So far so good. If it fails, it is because of special interests, home rule, and pwer hungry uncooperative politicians, not Jon Corzine. What other governor had the hootzpah to put everything on the table:
Corzine makes vow: Action, action, action
Introduces ambitious plan for overhaul of property tax system in N.J.
By PETE McALEER Statehouse Bureau, (609) 292-4935
Published: Saturday, July 29, 2006
TRENTON — The ideas Gov. Jon S. Corzine presented Friday were certainly ambitious, if not necessarily new.
In an address that kicked off a special session of the state Legislature, Corzine detailed his plan for tackling the traditional culprits that keep New Jersey property taxes rising at more than 6.5 percent per year. He would replace an unfair school-funding formula, overhaul an antiquated public employee pension system, chip away at unmanageable state debt and provide more incentives to merge local governments and the services they provide.
The Wall Street CEO-turned-governor said he expects many skeptics, but he vowed to win over the people of New Jersey with results.
“As the public knows, ideas to reform and reduce property taxes have been debated ad infinitum,” Corzine said. “The public has a right to ask — ‘What is the difference with this effort?' Let me tell you. Action, action, action. Now. Before the end of the year. Our citizens demand it, they deserve it and we need to produce. Action.”
With that, Corzine kicked off what will either be a historically productive five months for the state Legislature or the type of colossal failure that encourages voters to put a new party in power.
Bicameral committees of the Legislature will meet as soon as next week to propose legislation dealing with four issues connected to property taxes: school funding, state employee benefits, government consolidation and a citizen's convention on property taxes. Each committee must recommend legislation by Dec. 3.
Members of the six-person committees — each with four Democrats and two Republicans — will be announced Monday.
The blueprint Corzine presented — if followed by the Legislature — would limit any future property tax increase to 4 percent. It would also replace the current property tax rebate checks with direct credits deducted from municipal property tax bills.
While those ideas drew applause, others will undoubtedly invite strong opposition from public employee unions, teachers unions and other special interest groups.
“There's going to be a lot of people who want the status quo,” said Senate President Richard J. Codey, D-Essex. “It's not going to be easy.”
The effort to entice local governments to consolidate and share services may face the strongest resistance, but many see it as the most crucial component of the session.
“The key to this whole process is the regionalization and consolidation of municipal and school districts,” said state Sen. Nicholas Asselta, R-Cape May, Cumberland, Atlantic. “The compensation issue is key, because districts and municipalities need to understand there will be a financial reward to property taxpayers in those communities. Unfortunately, (the promise of a) better-educated kid doesn't always cut it.”
Corzine proposed using $250 million from this year's 1-cent increase in the sales tax to provide financial incentives “so powerful that towns, counties and school districts will have little economic choice but to share and reduce costs.” This year's budget, by comparison, includes $15 million for shared services.
Corzine said he also supports the regionalization plan put forth in May by Assembly Speaker Joseph Roberts Jr., D-Camden, Gloucester, and his caucus, calling it “creative.” Roberts and Corzine clashed earlier this month over the state budget, leading to a seven-day shutdown of state government. On Friday, Roberts offered only praise, calling Corzine's speech “powerful, ambitious, challenging and constructive.”
“We're all very much on the same page,” Roberts said.
The special legislative session likely will still be active when Corzine begins negotiations on a new contract with state workers unions. Corzine said he would like negotiations to start as early as September.
Many of the reforms, Corzine said, would come through the collective bargaining process. He advocated for a two-tier pension system that would raise the retirement age, require increased contributions toward health coverage and start a switch toward defined contribution plans for new or recent hires.
That prompted concern from Assemblyman Nelson Albano, D-Cape May, Cumberland, Atlantic, who said he liked most of the ideas in Corzine's speech but thought those types of pension changes should be limited to new hires only.
Aside from the two-tier system, Corzine said other changes — to eliminate pension padding or pensions for political appointees — should be enacted “almost immediately.”
State Sen. Bill Gormley, R-Atlantic, who expects to serve on the pension committee, introduced legislation this year to raise the retirement age from 55 to 60. He said that measure would help save money in the future, while Corzine's plan to allow municipalities to charge impact fees to developers would help lower property taxes immediately, particularly in Pinelands growth districts.
Corzine also called for a new school aid formula that “recognizes the needs of every child, regardless of zip code.”
“We must acknowledge that many of our aid formulas, especially school aid, are outdated, ineffective and outright unfair,” Corzine said.
Another plan would seek to reduce billions in state debt by possibly selling or leasing state assets. The New Jersey Turnpike, the Garden State Parkway and the Atlantic City Expressway will be among the items under consideration.
All of the proposals need approval from the Legislature, which will surely have plans of its own. Corzine said his ideas serve only as “a blueprint of principles and the elements of a plan,” but he cautioned that if the Legislature does not take real action by Jan. 1 he will push for a citizen's convention on property taxes.
“This special session is an extraordinary opportunity to bring real change to the system,” Corzine said. “We cannot let this moment pass. We must make history.”