N.J. Gov. Chris Christie signs an unbalanced budget

Good editorial from the Star-Ledger this morning dealing with the realities of the "unbalanced budget" signed by Gov. Christie yesterday:

"The budget signed yesterday by Gov. Chris Christie will reduce state spending for the third year in a row. The total now is roughly at the same level it was in 2005.

No serious person disputes the need for austerity in these times. We are headed in the right direction.

The pity is that this governor failed to demand the shared sacrifice that he himself made a central criteria for judging the final product. Yesterday, he continued to deny that central fact.

“We tried to spread the pain as evenly as we could,” he told a national television audience.

Here are the facts: The 16,000 families in New Jersey earning more than $1 millon will get an average tax break of $40,000 apiece under this budget. At the same time, a single mom working for minimum wage will pay $300 more in state taxes.

The biggest cuts in this budget are painful but unavoidable. That includes the deep cuts in aid to schools and towns, and in property tax rebates. His single biggest move was to short the pension fund by $3 billion. Together, those moves account for the bulk of the governor’s spending reductions.

The problem is the tax break. If the governor had not insisted on that, he could have softened the blow on the needy considerably.

He would not have had to increase taxes on that working poor mom, or make deep cuts in health care, affordable housing, child-care subsidies and school lunches.

So no, the governor is not spreading the pain. This budget plainly favors the wealthy.

Denying that fact doesn’t make it go away."

It's Your Town Newsletter Volumn 2, Issue 12, 6/21/10: The Budget Presentation

This is the first of two newsletters coming this week due to the fact that there were two separate Township Committee meetings held on June 21,2010 this month.

This first newsletter deals with the special budget meeting held earlier in the evening before the regularly scheduled meeting of the night. It includes the presentation of the Township budget for calendar year 2010 (which began in January) that was given by Middletown's CFO Nick Trasente.

The second newsletter coming later in the week will deal with the regular business meeting for the month.

Please read and pass this newsletter on to your friends in Middletown. This budget will affect every homeowners pocketbook, there is a 12.87% increase in our municipal taxes for this year. The budget is 63 pages and can be found here, it has comparissons of what was spent on line items from last year and because of this, residents will be able to see where the increases in the budget are.

NJPP Monday Minute 6/28/10: WHY THE BUDGET FALLS SHORT FOR VULNERABLE FAMILIES

There has been much fanfare regarding the restoration of a few programs that serve vulnerable people in the FY 2011 budget. But make no mistake; the budget expected to pass the Legislature today requires the greatest sacrifice from vulnerable working families hit hardest by the recession.

Let's put the restorations in perspective. They amount to about $68 million, not including PAAD which was restored in an earlier separate agreement, in a budget which would spend just over $28 billion. As the governor's chief of staff pointed out, these restorations amount to only about two-tenths of a percent (.02%) of the total state budget. He thought that was a good thing.

The Anti-Poverty Network indentified 26 programs (see list below) that were cut in the Christie budget that primarily affect the most vulnerable: low and moderate income families; the elderly; and people with disabilities. The list is conservative in that it does not include program cuts to items such as transportation and education, which serve mostly middle class and higher income groups as well as large numbers of low income people. The budget restorations only fund seven of those programs, leaving $262 million in program cuts to the most vulnerable.

The largest restoration was in General Assistance, which provides temporary financial assistance to unemployed adults without children. The Christie budget would have eliminated the entire $140 a month stipend, which is often the only source of income they have. The Legislature and the governor are to be commended for at least partially restoring this vital safety net program.

However, the administration did not restore cuts to the two largest programs that help vulnerable families remain independent. State and federal funding for New Jersey FamilyCare, which provides affordable health insurance for children and certain low income parents or guardians, was reduced by about $100 million. Enrollment has already been closed for parents with incomes between 133 percent and 200 percent of the federal poverty level ($24,352 to $36,620 for a parent with two children). This cut will be continued in FY 2011 resulting in 39,000 uninsured parents being denied health insurance at the same time many employers are dropping health coverage. Also, about 11,700 legal immigrant parents who have been in this country less than five years and currently receive health insurance through FamilyCare will lose their coverage altogether.

