First District Legislators Won’t Vote for Corzine’s Budget

COURT HOUSE — On March 24, First District legislators Sen. Jeff Van Drew and Assemblymen Nelson Albano and Matt Milam (all D) articulated their concerns with the current 09-10 State of New Jersey Budget to Governor Jon S. Corzine.
According to a release, their concerns included beach replenishment funding, tourism funding, arts and history funding, as well as the energy receipts tax funding. These all represent past statutory commitments that state government made to it’s residents. These were legal, statutory commitments that are now being broken.
The three legislators clearly indicated that they will not vote for this current budget proposal and offered alternative ideas.
This is a copy of the letter the legislators wrote to the Governor:
March 24, 2009
Honorable Jon S. Corzine
Office of the Governor
P.O. Box 001
Trenton, NJ 08625
Dear Governor Corzine,
We wanted to formally express to you, openly and respectfully, our serious concerns with your proposed budget for fiscal year 2010.
While we are sympathetic to the need to think outside of the box to address the myriad of tough issues currently facing the State of New Jersey, we strongly object to a number of your proposals.
We first take issue with the reduction in beach replenishment funding. Many members of the legislature believe that the Realty Transfer Fee (RTF) is a significant burden on New Jersey residents, particularly in this severe housing crisis. To make the RTF more palatable, a bi-partisan commitment was made to the citizens of New Jersey that their government would fund the preservation of their most precious natural resource: their beaches.
New Jersey’s beaches are world renowned, a source of immense pride for the entire state. Our beaches attract visitors from New York, Pennsylvania, and Delaware, as well as those from as far as Ohio, Oregon and California. The Jersey Shore is the best in the nation.
New Jersey’s beaches are more than visual gems. They play a vital role in the state’s economy as the main driver behind its tourism industry, the third largest industry in the state. They protect our shores against hurricanes, nor’easters, torrid storm fronts, and rising tides. They play an important role in the preservation of the environment, providing habitats for diamondback turtles, nesting birds, horseshoe crabs, and more.
Unfortunately, they are eroding, as is our commitment to their preservation. During budget negotiations in 2008, an agreement was made to use beach replenishment funding to help save numerous public parks around the state. As part of that agreement was a commitment to never raid the beach replenishment fund again. We should not, and cannot, break that commitment. The poison pill ensuring that beach replenishment funding will never drop below a level that is necessary to keep preserve them was enacted legislatively. We have made a commitment, and we intend to honor it.
When the legislature instituted the Hotel Motel Occupancy Tax in 2004, a bi-partisan group of legislators worked to include a similar poison pill, ensuring that if state tourism funding ever dropped below $9 million, the state would no longer be able to collect the taxes similar approaches were taken for the arts, history, and culture. Again, the state made a commitment to the citizens of New Jersey: the third largest industry in New Jersey would be supported by its government. For every $1 that is spent by the state on tourism , arts ,and history countless more money comes back in the form of beach tags, fishing trips, nights out at the restaurant, overnight stays, and tax revenue in the countless hotels, motels and bed-n-breakfasts. It is counterproductive to reduce funding for programs that generate revenue for the state. The legislature made a pledge to the citizens of New Jersey that if the state was going to impose a tax that put it at a competitive disadvantage with surrounding states then it would compensate by bolstering tourism in other ways. We should, and we must, honor that pledge.
Likewise, a reduction in the Energy Receipts Tax breaks the commitment made to the towns in our state that agreed to house certain facilities. Municipalities that have a power plant, major power lines, or a substation within its borders, provide some tax benefit to its residents, and that is a scenario that works in the best interests of everyone. By breaking that agreement, we in the state government have effectively broken our bond with the very people that have sent us to Trenton to do their work. We cannot break that bond; that trust.
The bedrock of our democratic process is the bond between the citizens and their elected officials. Too often this bond is broken by corruption, broken promises, and an overwhelming desire to tell people what they want to hear. The most important tenant of our political philosophy is to never make a promise we cannot keep. When we make a commitment to our constituents, we absolutely must follow through on that. That is the recurring theme throughout all of these issues. They represent commitments made by government. As such, Governor, we must firmly, but respectfully, oppose this budget.
