Lt. Governor Tells Chamber: Trenton Phones Getting Answered

CAPE MAY — In her folksy, down home way, Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno addressed the Cape May County Chamber of Commerce at the 66th annual meeting and installation dinner Thur., Oct. 7 at the Grand Hotel here. She was most at home with the assembled crowd of county dignitaries and she perceived that the feeling was mutual. She quipped, “I don’t mind coming in this room at all; teachers, ummm, another story.”
She established the theme of her speech by stating that the state government in Trenton is going to start answering the telephones, and is doing all in their power to restore New Jersey as a business-friendly state moving forward. To make her point she referred to a call she received about the state’s dirty bathrooms serving visitors entering Cape May County. She viewed that as important because it is the first impression tourists will have of this county and rectified the matter immediately.
She expressed that she is full-well aware that New Jersey has developed a “business-unfriendly” name which fails to attract businesses and drives out existing ones. In order to correct that, she readily gave out her cell phone number, and where necessary she intervenes with state agencies in order to make needed changes. They are marketing New Jersey worldwide, and getting the word out that things have changed in this state.
On Cape May County specific issues she said, “They (the state) cannot cut the third largest industry in the State of New Jersey, and that is tourism, and we have not and I commit to you we will not (do so).”
She said they have a new tourism director and have already started working on the spring – summer tourism program, “(S)he (the new director) understands that her sole goal in life is to take the $9 million we have and leverage it into the $38 billion business it is.” She added, “(W)e increased marginally the level of funding under the hotel-motel tax for council on the arts, history, culture and tourist.”
Hotel and motel owners feel they are at a competitive disadvantage with home and condo owners who rent out their places but don’t pay room taxes. To this issue she said, “We are working on some resolution to the hotel-motel tax.” She stated that she realizes that it is controversial, but invites people to come and talk to her or to senator or assemblyman who were present in the room about it because they don’t know the right answer to the issue. She added, “…so get your accountants, your CPAs, your business people, to sit down with us, so we can figure out, Is there a hole in the hotel-motel tax, and if there is, how do we fix it?”
She said they are also analyzing the rest of the $9 million they have in the tourism pot so they can have a unified marketing campaign to spend in the best possible way to make sure your hotels, motels and restaurants and beaches are full next summer.
Near the end, she stressed the need for the Tool Kit in order to make the 2 percent property tax work. She said the Tool Kit is stuck in the Assembly, and asked the everyone call their Assembly person to work on it and get it passed in some form.
She ended her speech saying, “Businesses need to have some confidence in their leaders, need to have predictability, need to have some finality. If I give you my cell phone number, at least you will have a response. If you have any question about a business that wants to come to New Jersey and is not for some reason, any question about regulatory issues that affect your life that you cannot get resolved any question about a business that cannot stay in New Jersey (call my cell).”