The state Earned Income Tax Credit was cut by $45 million, which will in effect increase taxes for 485,000 lower income households. At the same time, the governor refused to continue higher tax rates on those in the uppermost brackets, households with more than $400,000 in annual income. About 77 percent of the households that received the state EITC are working families with children. A parent earning the minimum wage in a full time job ($15,000) with two children will see his or her taxes increase by $300 as a result of this action. Taxes for wealthy households, on the other hand, will be cut by thousands of dollars.

It is also disturbing that the governor has opposed legislation which would restore the funds for the state EITC, if federal funds become available specifically for this purpose. Congress appears likely to act on legislation that would make $120 million in emergency contingency funds available to New Jersey without costing the state a dime. But the administration has rejected a budget resolution from Sen. Shirley Turner which would require that if such funds become available in FY 2011 they would be used to restore the state EITC cutback.

While the budget treats each of these programs separately, the cutbacks will have a cumulative impact on vulnerable families. Virtually all of the families that will lose or be denied health coverage in FamilyCare will also have the state EITC reduced. Many of these same families will also be denied vital supports like family planning, school breakfast, legal services, and affordable housing. None of the cuts in these programs have been restored in this budget. The combined effect on some families will be devastating and have long term consequences for them and the state's economy.

Attempts are being made to restore some of these funds to vulnerable families in separate legislation. Senator Loretta Weinberg has introduced a bill to restore funding for family planning and Senator Joseph Vitale and Assemblyman Lou Greenwald have bills to restore funding for FamilyCare. If these bills pass the legislature, however, the governor is likely to veto these bills, as he did when the legislature passed a millionaires' tax increase a month ago.

What some see as fiscal conservatism might be seen by others as plain mean-spiritedness.

It would appear that the deal on the FY 2011 budget is final but the fight to protect and support struggling working families in this high cost state must continue.

Saturday Morning Cartoons: Aquaman - Menace Of The Black Manta

It's that time again, pass the Cheerio's and sit down for a new toon.

President Obama's Weekly Adress 6/26/10: Finishing the Job on Wall Street Reform

With Congress having finalized a strong Wall Street reform bill, the President urges Congress to finish the job and send the bill to his desk. The legislation reflects 90% of what the President originally proposed, including the strongest consumer financial protections in history with an independent agency to enforce them. It ensures that the trading of derivatives, which helped trigger this crisis, will be brought into the light of day, and enacts the “Volcker Rule,” which will make sure banks protected by safety nets like the FDIC cannot engage in risky trades. It also creates a resolution authority to wind down firms whose collapse would threaten the entire financial system. Wall Street reform will end taxpayer funded bailouts and make sure Main Street is never again held responsible for Wall Street’s mistakes.

Behind Christie’s budget is the largest property tax hike New Jersey has ever seen

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
BY STEVE LONEGAN

Rush Limbaugh is singing the praises of Governor Christie's budget. National pundits talk of "spending cuts." Some enthusiasts have gone as far as starting a "Christie for President" chant.

So many words. But as the big government spin machine rolls on, what is really happening?

Sweep away the bluster and the attitude, and behind it all is the largest property tax hike New Jersey has ever seen.

As was said of Bill Clinton's budget in 1996 — "The era of big government is over — and all the programs are in place." Underneath the hype that cocoons Christie's budget is the fact that it grows state government by more than 6 percent — more than double the proposed 2.5 percent cap on local governments.

Beyond the rhetoric of phantom "spending cuts" is the fact that there are no layoffs in the bloated government payroll that exploded under the direction of Govs. Christie Whitman, James McGreevy and Jon Corzine. Every entitlement program is not just in place, but expanded. Property tax relief to suburban and rural taxpayers is reduced by an astonishing $2.56 billion.

Under Christie, New Jersey's own Cap and Trade program is being implemented. This program not only mirrors, to the word, President Obama's proposal, but places an enormous cost of $70 million on utility ratepayers this year alone.