We are not simple naysayers, objecting to this budget without alternatives to meet this crisis. We believe we can save significant dollars to cover some of these costs by:
1. Reducing the cost of printing and postage by providing costly reports online.
2. Reducing the size of the state automobile fleet 50% over the next 5 years.
3. Removing the wages paid to prisoners for in house work such as sewing, license plate production, etc.
4. Mandating the State Comptroller to reduce bureaucratic costs in Trenton at least 10%.
We look forward to having the opportunity to discuss these ideas with you and your staff. We fully believe that you are trying to do what you think is best for the State of New Jersey, and we simply have a difference of opinion on this crucial issue. We look forward to working with you to make this the best state in the nation. If we can be of any assistance to you, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Sincerely,
Jeff Van Drew Nelson T. Albano Matthew W. Milam
Senator, 1st District Assemblyman, 1st District Assemblyman, 1st District
This is a copy of the letter sent to local mayors:
March 24, 2009
Dear Mayor,
We are writing to you today to ask for your help in saving our community. As we are sure you have read, Governor Jon Corzine’s current budget proposal will have serious consequences for South Jersey. The Governor’s budget intends to reduce funding in beach replenishment, tourism, arts and history, and the Energy Receipts Tax.
That is why we are forming a coalition of towns, organizations, and concerned citizens in the First Legislative District.
Many members of the legislature believe that the Realty Transfer Fee (RTF) is a significant burden on New Jersey residents, particularly in this severe housing crisis. To make the RTF more palatable, a bi-partisan commitment was made to the citizens of New Jersey that their government would fund the preservation of their most precious natural resource: their beaches.
New Jersey’s beaches are world renowned, a source of immense pride for the entire state. Our beaches attract visitors from New York, Pennsylvania, and Delaware, as well as those from as far as Ohio, Oregon and California. The Jersey Shore is the best in the nation.
New Jersey’s beaches are more than visual gems. They play a vital role in the state’s economy as the main driver behind its tourism industry, the third largest industry in the state. They protect our shores against hurricanes, nor’easters, torrid storm fronts, and rising tides. They play an important role in the preservation of the environment, providing habitats for diamondback turtles, nesting birds, horseshoe crabs, and more.
Unfortunately, they are eroding, as is our commitment to their preservation. During budget negotiations in 2008, an agreement was made to use beach replenishment funding to help save numerous public parks around the state. As part of that agreement was a commitment to never raid the beach replenishment fund again. We cannot, and will not, break that commitment. The poison pill ensuring that beach replenishment funding will never drop below a level that is necessary to preserve them was enacted legislatively. We have made a commitment, and we intend to honor it. We will oppose any legislation that is designed to reduce this funding.
When the legislature instituted the Hotel Motel Occupancy Tax in 2004, a bi-partisan group of legislators worked to include a similar poison pill, ensuring that if state tourism funding ever dropped below $9 million, the state would no longer be able to collect the taxes similar approaches were taken for arts, history, and culture. Again, the state made a commitment to the citizens of New Jersey: the third largest industry in New Jersey would be supported by its government. For every $1 that is spent by the state on tourism, arts and history countless more money comes back in the form of beach tags, fishing trips, nights out at the restaurant, overnight stays, and tax revenue in the countless hotels, motels and bed-n-breakfasts. It is counterproductive to reduce funding for programs that generate revenue for the state. The legislature made a pledge to the citizens of New Jersey that if the state was going to impose a tax that put it at a competitive disadvantage with surrounding states then it would compensate by bolstering tourism in other ways. We should, and we must, honor that pledge.
Likewise, a reduction in the Energy Receipts Tax breaks the commitment made to the towns in our state that agreed to house facilities. Municipalities that have a power plant, major power lines, or a substation within its borders, provide some tax benefit to its residents, and that is a scenario that works in the best interests of everyone. By breaking that agreement, we in the state government have effectively broken our bond with the very people that have sent us to Trenton to do their work. We cannot break that bond; that trust.
The bedrock of our democratic process is the bond between the citizens and their elected officials. Too often this bond is broken by corruption, broken promises, and an overwhelming desire to tell people what they want to hear. The most important tenant of our political philosophy is to never make a promise we cannot keep. When we make a commitment to our constituents, we absolutely must follow through on that. That is the recurring theme throughout all of these issues—they represent commitments made by government. As such we must firmly oppose this budget.
We are not simple naysayers, objecting to this budget without alternatives to meet this crisis. We believe we can save significant dollars to cover some of these costs by:
1. Reducing the cost of printing and postage by providing costly reports online.
2. Reducing the size of the state automobile fleet 50% over the next 5 years.
3. Removing the wages paid to prisoners for in house work such as sewing, license plate production, etc.
4. Mandating the State Comptroller to reduce bureaucratic costs in Trenton at least 10%.
You can assist us in our fight by enacting formal resolutions declaring your opposition to these concerns. You are welcome to use the arguments contained in this letter, or your own reasons for joining this fight. We must band together in a bi-partisan show of strength and determination. This is more than any one person, party, or election. This is our way of life and we are committed to doing everything we can to preserve it. Will you join us?
Sincerely,Jeff Van Drew Nelson T. Albano Matthew W. Milam
Senator, 1st District Assemblyman, 1st District Assemblyman, 1st District