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Re: N.J. Gov.-elect Chris Christie considers declaring financial state of emergency
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The problem with the former succession plan is that the Senate president becomes the acting governor, but also remains the senate president. For short terms, such as when the governor is out of the state for a day or two, this is not a problem. But when the acting governor is serving for a year or several months even, he is then in control of two branches of government, disrupting the checks and balances system so integral to American style democracy. And that there is the problem-- the Senate President could not resign from the Senate to be acting governor, otherwise he ceases to be acting governor as well.
Posted on: 2009/11/12 18:19
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Re: N.J. Gov.-elect Chris Christie considers declaring financial state of emergency
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If 42 other states jumped off the Empire State Building, should NJ? Why not have a Lt. Lt. Governor in case both the Governor and Lt. Governor bite the dust? And did we suffer any irreversible harm from the succession plan utilized in the past? No. The office is worth the proverbial warm bucket of spit.
Posted on: 2009/11/12 16:31
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Ten most troubled states in the U.S.
By Tami Luhby, CNNMoney.com senior writer On 3:42 pm EST, Wednesday November 11, 2009 Buzz up! 1525 Print The same economic pressures that pushed California to the brink of insolvency are wreaking havoc on other states, a new report has found. And how state officials deal with their fiscal problems could reverberate across the United States, according to the Pew Center on the States' analysis released Wednesday. The 10 most troubled states are: Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island and Wisconsin. Other states -- including Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, New York and Hawaii -- were not far behind. The list is based on several factors, including the loss of state revenue, size of budget gaps, unemployment and foreclosure rates, poor money management practices, and state laws governing the passage of budgets. These troubles have forced these states -- as well as many others -- to raise taxes, lay off or furlough state workers and slash services. These actions can slow down the nation's recovery, especially since these 10 states account for one-third of the country's population and economic output. "Decisions these states make as they try to navigate the recession will play a role in how quickly the entire nation recovers," said Susan Urahn, managing director of Pew Center on the States. In a separate study released Wednesday, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities found that states will likely have to make steep cuts in their fiscal 2011 budgets, which start next July 1 in most states. That's because the critical federal stimulus dollars will run out by the end of 2010. These cuts could take nearly a percentage point off the national gross domestic product and cost the nation 900,000 jobs, the study found. 10 troubled states Here's a summary of what Pew found is plaguing each of the states: California: The Golden State's housing collapse -- and resulting unemployment surge -- has plagued the state's economy. The weakening economy prompted revenue to fall by nearly a sixth between the first quarters of 2008 and 2009. State lawmakers have limited ability to deal with California's massive budget gap due to several voter-imposed restrictions, including requirements that all budgets and tax increases pass the legislature by a two-thirds majority. Arizona: The state depends heavily on a growing economy to bring in tax revenue, and lawmakers don't have a lot of leeway to address budget deficits thanks to voter-imposed spending constraints. Lawmakers relied on one-time fixes to balance its budget instead of making long-term changes. Rhode Island: The Ocean State has among the highest unemployment rates in the nation and among the highest foreclosure rates in New England. High tax rates, big budget deficits and a lack of high tech jobs are hurting its chances to pull out of the doldrums. State government has a poor record of managing its finances Michigan: The state never climbed out of the recession that started in 2001, and matters only became worse during the Great Recession. Two of the Big Three Detroit-based automakers went bankrupt in 2009, sending shockwaves through a state on track to lose a quarter of its jobs this decade. The recession accelerated drops in state revenue, and has left Michigan's government trying to deal with today's problems on a 1960s-sized budget. Nevada: Nevada is one of the recession's big losers as its gaming-based economy suffered. Year-over-year revenue has fallen for two consecutive years, a record. But changing tax laws is tough because some are written into the state constitution. Oregon: Oregon's leading industries, such as timber and computer-chip manufacturing, have been hit hard in the recession. Lawmakers have approved more than $1 billion in new taxes to keep it afloat. But voters in January will have the final say on another $733 million in new income taxes. Florida: For the first time since World War II, Florida's population is shrinking -- bad news for an budget built on new residents flocking to the Sunshine State. Lawmakers raised $2 billion in new revenue this year, but could face a similar shortfall next year. New Jersey: The Garden State, which has been plagued by years of fiscal mismanagement, spends more than it collects in revenue. The collapse of Wall Street, which supports about one-third of New Jersey's economy, has only made matters worse. Illinois: Since the last recession earlier this decade, the state piled up huge backlogs of Medicaid bills and borrowed money to pay its pension obligations. The state's current budget still relies heavily on borrowing and paying bills late. Wisconsin: Wisconsin has a long history of budget shortfalls. It also borrows frequently to cover operating expenses, among other measures. Unemployment is climbing as