To the Editor:
This captured my interest. On Jan. 10, 2022, “NJ Spotlight News Analysis Finds Millions in Last-Minute Spending Added by Legislatures.”
The influx of billions of dollars in federal relief funds and “surplus” money (in the current budget, it’s $747 million that includes $450 million that is Covid relief money that went to three hospitals).
State budget must be ratified by July 1. Last-minute spending by legislatures to the budgets for the 2018-2022 fiscal year shows the regional disparity in the process. Many times, items are added with little or no public scrutiny. Over the past five years, more than $1 billion has been spent on these last-minute items (these last five years were what the NJ Spotlight analysis looked at) – $1.2 billion – breaks down to average of $240 million a year.
Transparency – a big issue. So many projects are always put in at the last minute. This year, with these projects in it, was not made available until 11 minutes before the Budget Committee acted on the bill.
So, legislators say they did not have time to even see what was in the budget, let alone for the public to look at it.
These are later posted online, but it never happens until after the governor signs the bill, sometimes months later.
The analysis showed the disparity: Of every $1 – 95 cents go to predominantly Democrat areas and 5 cents to Republican areas; and nine districts got no money at all. Of those, eight were Republican-controlled areas.
Transparency? Where does this leave Cape May County?
– JACQUELINE BELL
Villas
