newjerseynewsroom.com

BY CELESTE CARPIANO

COMMENTARY

County officials can empathize with lawmakers as they consider the governor's recent budget proposal, which calls for layoffs and massive cuts in virtually every state program. Every one of them has had to make difficult decisions this year to balance their own budgets.

Nevertheless, the inescapable truth is that New Jersey's government has become unaffordable to the people whom it exists to serve. Another round of tax hikes would only accelerate that trend and deepen the economic recession in which we are still mired.

As the governor has pointed out, this crisis is the result of bipartisan mismanagement. For two decades, Republicans and Democrats in Trenton have lavished upon myriad constituencies generous salaries, benefits and expensive programs, oftentimes with no long-term funding.

If enacted, the governor's budget will be painful for everyone, including county governments. Counties are bracing for cuts in funding for county colleges, vocational schools, social programs and other important services.

County officials are encouraged, however, by specific proposals aimed at giving counties, towns and school districts the tools they need to reduce costs.

The governor's call for collective arbitration reform is especially necessary. In far too many cases, public employees are awarded pay raises without considering the fiscal implications, current economic conditions or geographic differences in the cost of living.

The New Jersey Association of Counties has proposed initiatives that it hopes the governor will consider.

One proposal would extend the cap on county budgets to include prosecutors' budgets, which are currently exempt.

Most local residents don't realize that county prosecutors are appointed by the governor but their funding is provided by counties. So, while county governments must operate under a 4 percent cap, prosecutors are free to increase their budgets as much as they deem necessary.

The governor has proposed an even lower cap for county and local budgets. The association would urge that such a cap be extended to prosecutors' budgets as well.

The New Jersey Association of Counties would also encourage the governor and the Legislature to create a regulatory environment that encourages shared services and provide more incentives for counties, towns and school districts to pool their resources for real property tax relief.

Many counties have taken over functions from their municipalities, such as emergency dispatch, animal control, health services, vehicle maintenance and more, saving millions of dollars at the local level.

While the state provides some incentives for counties and towns to share services, the association believes consolidation at the local level has to be the centerpiece of any long-term government reform. New Jersey's property taxes are the highest in the country, and with cuts in state aid they are guaranteed to go higher without new thinking on how best to deliver local government services.

Finally, the association has proposed a measure to reform the Council on Local Mandates, created in 1995 as an arbiter between the state and its political subdivisions. Its purpose was to give counties, towns and school districts an opportunity to challenge the unfunded state mandates that drive property taxes upward.

Unfortunately, since it was created more than 15 years ago, the council has rendered only 11 decisions, or less than one per year. Most of them have been in the state's favor.

The NJAC initiative would restructure the council to included representatives of counties, municipalities and school boards so people who know best the costly impact of state mandates are part of the deliberations. More importantly, the measure would create for local entities a legal process for appealing decisions and forcing the state to comply when the council finds an unfunded mandate.

County officials on both sides of the political aisle agree that while the governor's proposals are harsh, they are also necessary. They believe that he should remain on the path to reform and they stand ready to help in any way that they can.

Celeste Carpiano is the executive director of the New Jersey Association of Counties.