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'State school jobs are saved – but where' THE RECORD WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT
GANNETT; PRESS OF ATLANTIC CITY: Articles on Additional NJ Budget Shortfall of $190M
State school jobs are saved – but where?
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
BY HERB JACKSON
The Record
WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT
The White House touted Monday that 250,000 jobs at schools and universities around the country were saved or created by the stimulus program, which allocated nearly $100 billion over two years for education.
About 14,000 of those jobs were in New Jersey, according to a source in Governor Corzine's administration.
But New Jersey officials refused to release detailed data showing where the jobs were and how much money recipients got per job before the end of the month, even though the state oversaw the compilation of the data and sent it to Washington more than a week ago.
The federal Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board will post the data online at the end of the month, and the state is choosing not to jump the gun.
It's possible many people who are filling the stimulus-funded education jobs in New Jersey do not know it. That's because Governor Corzine used more than $1 billion from the $1.7 billion in education stimulus funding to plug a hole in public school funding caused by a recession-driven drop in income tax collections.
Local school administrators never had to confront aid cuts, so they never had to decide whether to cut jobs or raise property taxes to make up the difference. Nevertheless, federal guidelines required each stimulus aid recipient to calculate how many jobs they would not have been able to fill without the money.
E-mail: jackson@northjersey.com
The White House touted Monday that 250,000 jobs at schools and universities around the country were saved or created by the stimulus program, which allocated nearly $100 billion over two years for education.
About 14,000 of those jobs were in New Jersey, according to a source in Governor Corzine's administration.
But New Jersey officials refused to release detailed data showing where the jobs were and how much money recipients got per job before the end of the month, even though the state oversaw the compilation of the data and sent it to Washington more than a week ago.
The federal Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board will post the data online at the end of the month, and the state is choosing not to jump the gun.
It's possible many people who are filling the stimulus-funded education jobs in New Jersey do not know it. That's because Governor Corzine used more than $1 billion from the $1.7 billion in education stimulus funding to plug a hole in public school funding caused by a recession-driven drop in income tax collections.
Local school administrators never had to confront aid cuts, so they never had to decide whether to cut jobs or raise property taxes to make up the difference. Nevertheless, federal guidelines required each stimulus aid recipient to calculate how many jobs they would not have been able to fill without the money.
E-mail: jackson@northjersey.com
October 19, 2009
Bad N.J. budget news: $190 million short and growing
By MICHAEL SYMONS
GANNETT STATE BUREAU
New Jersey's state budget has a revenue shortfall of $190 million and growing, state officials announced Monday.
The first-quarter gap in tax collections of 3.1 percent, if maintained over the rest of fiscal 2010, would yield a shortfall approaching $915 million. Revenue collections in September were further behind target than in July and August.
The first quarter of the fiscal year is the slowest in terms of state revenue collections. The deficit for the first three months of this fiscal year, however, was four times greater than the $47 million shortfall between July and September 2008.
Gov. Jon S. Corzine's administration appears to be anticipating more difficult financial news ahead. It detailed $206 million in reductions to the budget, and the governor directed Cabinet officers to identify another $200 million by Dec. 1.
"As has been the case for virtually every other state that as reported revenue activity in the new fiscal year, New Jersey is experiencing the continuing effects of the global economic downturn," said state Treasurer David Rousseau.
"Taxpayers in New Jersey have heard this story before, yet Gov. Corzine continues to rely on budgeting gimmicks instead of working in a bipartisan effort to address the state's runaway spending problem that is in desperate need of a major overhaul," said Assemblyman Joseph Malone III, R-Burlington.
The budget changes detailed Monday include $113 million in savings from lowered projected spending, such as spending $35 million less than anticipated on property tax rebates, $23 million less for retired teachers' health care and $15 million less for inmates' health care.
Another $41 million results from lapsing balances that were not anticipated, such as $26 million from employee salary accounts. The state is also claiming an additional $20 million in federal aid for foster care programs and $12 million in savings on employees' prescription costs under a new pharmacy benefits manager contract.
The deficit last month alone was 5.1 percent, or $140 million, compared with 2.6 percent, or $78 million, a year earlier.
All major taxes — income, sales and corporate — are down compared with a year earlier. Sales taxes this year are much closer to expectations, however, while business taxes are falling farther off their pace.
Last fiscal year, the state made more than $2 billion in midyear budget cuts.
Next year's state budget has a projected deficit of roughly $8 billion, nonpartisan legislative budget analysts have said.
State revenue drops $190 million; budget cuts sought
Gov. Jon S. Corzine said he has ordered staff to find an additional $200 million in budget cuts by Dec. 1. The 3.1 percent decline in tax collections would translate into $898.7 million over a full year.
"When we see revenues coming in below projections," Corzine said in a statement, "we take immediate action to meet our responsibility for a balanced budget."
Chris Daggett, independent candidate for governor, said in a statement the figures "underscore the need for a comprehensive restructuring of our tax system to make New Jersey competitive by cutting the property, income and corporate taxes that are driving people and businesses out of state."
The results show how unfit Corzine is to be governor, said Bill Stepien, campaign manager for Republican gubernatorial candidate Chris Christie. With the growing deficit, he said, "New Jerseyans can be assured that they will see more of Jon Corzine's high taxes and failed economic policies that continue to mire our state in deferred debt."
Between the July 1 start of the fiscal year and Sept. 30, state income tax collections were $67.1 million, or 3.3 percent less than expected, while corporate taxes were off $45.7 million, or 9.4 percent.
The state collected $149.5 million less in income taxes than it did during the same period last year, an 8.9 percent drop, and $113.9 million less in corporate taxes, down 20.6 percent.
Casino revenue taxes were down $5.5 million, or 6.1 percent, during the past three months. The state collected $17.3 million less in those taxes, compared with the same time last year, a 16.9 percent drop.
The biggest budget reductions were $20 million in aid to adoptive families, which is now covered by the federal government, $23 million in reduced payments to local school districts for post-retirement medical care and $20.5 million for late education aid payment savings.
In June, the state nonpartisan Office of Legislative Services projected the next budget would have an $8 billion deficit. Corzine, in the midst of a close re-election fight, recently discounted that figure.
Speaking to The Press of Atlantic City editorial board this month, Corzine said he had little confidence in revenue projections for next year, and said $3 billion came from pension debts he has said he would not fully fund.
"I'm a hopeful human being and I think there are signs that the macro ship is turning," Corzine said. "If they turn to the positive, then I would put more than $1 billion in (the state's pension funds)."
The Corzine administration had been under pressure to release revenue figures.
Republicans had cited press accounts of New York State, where Gov. David Paterson recently announced plans to cut $5 billion over the next two years.
A review of archived news releases on the New Jersey Treasury's Web site shows this state is abnormally late in reporting its current revenue figures.
The state reported revenue figures no later than Oct. 18 between 1999 and 2008, doing so twice. The average release date was Oct. 13.
While no similar releases are available for 1998, the state released figures Oct. 14, 1997.
Contact Derek Harper:, 609-292-4935
