For Hudson County residents, the new state budget is good news and bad news.
The $33.5 billion state budget, up from $30.9 billion last year, “raises the taxes for everyone,” said Assemblywoman Joan Quigley (D-32nd Dist.)
While the budget itself does not impose any new taxes, some of the infrastructure improvements previously funded by the state, such as sewer and road maintenance, will have to instead be funded by local governments, putting a heavier burden on taxpayers.
“A lot of what we received in the past under grants won’t be available,” Quigley said.
However, the budget does provide about $2.88 billion in aid to local governments, an increase of about $152 million over last year.
Passed earlier than any budget in recent history, this budget raises state aid to local governments by $59 million. Schools will also see an increase in aid of about $58 million, including $48 million to districts that fall under the Abbott-Burke funding requirements.
Calling this year’s budget a “fiscally sound and fiscally responsible” one, Corzine said the budget provides “substantial property relief in the context of sound budgeting principles.”
Corzine added: “It spends only what we can pay for, carves out new efficiencies and savings, avoids the short-term gimmicks of some past budgets, and upholds our commitments to the most vulnerable in our state.”
But Corzine warned that the state will have to make hard choices in the future unless the government works to deal with rising costs due to debt, workers’ benefits, and healthcare costs.
Outgoing State Sen. Majority Leader Bernard Kenny (D-33rd Dist.), who served as the Budget Committee chairman, said the budget provides 20 percent tax cuts for the majority of households and doubles the amount of tenant rebates.
“Fifty percent of the entire state budget will go to property tax relief,” Kenny said. “That represents an increase in property tax relief of nearly $2 billion over the current budget.”
While the state increased spending by $189 million in this year’s budget, this was offset by $250 million in cuts. Kenny said the budget also reduces business taxes, increases aid for local school districts, and restores money for adult education.
“We got $10 million in restored funding for adult education, a bill for which I am a prime sponsor,” Quigley said.
As a result of this budget, every school district in the state will receive at least a 3-percent increase in state aid, the first increase to the non-Abbott district in three years.
Targeted aid will also go to districts with low-income students to provide full-day kindergarten, and to other districts to expand and enhance preschool programs.
The budget also sets aside significant funds for hospital charity care, cost of living adjustments to community-provided organizations, stem cell research, autism treatment, healthcare for children, and disability programs.
One area that was of great concern to local legislators was funding for the Garden State Preservation Trust Fund – which provides matching grants to open-space programs to Hudson and other counties. The budget will provide $25 million and will put a question on the ballot for voters to decide whether or not to give an additional $200 million to the trust fund.
This budget also provides additional funds for tax relief to seniors, veterans, and the disabled, and offsets federal cuts by providing additional funds to the State Children’s Health Insurance Program.
This year’s budget also provides $2.4 million for a program called Tire Management, which is really a mosquito control bill.
“This not only gets rid of old tires where mosquitoes breed, but also funds Rutgers University research on how to sterilize mosquitoes to keep them from breeding,” Quigley said.