Mystery funds for Camden are controversial
Democrats in the state Assembly budget committee approved $3 million for unspecified redevelopment projects in Camden yesterday, and then blasted Republicans for voting "no."
In a news release, Assembly Democrats said the money was left over from a 1996 bond sale and would cost taxpayers nothing. The "no" vote by four Republicans, they said, signaled "their unwillingness to work in partnership with Democrats to help New Jersey through the recession."
But Assemblywoman Allison McHose (R., Sussex) said she and her four GOP counterparts voted against the appropriation because Democrats would not tell them what it was for. "The budget committee is out of control," she said. "The budget process is not transparent. . . . I wanted to make sure this money was not going to be used to fund a private development."
The money would be used to expand an undisclosed project along the waterfront and build student housing for Rutgers-Camden, according to Democrats and officials from Rutgers-Camden and the Cooper's Ferry Development Association. No further details were given.
- Matt Katz
