Joe Roberts

By STEVE ADUBATO

Here we are at the 11th hour. Actually, its a lot closer to the 12th hour. I filed this column mid-afternoon on June 30th. We're supposed to have a budget in place right now--the state constitution says so. If fact, the state is not supposed to spend money after July 1st if there is no budget. But far be it to let a little thing like a constitution get in the way of all the absurd, childish political games being played in the state house. Here's how I see it: Jon Corzine was elected as the state's Chief Executive to return some fiscal sanity to the state government. He wasn't elected because he's a great politician or an extraordinary orator. He's no back-slapper or glad-hander like Jim McGreevey. And frankly he doesn't know the ins and outs of the statehouse the way Former Governor and current Senate President Dick Codey did.

However, here's what I've seen from Jon Corzine so far; he's honest, smart, and he is really trying to do the right thing with the state budget. He's trying to tell the rest of us what he perceives to be the truth about how much money is coming in and how much is going out. He's trying to match expenditures to revenues and be a responsible Chief Executive, even if you disagree with his call to raise the sales tax from 6 to 7 cents on a dollar.

For this, he has been abandoned by a group of Assembly Democrats whose only concern seems to be not doing anything that might jeopardize their legislative control of the lower house. This group of Assembly Democrats are convinced that if they support Corzine on the sales tax hike (which would bring in approximately $1.2 billion of much needed revenue) they will risk voter wrath in the next election. First, I'm not buying it. Second, last time I checked, legislators are sent to Trenton to do the state's business in a responsible and prudent fashion, even if it requires that they explain what they've done to constituents, none of whom want their taxes raised. Because of this obsessive fear of a voter backlash, Assembly Democrats, lead by speaker Joe Roberts, have thrown the state government into totally unnecessary chaos.

Joe Roberts is normally a thoughtful and responsible legislator. But I couldn't disagree more with him and the Assembly Democrats who have followed his lead by drawing a line in the sand and telling Governor Corzine they will never support a budget that includes a sales tax hike. To his credit, Governor Corzine has held firm to his convictions. He believes, rightly so, that even if a sales tax hike is unpopular, it is the only way to responsibly balance this budget. He proposed this budget over 100 days ago. He told legislators that if they disagreed, they should come up with alternatives to bring in much needed revenue. Assembly Democrats did nothing until just a few days ago when they put forth a flimsy budget proposal that relies on one-shot revenues and gimmicks.

These are the kinds of fiscal actions that have caused such insanity in Trenton for too long. Corzine said "enough is enough. " No more gimmicks. No more one-shots. He said revenues must match expenditures. What a radical idea in a state house filled with politicians who have gotten away with murder for too long by borrowing against the future, playing dangerous games to artificially balance the budget. In my book, Jon Corzine is far from perfect. But he is the most responsible and decent elected governor New Jersey has had in a long time.

I don't know if the government is going to shut down in the next few days. Obviously I hope it doesn't. But it would be a crime if such a shut down was blamed on Corzine for taking a principal and responsible position, which Assembly Democrats refuse to support. No matter how this turns out, all of us should feel proud that Corzine is the state Chief Executive, even if the last few weeks have been uncomfortable, uneasy, and sometimes chaotic. In many ways, Jon Corzine has acted like a statesman, which is unheard of in the State's house. Maybe that's what is making members of his own party so uncomfortable.

DEMOCRATS NEED TO STOP POSTURING AND GET CUTTING
GOP Says Those Opposing Tax Increases Should Hold Their Ground, Call on Codey and Corzine to Join effort to Balance Budget with Cuts

DeCROCE CALLS SUMMER SESSION A START

A long overdue agreement between the top Democrats who control the Legislature to begin an examination of ways to provide property tax reform this summer is an encouraging sign, but Assembly Republican Leader Alex DeCroce says the Legislature should act to help people now.

"With each passing day, New Jersey is becoming more unaffordable for many middle class families," said DeCroce, R-Morris and Passaic. "Thousands have already given up on New Jersey and moved elsewhere. Thousands more can't hold out until 2008 or 2009 for real reform that is constitutionally guaranteed. They need our help today.

