to borrow for things such as new schools and bridges that cannot be funded in one budget year.

The state’s $32.5 billion budget, which Christie signed last week, could be thrown further into disarray if public employee unions are able to persuade a judge to block Christie from providing only a fraction of the state payment that actuaries say the pension system needs.

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/analysis-n-j-budget-can-t-shake-familiar-problems-1.1046801#sthash.ziRefILg.dpuf

Christie puts off property-tax rebates to ease budget problems

MAY 21, 2014, 11:39 PM LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, MAY 21, 2014, 11:47 PM
BY JOHN REITMEYER AND MICHAEL LINHORST
STATE HO– USE BUREAU
THE RECORD

Senior citizens, disabled residents and other homeowners who are among the more than a million people enrolled in New Jersey’s Homestead program will not get their property tax relief this year.

That relief — in the form of a credit on annual property tax bills — is again being delayed by Governor Christie and his administration, who blame another bad budget year.

The latest delay means people won’t see this benefit until May 2015 — nearly two years since the last time the tax-relief credit was available.

“When you’re running out of money, you’ve got to manage your cash carefully,” Christie said on Wednesday, defending the decision to delay the credit as part of a plan to reduce his proposed budget by $1.7 billion. “You’ve got to prioritize your bills and decide which ones you absolutely must pay.”

Christie has now postponed the Homestead program three times since taking office in early 2010. Property taxes in New Jersey are still rising, but not by as much as they had when Christie took office and before he pushed for a 2 percent cap on increases. But they are still growing, to a record high statewide average of $7,988 last year.

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/christie-puts-off-property-tax-rebates-to-ease-budget-problems-1.1020679#sthash.NJ3hvI3O.dpuf