And that's not the only plank of the Obama agenda in the Christie budget. This budget implements the "public option" — called "family care" — and expands it by an astonishing $107 million, as the Christie administration announces its participation in the Obama "catastrophic pool."

Christie's budget expands entitlement programs as well, with food stamp eligibility expanded to 185 percent of poverty level, up from the traditional 135 percent.

Under this budget, state government grows at three times the rate of inflation. No departments are eliminated. No departments are consolidated. All bureaucrats remain in place and the central planners are in their glory.

Limbaugh, in common with other Christie cheerleaders, claims that the budget cuts spending by $11 billion. These are the infamous "phantom cuts" I spoke of earlier.

Here are the facts: The budget adopted by the Legislature in June of 2009 was $29.8 billion. The Christie budget spends $28.3 billion. Where's the $11 billion cut?

The cut appears to be $1.5 billion, but where does it come from? Some $840 million of the cut comes from property tax relief in the form of school aid to primarily suburban school districts. Another $420 million comes from cuts to municipalities. And $1.3 billion in property tax rebate checks are eliminated.

This all adds up to a massive suburban property tax hike.

Are these real spending cuts — as in cuts that reduce the size and scope of government — or simply a cover story that hides a 6 percent spending increase?

Whatever it is, Limbaugh is buying it. It doesn't matter to him that aid to taxpayers is cut by $2.56 billion, that the budget is down only $1.5 billion, with the other $1 billion being shifted to funding bigger government in Trenton.

State funding for pre-school programs, primarily in what used to be referred to as urban Abbott districts, is at a record $613 million, up from $593 million under Corzine. Christie called this "babysitting" during the election, but under him this "babysitting" is averaging more than $12,000 per child.

It's shocking when you consider that places like Hoboken — with six-figure median incomes — were actually classified as Abbott districts and receive millions in free day care provided by Christie's pre-school program.

Christie's budget sends a record 60 percent of our income tax to these districts. Under Corzine the amount was 54 percent. Christie is doing to the suburbs what Corzine would never have succeeded in doing.

To further burden taxpayers, the runaway debt continues with the state borrowing an additional $500 million in new debt for school construction — primarily in the Abbott districts — without voter approval. The beleaguered State Pension System receives not a cent of the state's required contribution, down from the $160 million budgeted by Corzine in 2009. This is not a cut — this is kicking the can down the road.

In this fragile housing market, homeowners can expect their home values to drop even further as buyers discount purchase prices due to higher taxes. The loss of school and municipal aid will drive up property taxes at a record pace, resulting in a corresponding loss in property values. This means a loss of annual income and a loss of wealth.

At a time when our nation is struggling to recover from a recession, this budget drives a dagger into our economic recovery. I wonder if Rush Limbaugh supports such policies?

Voters should urge their legislators to vote no on the Christie budget. A vote for this budget is a vote for record property tax hikes.

Could Middletown Have Introduced "THE HIGHEST TAX INCREASE IN THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY"

A reader sent along the following comment, it was too good to bury in the comments section so I'm posting it here on the main page for everyone read:

We may be the biggest small town in New Jersey, but we now hold a far more dubious distinction. The town with the highest tax increase in the State. When Gerry Scharfenberger proposed his budget Monday night it included a staggering 13.9% increase. When I hear Chris Christie talking about a 2.5% cap I really have to laugh, because his lapdog, Gerry (who was meeting with him the next day) is proposing a budget increase over 5 times that amount. Is this something Christie is going to let his local finance board approve? He said NO, but I really wonder what he will do for his pal Gerry.

One has to wonder why Scharfenberger, Fiore, Massell, and Brightbill support this budget? They all ran on platforms saying they would lower taxes and now they approve the highest tax increase in the state. At the meeting they claimed it was beyond their control. If that’s the case then they should resign so we can have committee member who will really work to control our taxes.