"I told Speaker Joe Roberts that I support the plan he and Senate President Dick Codey outlined today, given the alternative, which is continued inaction. I commend both leaders for finally agreeing on a course of action. But we shouldn't give up so easily on trying to deliver meaningful relief now."

by David P. Rebovich

It isn't the property tax relief or reform that New Jerseyans want. Nor is it any guarantee that waste, fraud and abuse will be eradicated from every nook and cranny of government. But the CORE Reform Plan presented last week by Joe Roberts, the Speaker of the General Assembly, and other key legislators is good public policy and smart politics, both of which the Democrats in Trenton can use these days. The Plan may also be a prelude to bigger changes in government operations, spending and taxes. However, as Roberts pointed out at a well attended press conference, achieving administrative efficiency, effective policies, and lower property taxes will require citizens and public officials to look at politics and government structures differently, and getting both to do so may not be so easy.

CORE is an acronym for the following: Clearing hurdles to shared services; Overriding waste in schools; Reining in pension abuses; and, Empowering citizens. New Jerseyans do look to state government for help in keeping property taxes down through more aid to municipalities and school districts or with bigger rebate checks. In these difficult budget times, neither will be forthcoming. But according to Roberts, state government can help citizens and their local governments and school districts help themselves and that's what CORE purports to do..

The reforms proposed in the CORE plan gives "...residents and local officials new tools and strategies to cut waste, create efficiencies and drive down local costs." Such cost cutting is, of course, a good in itself and can provide some immediate relief, however modest, to property taxpayers. Seeking efficient practices and effective policies is also a necessity as the state considers long term property tax relief. Roberts said, "These measures will help ensure that when we identify new means of property tax relief - as we must - the money won't vanish into the current backwards and bloated structure."

By "backwards and bloated structure," Roberts means the 566 municipalities and 616 school districts in this small state. The Speaker admitted that New Jerseyans' fixation on the idea of home rule, and the deference of state officials to this fixation, has been a barrier to regionalizing municipal and educational services and to consolidating communities. However, Roberts noted that "home rule" is an illusion, albeit a powerful one. As the late Alan J. Karcher, himself one of New Jersey's most able Speakers, wrote in the landmark book, NEW JERSEY'S MULTIPLE MUNICIPAL MADNESS, "municipalities are mere creatures of the state, and nothing more...All actions of every and any type taken by a municipal governing body are exercised in a derivative manner, and are restricted to those matters specifically delegated to them by the legislature."

The implications of this are clear. State government officials can force the consolidation of substate jurisdictions - municipalities, school districts and counties. Forced consolidation is not Roberts' goal or the purpose of the CORE Reform Plan. But citizens who complain about high local property taxes that pay for their municipal government, school district and county government need to ask themselves two questions. Can their tax burdens can be decreased by changes in administrative practices and government structures? And, is it ethical for citizens to ask the state to provide more aid to support expensive administrative practices and government structures when less costly alternatives can be pursued?

The CORE Reform Plan aims at making it easier for communities and citizens to transform the very expensive status quo by streamlining the current 337 separate "...confusing, contradictory and counterproductive" laws governing regionalization and shared services into a uniform statute. Barriers to seeking shared service arrangements will be removed. The Department of Community Affairs will also develop efficiency benchmarks for various services provided by local government. Municipalities that do not meet these benchmarks will not be eligible to receive any funds through the Legislative Initiative Block Grant program.

In addition, small communities will be encouraged to consider the "township" model of government that enables them to preserve local identity while consolidating governance and service delivery under a large, more efficient municipality. Roberts cited Woodbridge Township and Gloucester Township as two examples of places where citizens enjoy the best of both. And, Assemblyman Upendra Chivukula explained how several communities in Somerset County are already sharing services and practicing regionalization.

To combat inefficiency in schools, another cause of high property taxes, the CORE Reform Plan proposes the creation of "super" county school superintendents and granting them the "broad authority to eliminate waste and overhead." Such officials could encourage shared services, provide administrative support for school transportation, purchasing and accounting by local school districts and promote joint purchasing in the county. Three especially important powers that Roberts' wants these "super" superintendents to have are approving or disapproving compensation packages for local school superintendents; eliminating non-operating school districts and authorizing referenda to create K-12 districts; and reviewing local school budgets, vetoing excessive administrative expenses, and calling for audits on administrative spending.