manufacturing, the state's largest sector, sputters. More stimulus needed The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a liberal research group, says the states need additional federal fiscal relief to avoid budget cuts that will hurt both the economy and people. State and local spending accounts for about one-eighth of the GDP. Already, less than five months into fiscal 2010, several states are looking at additional budget cuts. Rhode Island announced Tuesday it is facing a revenue shortfall for the current fiscal year of $130.5 million. Gov. Donald Carcieri said the state must examine its aid to local governments, since it has already cut personnel and social service programs. And in California, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Tuesday that his state is facing a budget gap of up to $7 billion. The state will likely announce across-the-board spending cuts in January. "So we just have to hang in there, tighten our belts and live within our means," he said. The center would like to see the federal government allocate another $50 billion, while economist Mark Zandi said about half of that would be needed. Congress should pass the additional aid now since states are currently crafting their fiscal 2011 budgets. States received billions of dollars in funding from the Obama administration's $787 billion stimulus package, including $87 billion for Medicaid and $48.3 billion for maintaining education and other key services. The stimulus funds plugged about 30% to 40% of the budget gaps states were facing, and created or saved more than 300,000 jobs, said Iris Lav, the center's senior adviser. But the economic downturn is greater than administration officials expected when the Recovery Act was passed in February, Lav said. That's why more assistance is needed now. Budget projections show that states could face deficits as large as $260 billion in 2011 and 2012 after stimulus funding is exhausted. State economies usually take up to two years longer to recover after the nation's fiscal health begins to improve. New budget cuts and tax increases "will be a serious drag on the economy at just the wrong time," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Economy.com. Without assistance, the economy could slide back into a recession, he said.
Posted on: 2009/11/12 16:25
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Re: N.J. Gov.-elect Chris Christie considers declaring financial state of emergency
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I suppose that's why only 42 other states have the position.
Posted on: 2009/11/12 16:18
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Re: N.J. Gov.-elect Chris Christie considers declaring financial state of emergency
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I disagree. It is a colossal waste of money to have someone sitting in the bullpen who will probably never be needed, no matter recent history. Better to have amended the succession plan.
Posted on: 2009/11/12 15:23
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Re: N.J. Gov.-elect Chris Christie considers declaring financial state of emergency
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The problem is a systemic patronage system built up around the many municipal level governments and institutionalized by an industry that profits from the symbiotic relationship between elected officials and government contractors. The candidate accounts are filled with contributions from contractors whose own coffers are than enriched through public contracts distributed by the elected officials. Elected officials constantly need a source of campaign funds and contractors need a constant source of contracts. Pay-to-play reform bills have done nothing to stem the flow of cash, only to make it more difficult to figure out where the money is coming from since contributors simply figure out better ways of hiding the money. Fewer municipalities means fewer contracts to distribute which means fewer tax dollars going to support the patronage system.
Posted on: 2009/11/12 15:12
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True local control works. New Hampshire has a huge number of towns that raise their money with property taxes based on local decisions. Consequently, they have some of the lowest taxes and leanest governments in the country. One of the problems with NJ is that we have out of control spending funded by income and sales taxes that are largely out of local control along with state funding of municipalities.
If local governments in NJ had to live and die by what they raised from local folks things would change quickly. Quote:
Posted on: 2009/11/12 3:34
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Well, maybe they were remembering Whitman resigning to head the EPA and having three (!) unelected interm Governors finish her term. And maybe they were remembering McGreavy resigning and having an unelected interm Governor finish his term. And maybe they were remembering Corzine getting seriously injured early in his term, and having a unelected interm Governor serve in his stead. Maybe they decided it would be prudent to have a plan of succession that put someone elected in a statewide ballot next in line. Nothing negative implied about Richard Cody. I had to look up his first name: I wanted to call him William Cody, aka 'Buffalo Bill'. Now I want to call him 'Buffalo Dick' Cody. Do you think he'd mind?
Posted on: 2009/11/12 2:42
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Like I said, the results have not been pretty. I've never denied that. However, wherever there's been waste over the long-term, there's been a community that has not stood up to the garbage and voted it out. If the people really want change, they'll get it. It works itself out. And if it doesn't, the people absolutely deserve what they get. Who else could they blame? Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice..
Posted on: 2009/11/12 2:29
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Christie could also help out by having his Lt. Governor resign and closing the entire office of Lt. Governor. Not sure what NJ voters were thinking when they voted to add a whole new (and unecessary) office to the administration.
