CASAGRANDE TO CORZINE: DON'T PUT THAT RED PEN AWAY JUST YET

CALLS FOR GOVERNOR TO IMPLEMENT GOP'S SPENDING CUTS

In response to Governor Jon Corzine’s proposed budget cuts that call for a reduction in aid to schools which will result in higher property taxes, Assemblywoman Caroline Casagrande today said the governor and his administration should stop playing politics with taxpayers and seriously consider the $1.32 billion in spending cuts Assembly Republicans have been proposing since last year.

“While Governor Corzine has his red pen out, which he should have used when he first stepped into office, it would do him well to put partisan politics aside and implement some of the very responsible and tangible spending cuts Assembly Republicans first proposed before the current budget was developed,” stated Casagrande, R-Monmouth and Mercer.

“Reactive politics is no way to govern,” she continued. “Our families, taxpayers and business owners deserve better. Despite the national recession, had the governor and his predecessors consistently practiced fiscal discipline for the past seven years, New Jersey would have been in a much better position to weather the current economic storm.”

Casagrande noted just a few of the many areas proposed by Assembly Republicans in which the state could make significant spending cuts:

• Special Municipal Aid - $107,305,000: Over the past six years, a handful of municipalities received state aid from a program whose funding increased from $38 million to more than $153 million.  At the same time aid for other municipalities has basically been held flat.  The Special Municipal Aid Program has been the subject of harsh criticism in a recent State Auditor’s Report. While there remains a need for funding to address true emergencies in distressed areas, the amount available six years ago remains the appropriate level for funding the program.

• Reasonable Increases for Certain Former Abbott Districts - $105,070,173: Certain former Abbott and Abbott-Rim school districts are slated to receive state aid increases that are far in excess of the inflation rate, and as high as 20%. There are 23 of these districts, including several such as Newark, that are receiving increases outside the new school funding formula, pursuant to budget language inserted by the governor, without explanation. The increases are being provided without an individual assessment of the district’s needs. Capping state aid growth to 2% for all Abbott and Abbott-Rim districts that have seen solid increases in recent years is only fair at a time when many other communities are facing aid cuts. Capping the increases will also allow time for additional funds to be spent in a rational manner.

• Eliminate Political Appointees - $68,481,000: Despite claims to the contrary by Governor Corzine, there remains substantial patronage and top heavy administration in State Government. Some of the people in these positions were hired by Governor Corzine himself.  For example, a former County Clerk was recently hired as the Deputy Executive Director of the Board of Cosmetology and Hairstyling. A former Executive Director of the Arizona Democrat Party was recently hired as a public relations expert at the Department of Environmental Protection.

Casagrande said that the proposed cuts, in addition to the Republican’s proposal to overhaul the budget process, reform the pension and benefits system and implement an economic development plan, would go a long way in putting the state back on track to fiscal health.

“These cuts don’t even touch the tip of the iceberg,” said Casagrande. “The point is there are far too many areas in which this state wastes hard-earned taxpayer money and it’s time to knock off the games and gimmicks and get down to doing the people’s business which is to provide safe, efficient, affordable and streamlined government.”

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