Battleship New Jersey wrestles with state budget cuts

With its bristling 16-inch guns, the Battleship New Jersey has faced down many enemies over the last 65 years - from World War II through combat actions in Korea, Vietnam, and Beirut, Lebanon.

Now in retirement, the popular tourist destination on the Camden waterfront faces a new enemy: the state budget ax.

Trenton has reduced funding to "Big J" from $2.8 million last year to $1.5 million for the fiscal 2009 state budget, prompting the layoff of eight full-time workers - 20 percent of the full-time staff.

The cutback also may force limitations on operating hours and possibly close the ship to general admissions over part of the winter, battleship officials said.

The funding loss will not be easy to make up, said Troy Collins, president and CEO of the battleship. "This is a World War II battleship with high fixed costs for maintenance. And there's the cost of running the museum, and utilities - $720,000 [a year]. It's an expensive place to run."

But the expense has been worth it, Collins said. The battleship, which opened as a museum in 2001, pumps $9.2 million into the state economy annually, he said, citing state Department of Revenue reports. And it appears to be headed this year to record summer visitation.

Three million dollars in annual state funding was provided to the ship in fiscal 2006 and 2007. That amount was cut by $200,000 to $2.8 million in fiscal 2008.

"For the $3 million, the state was getting back $9.2 million in economic impact," said Collins, who celebrated the 65th anniversary of the vessel's commissioning in May. "If the state wants to see vibrant cultural and historical museums in the state, there's a level of support that's needed."

Tourism in New Jersey is a $38 billon industry "due to the variety of activities and sites available," said Susan Evans, a spokeswoman for the Department of State, which oversees the Division of Travel and Tourism. "Each of these sites and activities are equally important to fueling the state's economy."

The battleship was "one of several museums that was cut," said Tom Bell, a spokesman for the state Department of Treasury. "The Liberty Science Center [in Jersey City] was cut by $2.7 million and the Newark Museum lost $2.2 million."

The reductions amounted to 46 percent of the budgets of the ship and other museums, according to Collins.

"The goal of the budget was to take steps to fix state finances so we could match recurring spending with recurring revenues, reduce state debt and ease the structural budget shortfall," Bell said. "The focus was to preserve core programs that service our seniors and other vulnerable populations."

The fact that cuts were spread out across the state hasn't made them any less painful on the Camden waterfront.

The Battleship New Jersey lost its director of marketing, tour operations manager, director of development, a human resources representative, an artifacts registrar and maintenance workers, said Jack Willard, the ship's vice president of marketing and sales.

Six of the eight had left by Aug. 1. The two others will leave within a week.

"We are dependent on the state's help so this is a big blow to us," Willard said. "It's been a rough month. We will have to do a better job of bringing in more money; we'll have to work harder."

The battleship will make decisions at a Dec. 3 board about possible winter closings.

"The cuts are devastating to us," Collins said. "We will have to handle tasks in much different ways, assess operational priorities. We will probably have some limited hours [during the winter]. We will still have groups and encampments for a day."

But he said the ship may decide to close to general admissions during January and February.

In the meantime, the battleship will sail some rough financial waters as it looks for more funding. It receives about $1 million in private contributions for operating expenses annually; $1.2 million in income from tours, and $800,000 in income from encampments.

But more money will be needed to make up for the lost state funding. "We are not a Philadelphia-based museum with Main Line support from wealthy contributors," Collins said. "We are a young organization handcuffed by expenses."