Posted on 01/22/2010 1:54:09 PM PST by mikelets456
Gov. Chris Christie's transition team has finished its review of state agencies and authorities and is recommending sweeping changes to shrink the size of New Jersey government and save money in the face of a projected $9 to $10 billion deficit for the 2011 budget year.
Quantcast
The review, consisting of 19 reports submitted Friday by the 21 transition team subcommittees, suggests consolidating several agencies and authorities and eliminating others.
Among the highlights are suggestions that the state stop subsidizing horse racing and its public television station; that a sales tax holiday be enacted to spur consumer spending; and that affordable housing requirements be relaxed.
"These reports are full of bold ideas and recommendations for change from a bipartisan group of individuals from the private and public sectors," Christie said in a statement. "In the coming weeks, my Cabinet and I will be consulting with subcommittee members, reviewing each of the reports, and carefully considering these recommendations for improvement and change."
(Excerpt) Read more at me.com ...
Among the findings and suggestions:
-- Transportation: Recommends consolidating and downsizing many authorities, halting all long-term projects that don't deal directly with safety or consumer use and requiring salaries for Authority chiefs to come in line with state workers. Currently, 27 authority heads make more than the governor.
-- Gaming: Create a public/private venture to market Atlantic City as a destination resort; reorganize the Sports and Exposition Authority's financial structure; restructure the horse racing industry -- projected to lose $22 million in 2010 and facing a $38 million deficit; privatize the lottery.
-- Corrections: Recommends increasing prison space by double-bunking inmates and diverting nonviolent drug offenders to community programs.
-- Taxes: Recommends a sales tax holiday to spur consumer spending, as 16 other states have already done.
-- Housing: Recommends doing away with the Council on Affordable Housing, the agency that determines how much affordable housing towns and cities must provide.
-- Community Affairs: Suggests more accountability for the billions in municipal aid that the Community Affairs department oversees, including having the Treasury Department enforce compliance.
Many suggestion would require action by the Democratic-controlled Legislature.
Pete McDonough, who worked as a spokesman for former Gov. Christie Whitman and was a member of Whitman's and Gov. Tom Kean Sr.'s transition teams, said the reports are invaluable for quickly identifying the issues Christie's new commissioners will face.
How many of the recommendations get implemented rests with the new commissioners and the governor, McDonough said.
"A lot of these policy recommendations will be put on the 'to-do' list," McDonough said. "The governor will have to consider how they all fit together, and what priorities are top priorities."
Some will become essential because of the state's fiscal constraints, while others will have to be postponed for the same reason, he said.
"This is the start of the process, not the end," said Ingrid Reed, director of the New Jersey Project at Rutgers University's Eagleton Institute of Politics.
She commended recommendations that involve upgrading technology and modernizing management, two areas where New Jersey lags nationally.
Bill Schluter, a former Republican state senator and current State Ethics Commission member, said Christie will have to remain a forceful leader if he is to get any of the sweeping changes ena
Do you have a different link; other then “MobileMe?”
I don’t know what that is, and don’t feel comfortable establishing an account there.
Nevermind; it’s in all the state newspapers.
Just let the dems stand in the way.........
They’ll be gone gone gone gone
wow
New Jersey has dozens of agencies that do things the government has no business doing.
"Recommends doing away with the Council on Affordable Housing, the agency that determines how much affordable housing towns and cities must provide."
If Christie eliminates this one, it will restore some sanity in NJ. Towns have been devastated by the demands of the Council on Affordable Housing -- pure evil.
Oh my gosh. This has caused so much craziness in NJ for years. Lots of money and litigious costs without much of a result for that many people. Very few benefitted for the enormity of this expense.
Christie should put all these into action. If the Democrats in the house attempt to stop them, he should refuse to sign any bills, especially the budgets. It is eyeball to eyeball time. Who is going to blink.
My town has been in litigation for quite awhile now over “affordable housing.” This has been nothing more than letting developers get very rich by grabbing farm land and turning it into crap.
