Ahead of new budget, Christie showcases Haddon Heights

A bit more than a year ago, Christopher J. Christie kicked off his gubernatorial campaign with a stop in Haddon Heights, promising to "make the tough decisions without sticking my finger in the air to see which way the political wind is blowing."

Yesterday, days before he will reveal some of those decisions in his first budget address, the governor returned to the borough to outline just how dire the state's financial situation was.

Christie said he was back in Haddon Heights because the mayor, fellow Republican Scott Alexander, has helped to keep property taxes down while improving services, serving as an example to others of how to do more with less.

Speaking to a small group of residents at the Haddon Heights Cabin, a town building available to residents to rent for social events, Alexander outlined the town's efforts to keep property taxes in check. Those steps included cutting half the staff of the Department of Public Works and building facilities, including the Haddon Heights Cabin, to generate revenue and provide services.

Christie said the budget for next year "will be unlike any other you've seen in New Jersey in at least 20 years." Officials project a budget gap of at least $11 billion, out of a total state budget of about $29 billion.

Christie vowed repeatedly yesterday that he would not increase taxes, saying that the state's residents were fed up with being the "most overtaxed" in the country. The governor will give his budget address Tuesday before a joint meeting of the Legislature.

Christie said that many had already fled New Jersey to escape the high taxes and that those who were left remained only because "they love our state."

The governor defended some of the actions he has taken to close the gap in the current budget and gave hints to his next budget.

Christie said that while he did not want to see fare increases at NJ Transit, he did not see any alternative. He added that, even after he cut $32.7 million, or about 11 percent, from the transit subsidy for the rest of the year, the state still contributes more than 40 percent of NJ Transit's budget.

Another budget problem crying for attention is the schools, which received $1 billion in federal stimulus funds that are not expected to be repeated.

"Every program in the state budget is up for consideration," Christie said. He declined to say whether property-tax rebates might be trimmed or eliminated.

He said that keeping a temporary tax hike for the wealthiest New Jerseyans in place was not an option because the tax rate also affected small businesses.

And he defended his proposal to keep the unemployment trust fund afloat by downsizing benefits for the unemployed and trimming a planned tax hike for employers.

"I'd love to be Santa Claus," Christie said, "but I can't be."

The governor took particular aim at public school teachers, saying he would not be cowed by teachers unions. He said it was unfair to ask the state's residents to pay for 4.5 percent to 5 percent salary increases for teachers, most of whom contribute nothing toward health benefits, when the state's economy was limping along and unemployment was hovering around 10 percent.

Christie said Republicans and Democrats were both responsible for the state's irresponsible spending over the years, but he singled out his predecessor, Democrat Jon S. Corzine.

Christie said Corzine "lied" about the budget having a $500 million surplus, when there was a deficit of more than $2 billion. Christie also said that, by renegotiating contracts with public employee unions, Corzine tied Christie's hands, preventing him from furloughing or laying off state workers until January 2011.

The governor had said he would not be bound by the contract negotiated by his predecessor.

"I was wrong," Christie said, calling the situation an "exquisite pair of handcuffs."

"I cannot just disregard the law," Christie said. "We're not showing leadership, but I didn't make that deal, Jon Corzine did."

Corzine spokesman Josh Zeitz said Corzine cut the state workforce by more than 8,000 positions and then negotiated an "unprecedented wage giveback of $300 million from state workers."

"Nothing in the contract prohibits the new governor from pursuing his ill-advised campaign pledge to lay off 20,000 state workers," Zeitz said. "It would be a disruptive and cruel thing to do, but his hands aren't tied."

Also present yesterday was Sen. Donald Norcross (D., Camden). Christie said Norcross and fellow South Jersey Democrat Stephen Sweeney, the Senate president, had demonstrated bipartisanship in reaching across the aisle to work with the governor.