Is it any wonder why Sean Brynes and the rest of the town is clamoring for a Finance Committee? With a tax increase 0f 13.9% we need outsiders looking at this budget. The insiders certainly don’t understand that we can’t afford their budget plans.

Do you agree? It sounds about right to me.

You Can Fool Some Of The People Some of The Time, But...

Two more local media members have chimed in on the the smoke and mirror attempt by the Middletown Republicans lead by Gerry Scharfenberger, his fellow GOP members on the Township Committee and new CFO Nick Trasente, to whitewash, sugarcoat and flat out mislead the public with Monday night's budget introduction.

As I said earlier, Trasente did a great job at towing the proverbial company line,making it seem the local tax burden was only going increase by 2.8% when in actuality the municipal tax rate will skyrocket by more than 13% once this budget is adopted.

The reporters for both the Independent and RedBankGreen.com, Andrew Davidson and Dustin Racioppi with their articles Township proposes tax increase of 13 percent and BUDGET INCREASES, BUT BY HOW MUCH? did a great job at seeing through the rouse and I recommend that both articles be read.

Middletown's Budget Introduction Was A Farce And Blatant Attempt to Mislead The Public

Last nights special meeting to introduce the FY 2010 municipal budget was, to put it mildly, a farce and a blatant attempt to mislead residents and those in attendance into believing that all was well.

Middletown's CFO Nick Trasente, presented a powerpoint slide show that did more to highlight how great Middletown's FY 2011 budget would be as apposed to how dire a situation the Township was in this year. The spin attempt was mind-boggling and for anyone that had actually read or saw the proposed budget it was mind-blowing!

Trasente tried hard to spin the numbers in a positive way, he presented slides that tried to explain what the budget wold do, what were the cost drivers behind it and items that would not be in the 2011 budget, but he neglected to add that many of these items were not going to be one shot budget increases like he was inferring. Somethings like the retro active pay increase of $1.4M for the police and the $1.8M payment to fulfill the town's pension obligations would be ongoing.

The biggest snow-job of the whole presentation was when Trasente presented the slide that introduced the proposed tax increase.

The Middletown tax rate will rise from 35 cent per $100 of assessed value to 39.85 cents, for an increase of 4.85 cents. This increase will mean that the average township home that is assessed at $437K will have their property tax increase by $211 a year. In order to make this increase seem palatable to residents, Trasente stated that the percentage increase in the overall tax bill for 2010 would only be 2.8%. It wasn't until Committeeman Sean Byrnes questioned Trasente that the true tax numbers came to light.

Byrnes asked for clarification on the 2.8% budget increase and whether or not this increase was reflective of only the municipal tax rate or did it include the County and school taxes as well, at which point Trasente sheepishly admitted that the rate included all three.

Byrnes then went on to state that the true municipal tax increase to residents was closer to 13% and pointed out that there was no reason to believe, despite Trasente's rosie picture of next years budget, that it would be any better.

Nick Trasente did mention however that as of this point the budget was not finalized, there still could be changes to seeing that the budget will not be officially adopted until mid July giving Committee members plenty of time to solicit ideas from the public and make further cuts like the elimination of Middletown day as an example.

If you want to read a different take on last nights meeting then you can read about it HERE. Kevin Penton of the Asbury Park Press was the first to have an article posted on he subject and while it lacks a few details about what went on, I have to give him kudos for seeing through the attempt at sugarcoating the budget presentation while attempting to present the facts.

NJPP Monday Minute 6/21/10: Budget Sacrifices

WHAT IS SACRIFICED?

The Legislature will soon act on the emaciated $28.3 billion FY2011 budget proposal submitted in March by Gov. Christie, who told lawmakers in his budget address that the state's dire economic situation necessitated deep cuts to every corner of state government and demanded shared sacrifice by all New Jerseyans.

