VAN DREW/ALBANO/MILAM CALL RULING OF STATE POLICE RURAL PATROLS AN UNFUNDED MANDATE 'A VICTORY'

Council on Local Mandates' Decision Will Save Property Taxpayers Millions

(TRENTON) - First District Legislators Senator Jeff Van Drew and Assemblymen Nelson T. Albano and Matthew W. Milam (all D-Cumberland/Atlantic/Cape May) today hailed a decision of the State of New Jersey Council on Local Mandates declaring language in the fiscal year 2009 state budget to be an unfunded mandate 'a victory for property taxpayers.'

The language in question would have required the 89 municipalities that rely on rural State Police patrols to pay for the service, which carries a price tag of $12.6 million dollars.  The council, in a verbal statement, ruled that "line 8 on page 158 of the Annual Appropriations Act to line 17 on page 159, inclusive, constitutes an unfunded mandate and is null and void."

Van Drew, Albano and Milam, who led the fight against this unfunded mandate, released the following statements:

Van Drew:  "Most importantly, this is a victory for taxpayers.  The number one priority for state government should be to reduce the property tax burden for all our residents.

"I believe that this mandate was particularly cruel because it would significantly increase the property tax burden in rural towns.

"By increasing the property tax pain in rural towns the state does not decrease the property tax pain in non-rural towns."

Albano:  "This decision will not only continue to keep thousands of New Jerseyans safe, it will do so without raising their property taxes.

"At a time when we are facing a global economic crisis, the last thing our rural communities needed was additional strain on already tightly stretched local budgets.

"The council made the right decision today."

Milam:  "The council's decision today has protected the rights - and the wallets - of thousands of families that would otherwise have been forced to foot the bill for an unfunded mandate.

"The families in the 89 communities that would have been affected by this mandate can now rest easy, knowing that they will continue to receive the State Police services they have come to expect without having to dig deep into their pockets to provide for them."

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