In addition, the CORE plan calls for the formation of a bipartisan "School Aid Reform and Accountability Task Force." This group, headed by Majority Leader Bonnie Watson Coleman, has four huge responsibilities. By September its 13 members - 7 legislators and 6 public members - will recommend a new school funding formula; determine the costs to provide a thorough and efficient system of education "...in light of the taxpayers' burden of providing education"; identify best practices for achieving student learning; and, recommend an equitable, adequate school funding formula based on a community's ability to pay in order to keep property taxes down.

The CORE plan also addresses pensions abuses and aims at empowering citizens through some election reforms. Responding to well-publicized reports of elected and appointed officials receiving big pensions, Roberts wants the Assembly to hold hearings on the matter. Assemblywoman Nellie Pou noted that the legislature needs to take steps to guarantee the solvency of public employee pension plans for the merit system personnel for which they were designed. She also wants to end pension padding in its various forms and to cap sick leave time. These are the kind of common sense reforms that people expect, especially when they are being asked to pay more taxes.

Citizens concerned about the cost and quality of public services can be further empowered by a variety of other measures. Roberts recommends that municipal and school budgets, including salary and benefits information on local officials and administrators, be made available to citizens in an easy to understand format. He also suggests moving school board and fire district elections to November to increase voter turnout. Residents would not vote on school budgets that were under the state cap. Those over it would be subject to a binding vote by local residents. And "super" county school superintendents would also review local school districts budgets and could cut excessive costs without appeal.

Fire districts budgets would also be subject to a new cap and strict oversight by the Department of Community Affairs. And, Roberts wants local residents to be able to vote in a binding referendum on proposals related to shared services with neighboring communities. This power would enable citizens to circumvent obstruction to change by local officials who may have a vested interest in the current, and expensive, local government structures and ways of delivering services.

The CORE Reform Plan has been generally well-received as representing a step in the right direction to help save taxpayer dollars during these difficult times. When pressed as to whether his plan was a substitute for the property tax reform that Democrats promised during the campaign last year they would deliver, Roberts insisted it wasn't. In fact, he and his Democratic colleagues in the Assembly have long supported a so-called citizens' convention on property tax reform. Governor Corzine also supports such a convention. And now Senate President Richard Codey is interested in having a special legislative session soon after the new budget is signed to discuss how to proceed on property tax reform.

But with uncertainty about when and how the state will proceed on the property tax issue, it makes sense for Roberts to push forward with his own reform efforts. In fact, his reform efforts will require public officials and citizens alike to consider issues that should be part of any discussion of tax reform. These include how efficiently and effectively government spends taxpayer dollars and how much those taxpayers can reasonably be expected to pay for government goods and services.

And for government personnel! The CORE Reform Plan focuses on saving money through consolidation, regionalization, administrative efficiencies, weeding out abuse, and establishing standards for services. Although Roberts and his colleagues did not mention this, these reforms will likely lead to cuts in jobs and not just administrative or patronage ones in municipal governments and school systems. Similarly, looking honestly at government spending requires not just reconsidering the compensation packages, including pensions, of administrative personnel but of merit system employees and unionized teachers who, after all, constitute most of the municipal and school district workforce. A fair question for the reform-minded is if it equitable for average New Jerseyans to pay for family health benefits for government and school district employees when most taxpayers don't get the same benefits from their private sector employers.

The issues that the School Aid Reform and Accountability Task Force" will address are particularly interesting and controversial. The task force will apparently take head on the question of what constitutes a "thorough and efficient system of education" and not simply accept the Court's decision that it is what the state's wealthiest 100 districts spend on their students. The inequity that has resulted from this decision is that most middle-income, non-Abbott school districts spend thousands of dollars less per pupil than the wealthy districts or the distressed ones. How can this be fair or constitutional? In addition, there are several questions being raised about spending practices and poor educational outcomes in those heavily funded distressed districts.

Whether Speaker Roberts really intends the CORE Reform Plan to generate all these contentious questions is not clear. But as the Governor and legislators in both parties consider how to deal with property tax reform, it certainly seems to be a good thing that local government and school officials, public employees, and citizens prepare themselves for the various issues that need to be discussed. In the meantime, in a year when the Democratic-controlled state government will ask citizens to accept state aid freezes, program cuts, and tax hikes - none of which are pleasant -, Roberts' CORE Reform Plan enables him and his fellow assemblyman to tell constituents that they are providing some help. But that help will require citizens and local officials to change the way they think about politics and service delivery in their communities.