Clearly, the recession is taking a tremendous toll on state and local finances. In New Jersey, where the constitution requires a balanced budget by July 1, the state has lost $6 billion in revenue from income, sales, corporate and other taxes the past two years, according to the nonpartisan Office of Legislative Services. In each of the past three fiscal years, the state budget has declined in its actual dollar amount, from $33.5 billion to $32.9 billion in 2009; to $29.8 billion in 2010; to the proposed $28.3 billion in 2011. Treasury Department records show that a decline in state spending from one year to the next is unprecedented in the modern history of New Jersey, let alone three smaller budgets in succession.

There are "winners" in this budget: corporations and the wealthiest individuals whose tax obligations will be lower this year. Those who stand to lose the most are disproportionately poorer, older and at greater risk of economic catastrophe than the rest of New Jersey. The sacrifice that the governor demanded in his budget address appears to fall almost entirely on middle and working class families, the disabled and seniors.

As part of the Better Choices for New Jersey coalition, NJPP has identified $1.6 billion in additional revenue and savings that would allow the state to avoid the worst of these cuts:

• Restoring the marginal tax rate increase on those making over $400,000 a year would generate about $1 billion in revenue.
• Increasing the motor vehicle registration fees on gas guzzlers could bring in $140 million.
• Retaining the surcharge on corporate business tax liabilities and increasing it to eight percent instead of four percent would provide $160 million in revenue.
• Closing corporate loopholes and instituting a system of combined reporting for businesses could save New Jersey taxpayers close to $250 million.

Democrats proposed restoring the marginal tax rate increase on those making $1 million or more, to 10.75 percent from 8.97 percent, for one year in order to restore about $600 million in property tax rebates to senior citizens and the disabled, but the governor vetoed the legislation. Democratic leaders are now lobbying to find the handful of Republican votes necessary to override the governor's veto.

Without any additional revenue or savings, the FY2011 budget will be a blow to middle- and lower-income taxpayers and will devastate the programs that have for so long served as a safety net for the state's most vulnerable residents. In addition, the reduction of $1.3 billion in state aid to public schools and municipalities means that local governments will have to lay off teachers, police and firefighters - something that affects us all.

Following is a look at some, but not all, of what is being sacrificed in the governor's proposal.

Pubic Education

A cut of $832 million in state aid to public schools proposed for the FY2011 budget is in addition to nearly $400 million in cuts ordered in the last half of FY2010. The reductions have resulted in widespread layoffs of teachers and staff, as well as inevitable increases in property tax levies, largely because the $1.2 billion in cuts represents 10 percent of the $12.5 billion total statewide property tax collections levy in New Jersey.

But cuts to public schools go deeper, hitting working families who depend on state assistance for after school care and children from low-income families who often rely on meals at school for life sustaining nourishment. Among the proposals:

Eliminating all $3 million in state funding for the school breakfast program and cutting $2.4 million in state funding for the school lunch program. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reimbursements will continue, but cutting the state subsidy for meals provided by school districts will likely raise the meal prices charged to kids, reduce the quality of meals served or create a deficit in the food service program. If food services are provided by a private company and the costs of meals are fixed by contract, fewer children will probably be fed.

Eliminating all $10.5 million in state funding for NJ After 3, a successful public/private partnership that works with local non-profit agencies who collectively operate 115 programs - in local Ys, Boys and Girls Clubs, Jewish Family Services, and other organizations - to provide safe, high-quality affordable after school programs in 29 towns for approximately 12,000 students.

Since its inception in 2004, this program has raised approximately $45 million in private financial support. With no state funding, it will fall on these investors to make up the state's share.

Higher Education

Public colleges and universities would lose $173 million in state aid in FY2011, causing tuition to rise and driving the best and brightest students out of state after high school. The budget continues a downward spiral. State support as a share of college budgets has declined precipitously - from an average across all of the colleges and universities of 48 percent in 1990 to less than 14 percent in the FY2011 budget proposal.

Direct state aid is only part of the story, however. The Office of Legislative Services' Higher Educational Services report estimates that available resources will be nearly 14 percent less than current year spending for college students and universities. Of the more than 30 detailed changes included in the OLS analysis, only one was an increased appropriation.