Posted on: 2009/11/12 0:53
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That all sounds nice but reality isn't quite so simple once you let pesky facts get in the way. For starters, many layers of the local government (and i'll just speak to ours for the moment) are openly hostile toward the citizenry they supposedly represent. School board elections are held separate from any other elections. They are held at very unusual hours (something like 2pm to 8pm). There is virtually no public advertising for them. The deck is stacked for teachers and municipal employees to vote in disproportionate numbers (think people who are not working outside of JC and can easily make it to the polls during the allotted time) - they are here, they (unlike most) are very aware of the election and they have strong personal incentive to vote - even more than the taxpayer. Of course there is nothing technically stopping anyone from voting (and yes, I vote in BOE elections), but when you make it difficult rather than open and easy you are bound to end up with a system that requires less than 2,000 votes to win a seat. Which is the case here - in a city of ~ 130,000 registered voters. Take the MUA. They meet at 5 on a Thursday once a month. They jam through a huge rate increase and no one even knew there was a meeting to go to so they could voice opposition. (Maybe a few people knew, but no one - NO ONE - was there.) I could go on and on and if you're being honest with yourself, you could probably as well. Sure - vote them out. But when the incumbents have essentially unlimited funds (acquired through whatever means necessary), there is unquestionably a tilted field in their favor. I don't think asking for these things to be addressed - things that need to be done to begin to be able to do things like "get the government we deserve."
Posted on: 2009/11/12 0:09
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I agree there is too much overlap and waste in the system. Many municipalities should consolidate. My point is that they should decide this for themselves rather than being forced to do so. If the people don't care about their waste, let them pay it. It works itself out. We get the government we deserve.
Posted on: 2009/11/11 23:02
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I'm not saying it's run well. I'm saying if it isn't, the people in a very specific location have only themselves to blame. Also, it's easier for them to change it themselves rather than getting it changed on a state level.
Posted on: 2009/11/11 23:01
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"Keeping it Local" is exactly why property taxes are so high in this state. For every municipality that remains independent there are the costs of payroll, health insurance, and pensions for:
Council Mayor Manager Clerk Municipal Lawyer Accountant Engineer And then add to that the varied department heads for things like public works, sanitation, transportation, public safety, parks, recreation, ect.ect. Then multiply by 566. Do the people of Weehawken, with just 13,500 resident, actually have better representation than Hoboken with 38,000? Or are there just fewer taxpayers to pay the salaries of the council, mayor, manager, clerk, lawyer, accountant, engineer, police director, sanitation director ect ect?
Posted on: 2009/11/11 21:52
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I would be interested to know what sort of backing you have a for your statement - other than it\'s what you think will happen. I have lived (paid taxes) and participated in both systems. My frustration with NJ has lead to a lot of research and reading. Municipalities are typically a strong civic entity when they exist on a small scale, providing community services for (typically) geographically disconnected groups. They tend to not behave well in large densely populated areas, like NJ, where community services from town to town are similar. Instead, municipalities become fiefdoms, serving themselves or the people running them... not the public. You are suggesting that democracy runs efficiently in this state... I think we know better. The corruption sting being the case and point. Just because the community doesnt know better doesnt mean they dont deserve better. The only way this will change is if someone reaches in and takes control - a real leader.
Posted on: 2009/11/11 21:28
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No, it's not working well, but centralizing it will make it worse. It will drive the administration even further away from the people in the locality. If the munis are wasteful, then that's what those citizens deserve. Those that are smart enough to wake up and demand chnage will be rewarded, those that aren't will be punished. Intuitively, that's how it should be. The munis are as accountable as the citizens want them to be.
Posted on: 2009/11/11 17:50
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Because that is working so well.... all of the inefficiencies we have are driven by the municipalities acting independent of each other for the same things. The governor will continue to be a figure head in this state until he takes power back from people like Healy and their fiefdoms. I am more concerned about what that nut job and his cronies will do than I am about Christie. It's great that Christie isn't going to raise taxes... that means nothing for my property tax, which in the next four years is likely to go up.... and for what?
Posted on: 2009/11/11 17:24
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I hear your point but if munis are wasteful and/or need to consolidate, it's up to the people in that district to take charge and request change.
Posted on: 2009/11/11 17:22
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But how local do we need it? Some 560-odd municipalities in a state that isn't even a quarter the physical size of the average state? Sure it's a densely populated state - all the better in terms of rolling up some of these insane "municipalities" such as East Newark and Guttenberg. I have to agree with Wibbit (which is quite unusual) - start gutting the administrative ranks of the schools. 26 deputy and assistant superintendents in the Jersey City school district all of them making between $110,000 and $160,000 per year??? For what??? Oh right - the $285,000 per year superintendent was also a state assemblyman until 2008 and in Trenton two days out of the week. I guess he needed the 26 others to do the day job he was supposed to be doing himself. Accountability will come when someone (hopefully Christie) makes it clear that local politics is not a synonym for racketeering. This state, this county and this city are all embarrassments.
Posted on: 2009/11/11 15:53
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I?d rather keep it local. More accountability and at least a chance of efficiency.
Posted on: 2009/11/11 15:17
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If Christie wanted to do something effective he would pull the power off the municipal governments and incorporate our counties. Start with the centralization education, sanitation, and safety.
