newjerseynewsroom.com

BY TOM HESTER SR.

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

In Gov. Chris Christie’s proposed $29.4 billion 2011-12 budget, every New Jersey city and town will receive the same amount of amount of state aid they received for the 2010-11 fiscal year, a total of $1.45 billion. 

The governor announced the action in his budget address Tuesday and the state Department of Community Affairs released the figures Wednesday. 

However, so-called transitional aid for especially financially struggling cities and towns has been reduced by $10 million to $149 million. In the 2010-11 budget year, 22 municipalities received a share of the aid.

Unless the Democratic-controlled Legislature and Republican Christie agree on providing more regular aid by June 30, the deadline for settling the budget, Newark, for example, will receive $91.2 million and Jersey City $63.8 million.

The administration states that providing the same amount of aid provides certainty for municipal officials’ budget planning and eases the transition to the new fiscal realities under the new state-mandated 2 percent property tax cap.

“This administration recognizes that municipal governments are once again facing tough choices, which is why municipal state aid is a core priority in this budget,” Christie said Wednesday. “Municipal officials must use this preserved aid and the new 2 percent cap on property tax levies to help drive down the tax burden on New Jersey families throughout the state. Furthermore, local governments should embrace the ‘New Normal’ and continue to reevaluate their budgeting practices and move toward zero-based budgeting to replace inefficient or ineffective spending commitments.”

League of Municipalities officials Tuesday said they are grateful the regular aid was not reduced.

Here are other examples of the state aid cities and towns will receive: Atlantic City $6.2 million, Bordentown $392,762, Camden $46.5 million, Bridgeton $4.4 million, Flemington $367,974, Trenton $44.1 million, Woodbridge $23.2 million, Morristown $2.8 million, Elizabeth $29.1 million, Newton $1 million, Blairstown $2.9 million, Paterson $32.9 million, Franklin (Somerset) $4.6 million and Lakewood $5.1 million.

DCA Commissioner Lori Grifa said the department will encourage a best practices initiative program as a means of encouraging local governments to reduce costs, operate more efficiently and with greater accountability for how they spend taxpayer dollars.

“Beginning in July at the start of the fiscal year, state aid withheld from towns that do not implement best practices will be returned as rewards to those towns that excel at adopting innovative, cost-effective ways of doing business,” Grifa said.

The transitional aid program requires that the special aid is temporary help for a few years and will be reduced as required reforms are put in place. Lori said the DCA will continue its efforts to reduce distressed municipalities’ dependence on discretionary state aid and work with them to restore the integrity of their finances after only a temporary period of emergency help.

The new municipal state aid figures are available on the DCA’s website.