That increase was a $1.5 million bump to $20.1 million to continue the state's obligation to fund the ongoing New Jersey Student Tuition Assistance Reward Scholarship (NJSTARS) until it is phased out with the high school class that graduates in 2011. The program covers tuition and fees at the state's 19 community colleges for any student who graduates in the top 15 percent of their high school class. The current budget is expected to support 2,100 students in college now, but incoming freshman students to county colleges, who do not already have a scholarship lined up, are out of luck.

The state's other major financial aid program, Tuition Aid Grants (TAG), would see a cut of $10.9 million in FY 2011. Currently, one in three full-time New Jersey college students receives a TAG grant. The budget estimates that TAG appropriations will support 63,735 students in academic year 2010-2011, 924 more than in 2009-2010. It will support more students, in part, because awards to students at private colleges would be much smaller due to a reduction in the maximum size of these awards.

Transportation

In a state where one in ten commuters uses public transit to get to and from work, the administration cut $300 million in funding to NJTransit. In response, the agency was forced to cut service on some lines and to raise fares by an average of 22 percent - the second highest fare increase in history. A daily roundtrip between New Brunswick and Trenton will increase to $17 from the current fare of $11.75. As a result, NJTransit expects to lose five percent of its ridership, many of whom will choose to drive instead. The increases hit especially hard for low-income families who have no other transportation alternatives.

New Jersey's failing transportation infrastructure will continue to crumble, too, because the administration is cutting $56.3 million from the Department of Transportation, one of the largest cuts in the agency's history.

At the same time, Gov. Christie has steadfastly refused to consider a gas tax increase to pay for transit and transportation needs, saying it will harm the economy. Gas prices in New Jersey are low relative to most places in the country, largely because New Jersey has the nation's third lowest gas tax.

Earned Income Tax Credit

Nearly half a million low-income households face what amounts to a tax increase as a result of Gov. Christie's plan to reduce by 20 percent the state Earned Income Tax Credit.

The EITC is a federal and state program that helps low-wage working families make ends meet by rewarding work over welfare. State EITCs are calculated as a percent of the federal credit and are deducted from taxes owed. In New Jersey, 485,000 working families with children receive this credit. A parent raising two children and working in a full-time, minimum wage job ($15,000 a year) would see a reduction in the family's state tax credit by about $300. The total loss to struggling households from this policy recommendation is a staggering $45 million.

The proposal may be penny wise and pound foolish, too, because of the impact of those cuts on the amount of federal funds New Jersey receives to support low-wage workers.

The U.S. House of Representatives has passed legislation that includes the extension of TANF Emergency Contingency funds. If this legislation becomes law, New Jersey could receive up to $120 million in new federal funds in FY 2011. But if the state EITC appropriation is cut in this year's budget, the state could lose money because the amount the federal government gives the state is based on how much the state has increased funding for benefits to low-income families since 2007.

Federal and matching programs

Outside the $28.3 billion budget proposal, the state likely will have about $12.5 billion available in federal funds for state programs in FY2011. The state has also budgeted for $1 billion in supplementary funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (about half the amount the state received last year).

Many believe the federal government determines how federal funds are spent. The reality is that the state often has considerable discretion in the amount of federal funds received by the state, as well as how those funds are used. In many case, the state's proposed cuts to state funding of federal-state programs are magnified two, three or even nine times by the loss of federal funds.

