Christie needs Legislature's help with budget cuts

TRENTON - Gov. Christie said yesterday that he would need the Legislature's approval to finalize his budget fixes, a change from indications that he had closed the state's $2.2 billion budget gap using executive power alone.

Christie said that he could freeze spending using his executive authority, but that to shift some money and close budget holes, he needs approval from the Democratic-controlled Legislature.

Democrats, however, have been at odds with Christie, saying he shut them out of decision-making, and criticizing his cuts as hurtful to the needy and likely to lead to property-tax increases.

Hours after Christie acknowledged that he would need support from lawmakers, the Assembly Budget Committee began hearing more than eight hours of testimony, including presentations from educators, a blind teen, the mother of two disabled children, and others who said the governor's cuts would hurt programs on which they rely.

"These are real people that are struggling with these issues," said Assembly Budget Chairman Louis D. Greenwald (D., Camden).

He said Democrats were waiting for information from the administration so they could try to come up with alternative ways to address the budget shortfall. Greenwald suggested spending the state's $500 million reserve, though that would mean having to rebuild the cushion in the next budget.

Until yesterday, it appeared that Democrats would be left out of the process of solving the current year's deficit.

But in a morning radio interview on WKXW-FM (101.5), Christie said, "We will need some legislative help" to transfer money, "but I don't expect that the Legislature would act irresponsibly."

A memorandum prepared by the nonpartisan Office of Legislative Services said that at least $340 million of the budget shifts Christie had planned required lawmakers' approval. Christie's office said it would need approval to move about $390 million.

Christie's plan called for cutting $1.6 billion in spending and saving around $450 million from accounts that had more money than needed.

At the first hearing on Christie's planned reductions, Rocco Fiorentino, 13, of Voorhees, said the cuts would have a tremendous impact on blind and visually impaired residents who rely on state-funded programs.

Fiorentino said he relied every day on vision devices and orientation and mobility instruction funded by the state.

"Cutting costs at all costs is not going to solve the long-term budget [problem] in this great state," Fiorentino said. "Think about the long-term effects."

Several school officials urged lawmakers to reconsider spending cuts that they said would result in fewer teachers and staff or higher property taxes.

The Cherry Hill School District expects to lose about $3.9 million in state aid in the current school year, which will directly affect next year's budget, school officials said. They said they had set aside reserves last year, in the midst of the economic crisis, to be in a better position for the new budget. Now, though, they said they and others would be penalized for planning, because Christie's cuts will hit districts that had built up surpluses of more than 2 percent of their budgets.

Superintendent David Campbell testified that the district anticipated that with a 10 percent reduction in state aid, it would have to cut about 173 employees from its payroll on top of 63 cut in the current year.

Hospitals stand to lose $12.6 million in state reimbursements for care for the uninsured, as well as matching federal funds, for a total of more than $25 million.

"Charity care is not a grant program. This is payment for actual care provided by New Jersey hospitals," said Elizabeth Ryan, president of the New Jersey Hospital Association. "We don't have the luxury of raising property taxes."

Republicans said Christie had made difficult but necessary choices.

"The governor recognizes the pain this is causing, but taxpayers can no longer accept the status quo," said Assemblyman Jon Bramnick (R., Union). "The public wants answers, not political posturing."

In a hint of spending reductions to come, Christie said yesterday that school officials should plan for cuts of 5, 10, or 15 percent in the budget that begins July 1.

Christie spokesman Michael Drewniak said the administration hoped to keep aid flat, but that doing so would be difficult. Support for schools makes up 34 percent of the state budget. "Considering the budget gap that we're facing, it would be impossible for education funding to go untouched at some level," he said.

Responding to critics who have said a $475 million school-aid freeze would lead to higher property taxes as districts try to cover the loss, Christie said local leaders needed to change their approach.

"Part of it is going to have to be a mindset change at the local level, saying, 'Just because state aid gets reduced doesn't mean you automatically go and raise property taxes,' " Christie said in the radio interview. "Our state is in crisis, our people are broke. . . . This is not the time to be heaping more expense on the backs of the taxpayers."

Christie said he planned to give schools more tools to control costs locally, including health-benefit changes that might ease the costs to school boards and changes in arbitration rules.