Sweeney Holds Monmouth Town Hall on Fiscal Reforms

Gopal & O’Scanlon Join In Public Forum on ‘Path To Progress’

West Long Branch – Speaking at a Town Hall meeting at Monmouth University, Senate President Steve Sweeney today emphasized the need to confront the state’s mounting fiscal problems and warned that New Jersey won’t be able to make critical investments in education, transportation, higher education and social services unless it enacts major structural reforms to address the looming budget crisis fueled by runaway pension and benefit costs.

Joined by Senator Vin Gopal and Senator Declan O’Scanlon, Senator Sweeney laid out a series of solutions developed by the bipartisan Economic and Fiscal Policy Workgroup of economists, academics and fiscal policy experts to address the problem. The forum was hosted by Grey J. Dimenna, the President of Monmouth University.

“We have to be willing to confront the reality of the fiscal problems we face and realize the need for structural reforms,” said Senator Sweeney (D-Gloucester/Salem/Cumberland). “We are facing a financial free fall in the years ahead that will cripple our ability to fund our most important priorities, such as expanding preschool, fully funding state aid to local school districts, higher education and providing vital public services.”

“We need to make our state more affordable for our hard-working middle-class families, for new college graduates and millennials deciding where they are going to live, and for senior citizens trying to decide whether they can afford to stay,” said Senator Gopal (D-Monmouth). “This is an important conversation to have and I am glad we are doing a town hall to hear from the public on how we can make our state more affordable.”

Senator Sweeney said many of the recommendations in the Economic and Fiscal Policy Workgroup’s Path to Progress report could make New Jersey both more competitive and more affordable. He applauded Governor Murphy for incorporating some of the reforms into his budget proposal, but said that more can be done.

The report found that significant cost savings and educational and service improvements can be achieved through initiatives such as K-12 regionalization, increased use of shared services at both the county and municipal level, and shifting the cost of Extraordinary Special Education from the local to the state level.

“A number of the bipartisan fiscal reforms we are discussing today would make New Jersey more affordable for years to come,” said Senator O’Scanlon (R-Monmouth). “We shouldn’t let another budget cycle go by without taking action to control spending and improve government efficiency. We need to work together to make New Jersey a place where everyone, from young families to retirees, can continue to live together in the state we are all proud to call home.”

Senator Sweeney said the new hybrid pension system recommended by the Workgroup is not a new idea; 12 states, including Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Ohio, have already adopted hybrid systems. The plan would fully preserve the existing pension system for teachers and state, county and municipal employees with five years of service.

“We welcome this public forum and discussion on issues of real and lasting significance,” said Monmouth President Dimenna. “I give Senators Sweeney, Gopal and O’Scanlon credit for their willingness to listen to the public and and ability to engage in a sincere conversation.”

“Shifting healthcare coverage from the current ‘Platinum-Plus’ system to a Gold-level health care plan comparable to those offered by New Jersey’s largest private sector companies to their employees makes sense,” said Peter Reinhart, who served on the Workgroup. “One of the best things about the shift from Platinum to Gold is that teachers and other public employees would save over $200 million that they are paying out of their paychecks toward their health premiums for a level of coverage most of them are never going to use.”