David P. Rebovich, Ph.D., is Managing Director of the Rider University Institute for New Jersey Politics (www.rider.edu/institute). He also writes a weekly column, "On Politics," for NEW JERSEY LAWYER and monthly reports on New Jersey for CAMPAIGNS AND ELECTIONS Magazine and is a member of CQPolitics.com's Board of Advisors that offers weekly commentary on national political developments.

A key fundraiser for possible presidential candidate/ex-Virginia Governor Mark Warner was in New Jersey -- now an early primary state -- last week to raise money for Forward Together, Warner's PAC. Among the attendees at the event -- organized by Kerry '04 New Jersey Co-Chairman John Graham, lobbyist Michael Kempner and Democratic National Committeeman Alfred DeCotiis and featuring former Virginia Lt. Governor Donald Beyer), were Mercer County Executive Brian Hughes, former Congressman Herbert Klein, and Kerry '05 fundraiser Zenon Christodolou. Warner will be in New Jersey on June 20 to raise money for Speaker Joe Roberts and the Assembly Democrats, and for his own PAC at Kempner's firm, MWW.

by David P. Rebovich

New Jersey's new Governor, Jon Corzine, may still be talking diplomatically about his transition team's controversial recommendations to raise taxes and make big spending cuts. But the new Speaker of the General Assembly, Joe Roberts, put political niceties to the side and spoke bluntly about how he wants his chamber to begin dealing with the state's budget problems. The veteran South Jersey legislator, who most political observers would call a progressive, perhaps even liberal Democrat, revealed his strong pragmatic streak last week. The Speaker directed the Assembly to begin conducting budget hearings now to identify cuts in state spending in order to close the $5 billion to $6 billion shortfall projected in next year's budget.

This is a bold move, especially since Governor Corzine has not given many hints about what he may want to do to balance the budget. But Roberts and his Assembly colleagues have a history of taking the initiative on budget balancing. Last year when Richard Codey was Acting Governor and Senate President, Roberts, then-speaker Albio Sires, Assembly Budget Committee Chair Louis Greenwald and GOP chief Joe Malone developed their own list of spending cuts totaling some $500 million. Codey accepted about half of those cuts and claimed that the rest involved spending that the state was required to make.

One year later Roberts has rallied key assemblymen on both sides of the aisle to look for waste, inefficiency and low priority programs. The Speaker sent letters to every Assemblyman stating his intention to hold early hearings on the budget and to prevent the chamber from voting on any bills that require more spending. He also announced that he is willing to look carefully at the GOP's plan to cut $1 billion that the caucus put together last year. In seeking ways to save money Roberts wants assistance from the Office of Legislative Services, the state auditor, and even government employees. The Speaker is encouraging the latter to submit their ideas about budget cuts - anonymously, if they wish - to a new web site.

The reactions to Roberts' plan have been positive. Assemblyman Malone said he was "ecstatic" because the Speaker's ideas represented a responsible approach to budgeting and "a quantum leap in bipartisanship." Codey, back as Senate President, supports the effort to seek more cuts. And Governor Corzine was pleased that more people were looking into ways to save taxpayer dollars.

Those are polite words from Corzine. But let's face it. The Governor prepares a budget proposal and presents it to the legislature for consideration, and the process continues from there. True, this practice may make proud legislators feel like passive participants in the most important decision-making process in state government. However, it does give them political cover, since the Governor is the one who has to recommend unpopular spending cuts or freezes and tax and fee hikes. In most cases legislators, especially Democratic ones, try to add spending onto the Governor's budget to help their own constituents. Even if the Governor uses his line-item veto to cut so-called Christmas tree items from the budget, legislators can still look like the "good guys" in state government for at least trying to help the folks back home.

So why the change in strategy this year? In 2005, an election year, Democrats and Republicans in the Assembly sought and recommended big spending cuts to free up funds to be able to restore property tax rebates checks to their 2004 levels. They got half of what they wanted. This year legislators have a different motive. They want to get ahead of any tax hikes that seem inevitable given the state's fiscal condition. Like the Governor, Roberts recognizes that it is smart, even necessary politics to cut waste and inefficiency before asking New Jerseyans to pay higher taxes.

