Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Christie rebate cuts cause 22.4 percent increase in net property taxes that hits those making under $150,000.
Net property taxes in New Jersey rose 22.4 percent in Gov. Chris Christie's first three years in office, compared to just 6 percent in Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine's last three years in office, a New Jersey Spotlight analysis shows. Christie, who has made attacks on “Corzine Democrats” a centerpiece of his reelection campaign, has been touting his record of holding down overall property tax increases. But when Christie’s rebate reductions are factored in, his property tax record is not so clear-cut. While Corzine doubled average property tax rebates from 2006 to 2009 and provided rebates to families earning as much as $250,000, Christie sharply cut the size of rebate payments and limited eligibility for non-seniors to those earning $75,000 …
Monday, May 6, 2013
Project expected to be complete by the late fall.
The New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) began regional resurfacing and roadway repair last week on Route 27 in Middlesex and Somerset counties. The $5.7 million project will mill and repave sections of asphalt and concrete roadway on two other highways, in addition to Route 27, in Middlesex and Somerset counties. Work wil be done on Route 18 in both directions between the NJ Transit railroad bridge in New Brunswick (near milepost 42.6) and the existing northern section of the highway in Piscataway (milepost 45.3), the DOT said. Route 26 will be repaved in both directions from the Route 1 interchange (milepost 0) to north of CR 680/Howe Lane (milepost 1.45) in North Brunswick. Work on Route 27 will be performed in both …
Longtime Middlesex County Prosecutor Bruce Kaplan will step down from his county job to work for the attorney general, sources say.
Middlesex County Prosecutor Bruce Kaplan is expected to resign from his position on Monday, sources say. According to a report on NJ.com, Kaplan, who has served as prosecutor since 2002, will be replaced by Andrew Carey, who was nominated by Gov. Chris Christie in March to serve as Kaplan's replacement. Kaplan's term as prosecutor expired on Jan. 14. Kaplan will reportedly move to the state Division of Criminal Justice, according to the report. Carey will enter the department while it is embroiled in a lawsuit filed by retired investigator Gabriela Nieves, who claimed a hostile work environment developed at the Prosecutor's Office after she complained about less experienced male colleagues being chosen for promotions over her in 2010, …
Sunday, May 5, 2013
Money to go to balancing the general state budget rather than building houses for low- and middle-income residents.
Defying several attempts at killing it off, the New Jersey Council on Affordable Housing met for the first time in more than two years on Wednesday to begin the process of taking at least $142 million in funds dedicated to low- and moderate-income housing to help balance the state budget. COAH, which has few friends in the Legislature, was reorganized out of existence in 2011 by Gov. Chris Christie. The council voted 4-1 to ask municipalities to send proof of their plans to spend any money that had been dormant in their affordable housing trust funds for four years as of July 17, 2012 and transfer the remaining, unspent money to the council by May 22, according to the resolution. The resolution also gave its acting director approval to …
Saturday, May 4, 2013
Christie cites families, wife -- and Jon Bon Jovi -- in explaining new position on ‘Good Samaritan’ bill.
From a governor who rarely changes course after stating his views on a bill, Chris Christie’s decision to sign a measure granting immunity to those who aid drug overdose victims was nearly unprecedented. It took dogged lobbying from the families of residents who died from overdoses, as well as urging from New Jersey First Lady Mary Pat Christie, for the governor to embrace the “Good Samaritan” bill. The effort also received an assist from celebrity rocker Jon Bon Jovi, whose daughter survived an overdose. The bill (S-2082) protects both overdose victims and those who are with them from arrest for drug possession. It also offers immunity to those who administer an opioid overdose antidote, naloxone. Christie had issued a conditional veto of…
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Rebuffed by Legislature, Christie goes for major regulatory changes through Civil Service Commission.
Tired of waiting for the Democratic-controlled Legislature to send him a new civil service bill to replace the one he vetoed two years ago, Gov. Chris Christie is pushing sweeping changes through a Civil Service Commission he effectively controls. Christie’s civil service overhaul is the latest in a series of high-profile battles with public employee unions that have defined his governorship and propelled him to national prominence. These have ranged from school vouchers and merit pay for teachers to a landmark pension and health benefits bill that not only forced public employees to pay more, but also eliminated the right of unions to bargain on health benefits for four years. The Christie administration's proposed civil service …
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Callers to 9-1-1, those who administer overdose antidote will now get immunity.
A new “Good Samaritan” law grants immunity from drug-possession arrests to those who call 9-1-1 to report overdoses or who give an antidote to overdose victims. Gov. Chris Christie and the Legislature reached a bipartisan agreement on the bill, S-2082, in what was a victory for the families of overdose victims who had been lobbying for the measure. Both legislative chambers passed the bill Monday after Christie had issued a conditional veto of the bill, which was originally focused only on protecting those who administer naloxone, an antidote for those who have overdosed on heroin and other opioids. In his veto statement, Christie asked that the Legislature add to the naloxone bill elements of an earlier bill focused on limiting the …
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Good news, not bad, plays well with voters in election year, according to political scientists.
New Jersey faces a major long-term fiscal crisis that it should deal with now, but don't look for political leaders from either party to even talk about the problem seriously until at least 2017, political scientists agree. "There's the reality of the numbers and the reality of the political situation," said Ben Dworkin, director of Rider University's Rebovich Institute for New Jersey Politics. "The numbers are daunting. Even after the recent reforms, we are still talking about tens of billions of dollars needed for pension and retiree health benefits." But candidates know that "the more optimistic you are, the more likely you are to win," Dworkin said. "That's why we're far more likely to do nothing than something in the near future." …
The Middlesex County Clerk's Office is offering the free I.D. and discount card for veterans.
- GOVERNMENT
-
Tuesday, April 30
A County Service Card is now available free of charge to all U.S. military veterans living within the County. Middlesex County Clerk Elaine M. Flynn said her office is offering the card to better serve Middlesex County veterans and make it easier for them to qualify for certain benefits. “Filing for this new card creates a permanent record in the County Clerk’s Office in the event your DD-214 (discharge papers) becomes lost or damaged, and is needed as proof for property tax deductions or for VA Benefits,” she said. Flynn also added that the card can be used to participate in various discount programs when courtesies are extended to military personnel. Veterans can get their Service Card by visiting the County Clerk's Office in the …
Sunday, April 28, 2013
Pension gap, unfunded retiree health benefits, high debt and rising Medicaid bills make it hard for state to even begin to meet $70 billion infrastructure need.
How bad is New Jersey’s fiscal prognosis? Gov. Chris Christie just pushed off $396 million in property tax rebates. The Legislature’s budget expert says revenues might come up $637 million short. The pension gap is growing, even with Christie scrounging to add $600 million extra for pension payments. The treasurer had to resort to a $250 million bond premium one-shot to pay for transportation. No money is set aside to cover $59 billion in future retiree health benefits; the state put in $1.445 billion this year when it should have put in $4.917 billion to prevent the future cost from ramping up exponentially. Furthermore, it’s an election year with Christie and all 120 members of the Democratic-controlled Legislature up for reelection. And…
Ira L. Marks
7:25 pm on Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Here's another point. Corzine dramatically raised income taxes and sales taxes, while attempting to keep property tax increases low. So, the writer of this article is ignoring a lot of information by presenting a bunch of half truths. more ›