In June, just two days before a possible government shutdown, Gov. Phil Murphy signed a $56.6 billion state budget whose spending exceeded expected revenue by $2.1 billion. Now, six months later, Murphy is calling for a pause in pay raises for some state workers, limits on hiring and spending cuts by every state department.
The problem is the structural state deficits that were known at the time the 2024-2025 budget was passed but that now seem more visible than they did six months ago. In February, the Sweeney Center at Rowan University produced a study by its multiyear budget workshop that spoke of a deep fiscal crisis over the next four budget years.
The study’s projection was that the total of revenues needed to continue current service levels and state aid from fiscal year 2025 to fiscal year 2028 could fall short “between $15 billion and $25 billion.”
Sen. Michael Testa issued a press release saying that Republicans have long warned about New Jersey’s looming fiscal problems. “Democrats in Trenton went on a seven-year-long spending binge, only now to act surprised that their tax-and-spend ideology led us right to the fiscal cliff we warned about,” Testa said.
While some Republicans supported the current state budget, all of the District 1 legislators, Testa, Antwan McClellan and Erik Simonsen, voted against it.
In the last year of Gov. Chris Christie’s administration the state budget was $34.7 billion, compared with this year’s $56.5 billion. The next budget, for 2025-2026, will be Murphy’s last, since term limits prevent him from seeking another term.
Contact the reporter, Vince Conti, at vconti@cmcherald.com.