Roberts and his Assembly colleagues also seem genuinely committed to getting rid of low priority spending and programs in the budget and to start thinking about controlling mandated expenditures. Greenwald proclaimed that his Budget Committee is "...not going to hold back on anything." That includes the public employee pension system. He and Malone plan to ask Cabinet members who Corzine retained from the McGreevey-Codey era to attend hearings first and soon! For his part, Malone wants to see arts programs pared and the current distressed school districts examined to determine if some should no longer receive extraordinary amounts of state aid.

If those sound like fighting words, well they are. Roberts and his supporters apparently want to send a message to at least three audiences. One is the general public which, polls show, want state officials to balance the budget by making cuts in spending before considering any tax hikes. Another, of course, is the new Governor and his Administration. Roberts want Corzine to know that the legislature will be equal partners, not mere followers, in policy making. Indeed, by jump starting budget hearings before the Governor has completed his budget proposal, the more experience Speaker and his fellow veteran assemblymen will be digging up some of the proverbial bodies in state government that they and past governors have buried.

Then there various interest groups, some that often support Democrats, who need to get with the program, too. Although the state faces a $6 billion shortfall, many groups - like educators, contractors, construction and trade union works - will be lobbying the legislature to maintain or even increase funding for aid and preferred programs. But it there ever was a time to say "no," not out of spite but to educate people about the new fiscal and political reality, this is it. It is also a time for Democrats in the legislature to recognize that if there will be a constitutional convention on property tax reform, that convention should address the question of spending on education and county and municipal services. If not, maybe the Governor will get the jump on that important issue.

In any event, Corzine let it be known that he does understand how mandated expenditures dominate the budget and drive up state spending. He told NJN's Jim Hooker that he is pleased that the Assembly will look for spending cuts because legislators will discover that next year's budget cannot be balanced by cuts alone. Thus, some tax and fees hikes will likely be needed. But does Corzine mean that mandated spending, be it for state aid, compensation or programs, be left alone while other programs are cut and taxes are increased? Selling any tax hikes to residents will be easier if the Governor and the legislature convince people that mandated expenditures will also be subject to scrutiny, evaluation and cuts. After all, there's nothing to say that mandated spending cannot be wasteful, inefficient, or low priority. Ask any New Jerseyan. You don't have to be a former CEO or a current legislator to know that.

David P. Rebovich, Ph.D., is Managing Director of the Rider University Institute for New Jersey Politics (wwww.rider.edu). He also writes a regular column, "On Politics," for NEW JERSEY LAWYER and monthly reports on New Jersey for CAMPAIGNS AND ELECTIONS Magazine.

DeCROCE CALLS FOR BIPARTISAN COOPERATION ON PROPERTY TAXES, ETHICS REFORM, BUDGET

Says Public Confidence in Legislature's Ability to Work Together and Solve Problems Has Been Badly Shaken

Assembly Republican Leader Alex DeCroce said today Republicans want to forge a new working relationship with their Democratic colleagues based on bipartisan cooperation and mutual respect to deal with pressing problems such as high property taxes, ethics reform and fiscal discipline.

"Assembly Speaker Joe Roberts and I believe bipartisan respect and cooperation is not only possible, but that it is absolutely necessary, to repair the damage that has been done to the very fabric of government," DeCroce said at the organization of the 212th Assembly session that was held in the War Memorial in Trenton.

For release: November 9, 2005

(TRENTON) -- Assemblyman Wilfredo Caraballo (D-Essex) today issued the following statement regarding tomorrow's Assembly Majority Caucus reorganization meeting:

PANTER AND MORGAN: "SHOW ME THE MONEY!!!"

"Fresh faced reformers" revealed as typical politicians, as desperate campaign makes devil's bargain in return for South Jersey cash

Putting to bed once and for all their claims of "independence", Assemblymen Mike Panter and Bob Morgan revealed in their latest ELEC reports that they had taken almost $900,000 from Democrat party bosses, including over $650,000 from George Norcross lackey Assemblyman Joseph Roberts, D-Camden. Overall, Panter and Morgan raised almost $1.2 million and by Election Day will surely surpass the record amount spent on an Assembly race.

AS ELECTION DAY NEARS, REILLY AND DOHERTY KEEP GETTING CASH FROM JOE ROBERTS
AND THE DEMOCRAT PARTY BOSSES

CAMPAIGN WARCHEST PAID FOR BY NORCROSS MACHINE PROVES DOHERTY AND REILLY ARE
NO ‘REFORMERS’