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BY TOM HESTER SR.
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
Faced with both a budget deficit now estimated at $9.5 billion and his upholding his campaign promise to cut property and income taxes, Gov.-elect Chris Christie is planning to attempt to cut state spending by as much as 25 percent in fiscal year 2010-11.
The state Office of Management and Budget has informed all cabinet members and agency heads that at the request of Christie, they are to submit budget requests equal to 15 percent, 20 percent and 25 percent below their 2009-10 budgets.
The memo also repeats Christie's pledge not to raise taxes or fees.
Stating that the request was coming from Christie and his transition team, OMB Director Charlene M. Holzbaur wrote, "Absent strong action, revenues and expenditures will likely remain out of balance for the foreseeable future. For fiscal year 2011, resources can be expected to decline and, left unchanged, current services spending is projected to grow.''The memo directs officials to look for programs that can be eliminated or funded with federal aid.
"Across the board reductions are not to be submitted,'' Holzbaur wrote. "Instead consideration should be given to elimination of ineffective programs or the consolidation of duplicative programs.''
The deadline for responses is Jan. 6, 13 days before Christie takes office. His first major project will be to present a proposed budget to the Democratic-controlled Legislature on March 16. The fiscal package must be approved by June 30.
Reacting to Christie's move, Assembly Budget Chairman Lou Greenwald (D-Camden) said Tuesday, "It was the Democratic Legislature that for the first time in state history cut the state budget two years in a row, so we endorse cost-cutting and look forward to seeing the governor-elect's plan, especially his promised proposals to cut property taxes and incomes taxes for all New Jersey residents."
Christie's budget-cutting demand comes as Gov. Jon Corzine Tuesday announced nearly $1 billion in cuts and changes to keep the current $29 billion budget balanced. As part of the action, Corzine freed $20 million in state aid to municipalities that he froze earlier this month.
Here is a good start:
Riverfront State Prison closed. Around 300 Custody personnel were transferred to the other 13 prisons. All of the other prisons were already staffed at 100% for custody staff. With all of these extra people you would think that overtime costs would be reduced. Wrong! Through incompetent administrative practices none of these transferred personnel were figured into a plan to reduce overtime. They were simply "added" in to the already filled areas. In addition you would think that if one of your 14 prisons closed you would see 1/14 of your costs be reduced. Wrong! Not a single dime has been saved with the closure of Riverfront State prison.
The Bloated Central Office Bureaucracy. The Department has 13 prisons. Each is staffed with the normal Human Resource,employee relations, classification,etc. departments. They all have Administrators, Asst. Administrators,Asst. Superintendents etc. But add to this a whole "city" of Bureaucrats located at what is called " Central Office" in Trenton. Hundreds and hundreds of people,some who are important to the smooth functioning of the department but most who if they disappeared would never have an effect on the actual jail operations,make the DOC a very expensive operation. The Department does not need all of the Deputy Commissioners, Asst. Commissioners,Directors,etc. to "run" 13 jails. A study of the 2009 Organizational Chart shows 42 different areas of supervision,and that DOES NOT INCLUDE the bureaucracy in place at the 13 jails.
Custody Bureaucracy and overtime . The Federal jail system has two layers of custody supervision. New Jersey has four. There are Chiefs,Captains,Lieutenants,and Sergeants. That should be changed eventually. What should be changed immediately to save millions of dollars in overtime is an archaic employee rule that is in effect no where else in the State. Supervisors in State government either do not get overtime or they get what is known as "comp time " . This compensation time is an hour for hour "pay" in lieu of cash. Work 8 hours overtime and get 8 hours credited for you to take off at another time .This comp time can never be "cashed in " for money. But in Corrections two supervisor groups ,the Lieutenants and Sergeants ,,get cash payments for overtime worked. They are the only supervisors in the State that get this benefit and it is costly. What is even worse is that Lieutenants are allowed to "break back" and work a Sergeants overtime shift! This is such a well kept perk that few if any have ever questioned it.