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9-4-06 Star Ledger - The pressure of teacher pay 9-4-06 ASSOC PRESS (N.J. State)Web site draws impassioned pleas to revamp school funding
9-3-06 ASSOC PRESS - County school systems, property taxation equality to be examined
9-3-06 Sunday STAR LEDGER editorial-Government must get lean
9-1-06 NY TIMES - Multiple Jobs by Public Workers Strain Pension Plan in New Jersey (re Jt Common Pupblic Employee Benefits Reform hearing 8-31-06)
The pressure of teacher pay
Monday, September 04, 2006
When classes resume this week, the kids may not have much to cheer about but teachers sure do. Handsome pay increases for
At a time when the average worker is getting a pay increase of 3.7 percent, the average schoolteacher in
The hike brings the average teacher salary in
Thoughtful people are not going to argue against paying teachers well. The work done by educators is important, and they should be compensated accordingly. If the profession is going to attract talented, top- flight professionals, the pay must be competitive, particularly for high-demand jobs in math, science, foreign languages and special education.
The uncomfortable reality, however, is that these sorts of salaries are sending property taxpayers to the poorhouse. Moreover, while the increases today are arguably reasonable, they come on the heels of two decades of pay increases in the 1980s and 1990s that routinely topped 8 percent at a time when other workers' pay increases ranged between 4 and 5 percent.
(It's frustrating that generous paychecks sometimes go to teachers who, on top of having a guaranteed paycheck because of tenure, are doing less-than- stellar jobs of educating their charges.)
Coupled with the high costs of health insurance and other benefits, the burden on taxpayers is staggering.
Unsurprisingly, property taxes have gone up an average of 6.5 percent every year for the past 20 years. In the past five years, the increases have been 7 percent.
Still, teachers in many communities remain dissatisfied. At the onset of the Labor Day holiday, more than 100 local teacher contracts were not settled. While strikes are unlikely, teachers working without contracts typically refuse to do extra work, including writing letters of recommendation for students applying to college. That sort of thing has a way of getting parents to pressure school boards to acquiesce to financially unsound agreements.
It would be unfair to blame all the state's fiscal woes on teachers, but it cannot be ig nored that school taxes make up the largest portion of property taxes in most communities, and the overwhelming majority of that goes to teacher salaries.
Regrettably, many teachers don't see how dire the situation has become. Encouraged by past victories, they continue to entertain unrealistic expecta tions. As teachers return to class, they must recognize that they have to become partners in helping to solve the state's economic troubles.
Web site draws impassioned pleas to revamp school funding
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9/4/2006, 9:00 a.m. ET By TOM HESTER Jr. The Associated Press |
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Lawmakers created a Web site to solicit suggestions on how the state can ease the property tax burden. The site has received more than 1,000 suggestions since it was created Aug. 14.
A common theme from the suggestion box:
"School funding is out of control," wrote a Ringwood man who is so fed up he thinks politicians increase taxes "on a whim with no regard for the individuals of the state."
Most people who submitted suggestions didn't include their names, while some listed home towns. Neither a name nor hometown was required to submit a suggestion.
"How are people supposed to live here when they retire when taxes are so high?" asked one resident. "Do we all have to move to
The average
The Legislature has formed four committees that have until Nov. 15 to submit recommendations to the governor and lawmakers on how to reduce property taxes.
One of those committees is studying whether
A
"Funding should come from some sort of income tax so that every person in the state pays for school funding, not only the homeowner," he wrote.
He also suggested requiring teachers to pay more for medical benefits, noting taxpayers already pays their salaries.
"I need a break," he wrote. "I am just about making it in this state with the way taxes have been going."
A Woolwich man also supported shifting education funding to income taxes.
"The value of your home should have nothing to do with education," he wrote.
A Bernards man wants the $11 billion in income taxes collected annually in the state distributed evenly to each school district. The money is currently distributed based on a formula that takes into account district wealth, with poor schools receiving more funding.
"Each and every student would receive the equal benefit mandated by the constitution," he wrote.
Several people suggested exempting homeowners ages 65 and over from school property taxes. Others suggested consolidating schools into county districts.
"Supporting the schools with property taxes is unfair," said a
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"Bigger is not always better," the person wrote. "Small towns do a good job. It is the big towns that mess everything up."
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"Why do smaller towns each need their own police chief, police captain, school superintendent, head of public works and all of the other complementary layers of management and supervision that follow?" he asked.
