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What do the cuts in state aid mean for Emerson
(by Karen F. Mrnarevic - March 12, 2008)
The New Jersey League of Municipalities convened in
Trenton on Thursday, March 6 to discuss the proposed funding cuts, and address the governor’s office. “Predictably,” said Emerson’s Borough Administrator Joe Scarpa, “the governor didn’t show up.”
Gov. Jon Corzine was otherwise engaged, attending a ribbon cutting ceremony at a Harrah’s Casino in
Atlantic City . Representatives from approximately 200 municipalities throughout the state with 10,000 or fewer residents were present to voice their concerns about the $189 million proposed cut in state aid.
The Borough of Emerson has introduced its municipal budget for 2008, and the outlook is quite positive; that is, unless proposed state funding cuts get passed. As the budget stands at present, borough property owners can expect a zero percent increase in municipal taxes for the next year. However, Corzine has proposed to cut funding to municipalities throughout the state, and those with fewer than 10,000 residents will be the hardest hit. This may spell municipal tax increases for property owners of the
Pascack
Valley , despite responsible planning and spending on the part of the municipalities themselves.
According to Scarpa, if the Governor’s proposed budget passes, state funding to the borough will be cut by $216,000, a 22 percent reduction from last year. That would mean that the average homeowner in the borough (with a home assessed at $519,000) would see about a $100 increase in municipal taxes. Scarpa, who calls the proposed funding cuts, “unnecessary and capricious,” believes that the budget is a product of the governor’s desire to “play to his constituents,” in the state’s urban areas.
Higher populations, said Scarpa, equal more votes. As a result, larger cities in the state, who according to Scarpa are run inefficiently, are being given a break rather than being encouraged to cut spending. “The state is penalizing the towns that are being efficient,” he said, “[Our budget] fell within cap. We are doing everything we were supposed to do, and we are being penalized.”
The governor’s office remains steadfast in its defense of the proposed budget as a way to encourage smaller towns to consolidate services and eventually merge with one another. However, as Scarpa pointed out, the small municipalities that make up the
Pascack
Valley have been making a concerted effort to reduce municipal spending by consolidating services with neighboring towns and have received no positive reinforcement from the state.
“Towns [in the
Pascack
Valley ] have done shared services all along and we haven’t been rewarded for it… We’ve never gotten increased aid because of it.” Furthermore, said Scarpa, the budget introduction deadline for municipalities is looming on the horizon, and some towns who have already introduced their budgets, like Emerson, will be unable to rework their budgets to offset the effect of the state aid cut.
Karen F. Mrnarevic's e-mail address is Mrnarevic@northjersey.com.
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