Mayor Mike Halfacre on the State Budget:

On March 19th, 2008, I testified before the State Assembly Budget Committee, and on March 25, 2008 I testified before the Senate Budget Committee. I have posted my scripted comments on my personal blog (http://www.fair-haven.blogspot.com/) However, in a less formal give and take with both Committees, the subject of efficiency came up in connection with the number of employees we have in Fair Haven and the size of our population.

I stated to both Committees that the level of shared services many small towns already engage in have resulted in efficiencies in those small towns that are not seen in larger cities. I suggested that they look at cost per resident to determine the efficiency of a municipality.

At the end of my Assembly Budget Committee testimony I was invited by Assemblyman Greenwald to share a copy of Fair Haven’s budget with his staff, and to work with his staff to discuss some of the things we have done in Fair Haven and our surrounding communities to share services. I gave a copy of our budget to his aide, and immediately upon my return to my office, the same day, I sent an email to him and the Co-Chair, Assemblyman Schaer, offering my continued efforts to work together on a budget that was fair to small towns. I specifically said that efficiency should be recognized and state aid equalized:

“I did leave a copy of our local municipal budget with one of your aides. I
would be more than happy to discuss any aspect of the
budget, and our efforts to share services or otherwise save money in my
Borough.


Assemblyman Schaer, you are right to say that this should not be about urban vs.
suburban towns, but the fact of the matter is, it is. I can not stress
enough that the State’s fiscal mess is not a result of the small towns.
While there certainly is savings to be had from small towns
in terms of sharing or regionalizing services, the “real money” is
being spent somewhere else.

Equalizing the formula for municipal funding should be a priority. Recognizing
existing efficiencies should be a priority. Punishing existing inefficiencies should be a
priority.


Thank you for your time, and I look forward to working with you to ensure that
all residents of this State are treated fairly in the budget
process.

It has now been more than two weeks, and I have not received a single word in response to my offer, despite Greenwald’s apparent enthusiasm while in front of the cameras of NJN. Instead, after another budget hearing, Greenwald said a possible solution was to give local municipalities the authority to impose taxes other than property taxes.

Yes, Greenwald thinks the solution to the problems of the highest taxed residents in the land is…more taxes.

Fortunately, not every member of the democrat’s Assembly caucus feels as Greenwald does. Yesterday, Assembly Speaker Joseph J. Roberts, Jr. (D-Camden) called for a Fiscal Year 2009 municipal aid distribution plan that would treat all municipalities fairly and equitably through efficiency performance measures.

Roberts, like Senator Barbara Buono and other democratic leaders, (As well as all of the Republican Caucus) says all the right things:

"I share the Governor's dual goals of enacting a State Budget that does not live
beyond its means and encouraging a more rationale local government structure
through consolidation and shared services," said Roberts. "However,
performance, not population, must be the benchmark against which government is
judged."

The Speaker said his proposal would “…put all towns on notice that the State can no longer subsidize inefficiency at any level of government."

I applaud Robert’s stance. But let’s keep this formula simple. If there is one thing we know about Governor Corzine, he likes complicated formulas that reward big cities and big school districts.
The formula should reward those Municipalities that spend less than the state average per resident, while withholding aid from those that spend more. The farther above average a municipality is, the less aid they get. The farther below, the more aid they get, up to a maximum amount.

There are hundreds of people employed by the State to calculate this stuff. Instead of spending millions on lawyers for the toll road plan or a lawsuit over congestion pricing in NYC, Corzine should put all that brainpower into this formula.

But that would require common sense.

Mike Halfacre is the Mayor of Fair Haven and a contributor to MoreMonmouthMusings.