Benefits for government workers also received attention.
"Public employee benefits need to be brought in line with the rest of the country," a
Some residents appear unconvinced the reform effort will succeed. One person called the committees "a joke."
"The politicians in this state are banking on the fact that the citizens don't have the time or energy to delve into what is really going on," one person wrote. "They have been right so far because everyone is busy working two jobs in order to survive in this state."
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On the Net:
http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/PropertyTaxSession/specialsessionpt.asp
Sep 3, 11:27 AM EDT
County school systems, property taxation equality to be examined
By TOM HESTER Jr.
Associated Press Writer
Advertisement
Gov. Jon S. Corzine will also be busy.
Corzine plans to visit
Corzine also plans to announce a new economic development initiative on Thursday.
The Legislative hearings are part of the ongoing effort by four special legislative committees to formulate property tax reform recommendations by Nov. 15 as part of a bid to cut the state's highest-in-the-nation property taxes by the end of the year.
The average
Legislators have found no easy answers in the month they've been debating possible tax changes, learning they cannot change publicly funded pensions for most government workers and that consolidating local governments wouldn't save much money.
Gov. Jon S. Corzine said he's confident officials will find ways around roadblocks. He said he and legislative leaders can play key roles in moving the discussion forward.
"They're going to run into obstacles all the way," Corzine said. "Leadership is going to have to come together and break some of those debates."
Assembly Speaker Joseph Roberts Jr. also remained confident.
"The Legislature has the resolve to do it," said Roberts, D-Camden.
Sen. Robert Smith, co-chairman of the government consolidation and shared services committees, said he remains optimistic that savings can be found by consolidating governments. The state has nearly 1,400 local governments, including 616 school districts.
Smith has long advocated studying
A national school finance expert recently told a special committee studying
Smith's committee will also hear from
On Jan. 1, 1998, seven municipal governments were merged into
But those savings were balanced with $275 million in annual transition costs associated with items such as staff exits, facility modifications and studying and implementing new collective bargaining agreements.
On Thursday, the committee studying whether the state constitution needs to be changed to help cut property taxes will again study a constitutional provision - the so-called uniformity clause - that requires homes and businesses be assessed and taxed the same way. It will be the panel's second hearing devoted to the clause that includes numerous exemptions.
"I think we're going to find the uniformity clause isn't so uniform," said Assemblyman John Burzichelli, D-Gloucester, co-chairman of that committee.
On Tuesday, the panel formed to consider a new way to fund
The committee studying public employee benefits isn't scheduled to meet this week.
On Tuesday, Corzine will start by visiting UMDNJ's
Government must get lean
Sunday, September 03, 2006
Lawmakers struggling to deliver significant property tax relief by the end of the year can't ignore the latest Census Bureau data. Coupled with figures compiled by other government statistics keepers, the numbers define the parameters of a property tax solution. Simply put, op tions are limited.
Significantly increasing sales, corporate or income taxes isn't doable for a variety of reasons. That leaves shrinking state, county and local government costs -- through consolidations, shared services, less generous worker benefits and fewer employees -- as a major component of a tax relief for mula.
Here's why hiking taxes won't work:
The sales tax was just raised from 6 percent to 7 percent, placing the state in a four- way tie for the highest in the nation. Trying to jack it up more would have a negative im pact on the economy. Extending the sales tax to services could bring in billions, but many fear that would cause firms to flee the state.
A business tax increase in 2002 took an extra $1 billion from companies. Economists are convinced that growing the economy is a way to provide more jobs and consequently more tax revenue. So increasing the business tax would be counterproductive.
The income tax is also at its limit, at least for now. The 8.97 percent maximum rate is among the highest in the nation. Increasing the income tax rate for those who aren't top earners or for the poorest is fraught with pitfalls. Any meaningful gain would have to come from hiking the tax for those who make $70,000 or more. But the latest census data show those are the people leaving the state.
That hollowing of the middle class, if continued, would de prive businesses of a labor force and affect decisions on expan sion or relocation.
But raising revenue is only half the equation. Spending is the other.
Another set of statistics, compiled by James Hughes and Joseph Seneca at Rutgers, shows employment growth in New Jersey for the past six years has depended mostly on taxpayer-funded jobs.
