the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Trenton NJ,The Assembly Republican caucus sent a letter (click here for PDF) to state Treasurer Elizabeth Maher Muoio Wednesday requesting a detailed itemization of the new costs incurred fighting the coronavirus pandemic and how much is expected to be reimbursed by Federal Emergency Management Agency.The Murphy administration has not provided detailed information on contracts or expenses related to the pandemic, but senior budget officials estimated the state has spent close to $200 million on coronavirus expenses.
The full text of the letter is below:
Dear Treasurer:
The tremendous loss of revenue due to the economic shutdown has devastated personal income and state revenue long-term. The additional expenses the state has made to fight Covid-19 only increases the budgetary problems New Jersey faces. Understanding the effect of those costs on state finances is imperative for legislators to make informed decisions in this extended fiscal year and next fiscal year.
In the budget hearing last week, your staff stated that expenses related to Covid-19 are over $300 million, with approximately $200 million for the Office of Emergency Management. It is our understanding that most, if not all, of this spending could be reimbursed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
We respectfully request a detailed itemization of spending related to Covid-19 thus far, how much the state is expected to spend on Covid-19 related costs, and how much is expected to be reimbursed by FEMA.
Transparency and coordination is paramount to good governance, particularly in extraordinary times when executive power is increased.
With states losing massive amounts of tax revenue while still having to support their residents during the coronavirus pandemic, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on the States That Need the Most Financial Help Due to COVID-19 . WalletHub Study says New Jersey is the State that needs the 7th most financial help due to COVID-19 .
The WalletHub Study seems to high light the long term systemic financial irresponsibile path the state has been on for the last 50 years.
To identify which states may need the most financial help due to the coronavirus crisis, WalletHub compared the 50 states across 18 key metrics. Our data set ranges from the state’s rainy-day funds and debt per capita to the share of the workforce in highly-affected industries.
Financial Need in New Jersey (1=Most, 25=Avg.):
4th – State Rainy-Day Funds per Capita
13th – Unfunded Pension Liabilities as Share of GSP
12th – State and Local Debt per Capita
26th – GDP Generated by Highly Affected Industries as Share of Total State GDP
17th – State Preparedness for Severe Recession
For the full report, please visit:
https://wallethub.com/edu/states-that-need-most-financial-help-due-to-covid-19/74485/
