Christie's Message To School Boards And Towns (AUDIO)
Listen to Governor Christie's comments on the budget
This coming Tuesday, Governor Chris Christie will deliver his first State Budget Address and he's not expected to paint a very pretty picture. The estimated deficit for Fiscal Year 2011 is $11.2 billion. Insiders say Christie is likely to propose cutting state aid to towns and school districts and could eliminate property tax rebates for many.
The Governor refuses to divulge specifics concerning his address, but yesterday he gave towns and school boards a sneak preview of what they can expect to hear. Christie says new statistics reveal that even as the state is striving to cut its workforce, municipalities and school boards have added over 11,000 public jobs.
"Part of what need to talk about on Tuesday is that all levels of government have to impose discipline. That government cannot continue to be made larger and more expensive" explains Christie.
Christie says expensive local governments can't be sustained especially with the high salaries and, "Especially when you're giving teachers free health benefits for life……….When you add more jobs at the local level with those labor costs imposed upon them, you'll never get property taxes under control."
It's going to be a very tough budget for Christie to sell, but he's actually counting on the public to help carry his message. He says, "Leadership, not just leadership on my part, but leadership on the part of every day citizens in this state is what's going to bring about the change."
The Governor is asking the public to tell their local leaders that it is time for change. He's also hoping that lobbyists and the Trenton hangers-on get a message too. Christie explains, "These entrenched interests that have been feeding off of the public for a very long time need to know that the public is tired of it."
Christie promises that he'll be sending the "entrenched interests" a message of his own and, "They'll be out there screaming and yelling about all kinds of unfairness and other kinds of things, but this will be shared sacrifice for everybody."
Fairleigh Dickinson University political science professor Peter Woolley says Christie's asking the people to be his allies, "Is a smart thing to do. I think the question is whether the public's attention will be sustained enough to be a strong enough ally to carry him through."
Woolley says if the people have not reached the tipping point they're very near that point. He explains, "If they're not near that point then I don't think that the Governor really has much of a prayer to succeed in keeping down taxes and cutting the budget."
Copyright 2010 by Millennium Radio New Jersey. All Rights Reserved.
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