From 1990 to 2000, government employment nationally grew 13 percent but only 2 percent in
From December 2000 until now,
In the first quarter of this year, 25,000 public-sector jobs were created throughout the nation. Since
A review of the data leads to an unavoidable conclusion: Any significant, sustained property tax relief is contingent on shrinking government.
New York Times – Pension Article re Jt Comm on Public Employee Benefits reform hearing, 8-31-06.
September 1, 2006
Multiple Jobs by Public Workers Strain Pension Plan in New Jersey
By RICHARD G. JONES
In some cases, the multiple jobs entitled employees to annual pensions worth more than $130,000.
In one instance, a lawyer in southern
In another case, a lawyer from the
One lawyer from Secaucus, Herbert Klitzner, earned about $227,000 as the general counsel for both
“I didn’t create this system,” Mr. Klitzner said in a telephone interview on Thursday. “It’s part of the deal when you take this position.”
The disclosures about employees earning multiple pension credits, reported by The Star-Ledger on Thursday, came as the State Legislature pushes forward in a special session to develop strategies for reducing property taxes.
The state is examining ways to streamline expenses, health care costs, pensions and other benefits that collectively cost the state more than $8.4 billion a year.
Although the cost of paying benefits does not directly affect local property tax rates, it does affect the state’s operating budget, which last spring had a $4 billion deficit heading into the fiscal year beginning July 1, which triggered the weeklong shutdown of
Gov. Jon S. Corzine and some lawmakers have called for sweeping changes to the pension system, including an end to the practice in which workers — often professionals like lawyers, judges and accountants — are allowed to earn pension credit for doing part-time work for several municipalities or public agencies at one time.
In
In many other states, those who provide professional services are often treated like independent contractors and do not qualify for pension benefits.
Many on the list of the top 50 earners released by the state treasurer’s office on Thursday earned pension credit while working as judges, lawyers and tax assessors. One is a licensed master plumber.
They averaged about 22 years of service, qualifying them for annual pensions ranging from about $40,000 to more than $135,000.
Through a spokesman, Mr. Corzine said that the publication of the list strengthened his belief that part-time professional workers should not be afforded the same pension benefits as rank-and-file state workers.
“Eliminating loopholes that grant professional service providers and political appointees the same benefits enjoyed by career public employees is a no-brainer,” said the spokesman, Brendan Gilfillan, who added that Mr. Corzine “believes this reform is an essential part of the property tax discussion.”
Besides the cost of the plan, lawmakers said that the information about individuals holding multiple public jobs opened a window on how
“I think it is invaluable to the public that they get this information, not just because of the money — which is very important — but you’re going to see what political networking is all about now,” said Senator William L. Gormley, a Republican from Atlantic County.
Mr. Gormley, who last week asked state officials to assemble the list of top earners with multiple pension credits, cautioned against characterizing all part-time municipal work as a means of pension abuse.
“Not to say everybody’s tacking here, but I think you’re going to see certain political scenarios that are going to cause permanent change in the state of
One analyst, Ernest C. Reock Jr., a retired professor at Rutgers University and a specialist in property tax issues, said the list highlighted holes in the state’s benefits system.
“There are some weak spots where people can take advantage,” said Mr. Reock, the former director of the Center for Government Services at
Mr. Reock said that although the salaries that are being paid for professional services might seem excessive, they could well be in line with market prices.
“It’s hard to tell: $300,000 sounds like a lot, $100,000 is not that much,” Mr. Reock said. “When you put all the pieces together, it may be justified.”
According to Mr. Klitzner, the general counsel for North Bergen and the
Mr. Klitzner, 62, said the pension credit was an important inducement for public service work. “It’s an incentive for everybody who goes into municipal work,” he said. “You can get more money as a lawyer in private practice but you make it up with the benefits.”
And, Mr. Klitzner said, he would oppose any effort to exclude part-time professional workers from membership in the state’s pension plan.
“A deal is a deal,” Mr. Klitzner said. “You can’t change it retroactively. You can’t change it for people who’ve been relying on it.”
As for his pension, Mr. Klitzner said his goal was simple. “I’m hoping to live to enjoy it,” he said, though he was quick to add, “I have absolutely no immediate plans to retire.”
Jo Craven McGinty and Margot Williams contributed reporting for this article. Research was contributed by Jack Begg, Happy Blitt, Alain Delaquérière, Barbara Oliver and Carolyn Wilder.
