9th District Delegation: Trenton Doesn’t Get that the Cost of Living is too High for Residents

As the FY2024 State Budget hearings wind to a close, Senator Christopher Connors, Assemblyman Brian Rumpf, and Assemblywoman DiAnne Gove are calling on the Murphy Administration and their legislative colleagues to make tax relief and corresponding government spending cuts priorities to best serve the interests of taxpayers.

The 9th District Delegation issued the following statement:

“Unrelenting inflation has only exasperated the high cost of living in New Jersey that has the unenviable distinction of the highest property taxes in the nation. The State Budget is the state’s controlling document and, therefore, needs to be the centerpiece of fiscal reform and providing the financial security taxpayers desperately need.

“Obscene levels in state spending, entitlements for persons in the country illegally, and political pet budget projects will not help taxpayers in the short or long term but will give them incentive to move out of New Jersey to states with reasonable tax rates. Many residents we serve are bracing for another round of toll increases that will only add to the financial burdens imposed by Trenton. These policies include, but certainly are not limited to, increases in the gas tax and electric rates while at the same time political games are played with the state’s broken school funding formula.

“It is blatantly obvious that tax relief is desperately needed to stabilize taxpayers’ financial security, especially for those whose hard-earned tax dollars pay for State programs that they rarely qualify for under Trenton’s gimmick-ridden eligibility requirements. Yes, the ANCHOR program was a step in the right direction and gave reformers a glimmer of hope that Trenton was finally beginning to wake up to New Jersey’s affordability crisis.

“Responsible governing means prioritizing funding for core services and programs, especially those serving our most vulnerable citizens. However, state services aren’t any help if you can’t afford to live in the state in which they’re offered. State Budget deliberations to date have unfortunately shown the Administration’s policy mindset rests solidly with protecting government spending levels at all costs as opposed to sending excess tax revenue where it belongs—to the taxpayers.”

During the May 17 hearing of the Assembly Budget Committee, Assemblyman Rumpf raised concern to the State Treasurer about how the increasing cost of living in New Jersey has led 30 percent of middle-class residents to now be considered low income. The Assemblyman also questioned how the Administration’s use of federal pandemic relief funds for a new state Hall of Fame and the state’s bid for the World Cup would prepare New Jersey for a future pandemic. Additionally, Assemblyman Rumpf disputed the Administration’s proposal to spend millions of dollars on the Centre Pompidou x Jersey City, a satellite location for a well-endowed French Arts Museum, that could be far better utilized to help New Jersey’s most vulnerable citizens.