Some of these authorities make Madoff look like a saint. The IRS has targeted government "authorites" as the locus classicus for tax fraud. Nepotism is rife in some authorities which facilitates fraud. Authority heads get disproportionate high-end salaries.
ITEM $8.6 Billion tax assets sumply disappeared from the NJ schools development authority.
ITEM The New Jersey Turnpike Authority went bankrupt but has not explained how the bankruptcy occurred.
ITEM The Jersey Economic Development Authority gave Lehman Bros $123 Million tax dollars FOR DOING NOTHING. That's right---FOR DOING NOTHING.......simply to cancel an earlier deal.
ITEM Decisions made by the state's Economic Development Authority, Redevelopment Authority and related bodies can influence billions of dollars of financing for private development. Yet board members — often powerful developers, building industry magnates or attorneys - do not have to reveal their financial interests.
ITEM The South Jersey Transportation Authority manages the Atlantic City Expressway and International Airport. But it also funded a parking garage in another location that was not in any way connected to its operations.
ITEM The New Jersey Higher Education Student Assistance Authority administers education loans and acts as a resource for students who need financial assistance. A recent audit found that it also spent $235,940 on travel, food, parties and other questionable expenses. One Higher Education Student Assistance Authority had costly photos made and charged them to taxpayers.
ITEM At the Passaic Valley Sewerage Authority, which has an annual budget of more than $100 million, 46 employees earn six-figure salaries. Its director is paid more than $200,000.
ITEM The Dept of Community Affairs handles municipal bonding deals (taxpayer debt) that could have made Goldman Sachs bond salesman Gov Corzine multi-millions. Corzine then gave ex- DCA Commissioner Susan Bass-Levin a Port Authority $250,000.00 job with endless perks, pensions and raises Next Corzio parked Levin on the Local Finance Board @ $12,000 to give the **poor $250,000 lady** lifetime free healthcare, and pump Levin's several state pensions. Levin also sucks up housing allowances, credit cards, expense accounts, free cars and gas, maintenance and insurance, free travel, meals, six-figure bonuses, severances, annuities, etc, etc, etc. ...........perks taxpayers are saddled with.
Dang! Christie 2012!
He could fail if he is obstructed and he could end up being a cynical prevaricator but for right now he is saying what needs to be said.
Good ideas are one thing. Hopefully, he is for real. If not, hopefully we can hold his feet to the fire.
Yes, these b*stards haven’t even tried to hide the corruption. It’s done out in the open. This Levin woman is one of many. She needs to be fired and denied any pension.
How bout getting rid of 3/4 of the state departments along with their employees. I don’t really think that stopping horseracing subsidies is going to close that gap. How bout privatizing the state university and stop anymore subsidies.
How bout eliminating lifetime health benefits for freeloading government j-ck-offs, I mean workers. How bout changing the pension to defined contribution-ie 401k instead of defined benefit. How bout making all state employees who earn over 100k pay their own medical insurance?
Why not inventory all state owned real estate and those plots not being used, auction off?
How bout getting rid of all state cars except for emergency services?
How bout outsourcing all auto and vehicle maint?
There are literally thousands of ideas to cut the state and local budgets to shreds. We’ll see if he had the cajones to do it.
NJ has more government employees per square mile than any other state in the country. There’s a good reason why its called the Soprano State.
Now this is change we can believe in. The guy was just sworn in on Tuesday evening and rolled up his sleeves.
link for all reports is here:
http://www.state.nj.us/governor/news/news/55_2010/approved/20100122a_reports.html
gotta tell ya, I’ve been reading these things in NJ for years and this is no different than any others. problem is, alot of them state their needs to be spending on things such as technology. given the state of financial affairs, i doubt if there are many dollars available in NJ for anything.
Hopefully, Christie can set his state back on the right path. (pun intended) They’ve been under RAT rule for so long, they can’t see daylight. It will take time, but, he has some good ideas.
I hope so, too!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.