Too many people loose out in the municipal system.
Posted on: 2009/11/11 14:47
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N.J. Gov.-elect Chris Christie considers declaring financial state of emergency
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So much BS, all NJ ever needed to do was fire/cut the salary of those overpaid "administrators" in the state education dept. It's a giant blackhole that just takes and takes while the quality of education keeps going down and down...
[quote] http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009 ... ct_chris_christie_co.html As he seeks concessions from state workers to balance his first budget, Gov.-elect Chris Christie is examining the possibility of declaring a financial emergency in the state, according to an official familiar with his plans. Such a declaration ? invoking the same law as if New Jersey were hit by a natural disaster ? could give Christie broad powers, such as suspending rules governing state worker layoffs. With many state workers due to receive two raises in the next fiscal year and a no-layoff pledge in place through December 2010, Christie?s transition team expects to tackle the issue before he takes office Jan. 19, two of his advisers said today. The advisers, who requested anonymity because the discussions are preliminary, said it is too early to determine whether a state of emergency would be an attractive proposition or a last resort in the face of a continuing recession. Christie, a Republican who defeated Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine last week, will face an estimated $8 billion shortfall for the budget he must present by March. His budget balancing options are limited because he has ruled out raising taxes or cutting state aid to K-12 education. Corzine invoked the state of emergency provisions of New Jersey law in July 2006 in ordering the shutdown of state government after the unprecedented breakdown of budget talks between himself and the Legislature. New Jersey?s Constitution mandates a balanced state budget, so if a budget is not in place or if the spending plan is out of balance, government lawyers believe that is a legal "emergency." Corzine?s aides considered employing the same provisions earlier this year as state revenue plummeted in the face of a crashing national economy. But Corzine and the largest state workers union, the Communications Workers of America, ultimately reached an agreement calling for 10 unpaid furlough days while deferring a wage increase in exchange for a no-layoff pledge through December 2010. Christie was critical of that deal throughout the campaign and reiterated today that he is not "bound by" the no-layoff agreement. He said working out a solution with unions is a priority to deal with "right away." "I want to leave my options open to reach a fair and appropriate resolution in light of the economic circumstances that confront the state today," Christie said at a press conference in Hamilton. "It may turn out that there are no layoffs. If we can reach a fair agreement with all the parties that recognizes the pressures that the taxpayers are under and the state government is under, I would hope to have no layoffs. But that?s going to be a product of the negotiations that we?re going to have to have. So that?s not something that can wait." Christie was reluctant to be more specific. But he described his general attitude toward dealing with unions as "I vowed to be fair. I?m not going to be a pushover, and that?s going to be a change ... We will have a tough but fair negotiation that will result in a fair contract to both parties." Bob Master, a spokesman for the CWA who earlier this year called the emergency option "dictatorial," said Christie should respect the negotiations over the summer with Corzine. "Emergency or no emergency, we believe that we have a binding collective bargaining agreement," he said. "We think it would be a big mistake to start by voiding an agreement that was negotiated in good faith and that we believe is binding on both the administration and the union regardless of who is actually governor." Master declined to say whether the CWA would consider another wage deferral or other concessions to prevent layoffs. In July 2006, Corzine invoked the Disaster Control Act when he issued Executive Order 17. It authorized him to exercise "emergency powers" and said "the statutory and regulatory provisions governing layoffs in state government ... are hereby suspended." Corzine then furloughed 45,000 "nonessential" state workers for the weeklong shutdown. They were later paid for the time off. A spokesman for Corzine declined to comment today. Like Corzine before him, Christie could invoke the emergency powers conferred upon him by the state Disaster Control Act, which gives the governor vast decision-making authority over resources and finances. But Christie?s interpretation and use of those powers could vary from his predecessor?s to accommodate the new governor?s circumstances. Senate Majority Leader Steve Sweeney, an ironworker leader who has sparred with state worker unions, said it would be "natural" for Christie to consider the emergency option. "It wouldn?t be a stretch to say there?s a financial emergency," said Sweeney (D-Gloucester). "That?s obviously a very powerful tool that he has at his disposal." Sweeney previously advised Corzine to invoke provisions of state-worker contracts that would allow the governor to forgo wage increases if the Legislature did not fund them due to an emergency. "If we don?t give him the money, then he can?t spend it," Sweeney said today. "That?s in the contract and it?s recognized, so you?re not breaking their contract." Sweeney said he has not discussed the emergency issue with Christie. Under the current agreement, CWA workers expect to receive two raises in the next budget year: one on July 1, 2010, and one in January 2011. Each wage increase would be 3.5 percent. If the state initiates layoffs before 2011, the January 2011 raises would kick in immediately, according to the deal. By Claire Heininger and Josh Margolin/Statehouse Bureau
Posted on: 2009/11/11 4:12
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