Holzapfel, McGuckin & Catalano Blast Irresponsible Trenton Budget

The 10th District Legislators – Senator Jim Holzapfel and Assemblymen Greg McGuckin and John Catalano – today chastised Governor Murphy and the Trenton Democrats after a budget weighed down with spending and tax increases was approved without Republican support

“The partisan budget passed yesterday is irresponsible, indefensible and blatantly unfair to New Jersey taxpayers who will be left holding the bag for decades to come,” the legislators said. “With so many expensive Christmas Tree items dedicating millions of dollars to favored projects, the holidays came early to many Democrat-controlled towns, but for the suburban taxpayers who shoulder the burden of New Jersey spending with their wallets, it was just another load of coal in their stockings. It’s a clear message from Murphy and his friends in the Legislature that they don’t care how bad they hurt hard-working New Jerseyans, even in the middle of a health emergency.”

The $32.7 billion budget for the last nine months in Fiscal Year 2021, combined with the three-month stopgap budget approved in the summer, increased total state spending for the year to a record-high $40 billion.

“The Trenton majority has taken full advantage of the pandemic to boost spending to never-before-seen levels, leverage still higher taxes in a state infamous for taxation, and borrow $4.5 billion to spend on pet projects like $4 million for a golf course in Essex County and $1 million for the battleship in Camden,” said the 10th District legislators. “Making it even worse, the budget rips more money away from already-underfunded suburban schools to lavish on politically favored districts, all while insisting schools are flat-funded.”

Other “Christmas Tree” items in the budget include:

• $15 million to clean up debris in Camden
• $10 million extra in transitional aid for 10 municipalities although the agency overseeing the distressed cities never requested it
• $450,000 for municipal facilities in East Brunswick
• $175,000 to remediate one school in Wenonah while other schools with lead, asbestos or other contaminants are ignored
• $150,000 for the Thomas Edison Memorial Tower and Museum
• $100,000 for the shade tree commission in Metuchen

“One thing that is clear is Murphy and his cronies have no qualms about spending taxpayer money on hand-picked projects. At a time when the state should be doing what families everywhere are doing, cutting back on spending and watching every dollar, the majority party is throwing around money likes there’s no tomorrow. What happened yesterday in Trenton will make New Jersey more unaffordable and less competitive than ever and make it even more difficult for people to continue to reside in locations they love,” the legislators concluded.