• More than 40,000 women in New Jersey will lose critical health services and education because state funding for family planning is eliminated in this budget. That $7 million loss is multiplied by the federal government's 9-to-1 match, leaving low-income women without a dependable source for the basic health care they received through Planned Parenthood. The money is used to provide annual check-ups and other health care for women, but not abortions because federal law prohibits federal funds from being used for abortions.
• The governor proposes to save $27 million by eliminating the monthly cash assistance of $140 to about 35,000 unemployed individuals, even though the federal government is making $90 million available in new federal funds to reduce the state cost for medical assistance to individuals . Instead of supporting some of the neediest residents of the state, the governor proposes to redirect those funds to balance the budget.
• A $13.5 million cut to the state Rental Assistance Program means low-income tenants will lose access to vouchers that help them pay for food, rent and clothing.
• A $39.6 million cut in cash grants through the Work First New Jersey General Assistance Program are likely to increase homelessness and hunger in the state.
• Eliminating a program that provides orthodontic services to the poorest children in the state will save $4 million but costs the state $8 million because of a 1-to-1 match in federal funding.
• People with disabilities and seniors will lose care that keeps them out of state institutions because of a proposed cut of $14 million in state funding of the Personal Care Assistance Program. Because the program receives $22 million in federal matching funds, the total reductions amount to $36 million less to pay for personal assistance to seniors and people with developmental disabilities.
• Spouses of people with disabilities will lose $200 monthly payments that paid for care of their loved ones because the state proposes cutting the SSI caregiver supplement by $6.7 million.
• A proposed $9.7 million cut to Legal Services of New Jersey means 11,000 New Jerseyans will lose access to legal services that assist with foreclosure, eviction, or situations of domestic violence.

FamilyCare

Perhaps the most stunning example of the administration's disregard for the value-added in federal funding of social programs is its handling of New Jersey's successful FamilyCare program- a state-federal program that provides access to health insurance for low-paid working families that don't have coverage through their jobs and can't afford the cost of private insurance.

The state proposes to save $24.6 million in state funds by closing enrollment in the program to parents in those families with incomes of more than $23,352 a year (133 percent of the federal poverty level), even though doing so will also cost the state $48 million in federal funds. Some 39,000 parents will be denied coverage. The total loss amounts to more than $70 million. .

The cut comes on the heels of an Executive Order by Gov. Christie that denied FamilyCare coverage to 11,700 legal immigrants who have been in the U.S. less than five years. The proposed budget also ends all state funding for FamilyCare outreach, making it impossible for the state to meet its goal of insuring all children by 2013. It will also result in the further loss of federal funds.

Sewer Authority Slush Fund ??

One of the more interesting line items that I found in the proposed Middletown Municipal budget that will be introduced at tonight's special budget meeting is the $365K transfer of surplus funds from the Middletown Sewer Authority to the Township.

Under the heading of General Revenues on sheet 10 of the budget, the line item titled Miscellaneous Revenues shows a contribution of Sewer Authority Surplus of $356K to the municipal budget.

So the questions are, if the Sewer Authority has this much money sitting around to give to the Township, are they charging us too much for their services? And, if this $365k is over their surplus allotment what were they planning to do with this money if they did not "give" it to the Township?

Its been a well known fact that the Middletown GOP uses the Sewer Authority as a dumping ground for party loyalist and cronies, each commissioner of the authority is entitled to a yearly stipend, township health benefits and pension credits. Obviously, the Sewerage Authority is like a slush fund where favored professionals get paid, people get jobs, no one watches what's going on and is a nice way for the majority party to reward those who tow the line.

Hold Onto Your Wallets, Middletown To Introduce Budget That Includes a 12.2% Tax Increase

Hold onto your purse strings and wallets ladies and gentleman, I got my hands on the proposed 2010 Middletown Municipal Budget before its introduction and as we have been saying for a long time now, it isn't pretty!

The budget that will be introduced during the Special Budget Introduction Meeting tonight at 7pm will total nearly $65M and will reflect a spending increase over last years budget of 4.9%, it calls for a 12.2% tax increase that will raise $5.55M to fund it!

As I said it isn't pretty, I spent a few hours reviewing it after I requested a copy of it from Committeeman Sean Byrnes, who was nice enough to forward it to me in advance of the budget meeting. In the email that accompanied the budget Byrnes wrote:

"...much of this was foreseeable, pension increase $1.8M, payback $800k from 2009, salary increases $1.5M, health care increase $1.6M, these total over $6.0M. No surprise. We knew this in 2009 and yet they refused all my recommendations including fixed fee legal retainer, bidding out engineering work, cutting Middletown matters, cutting Middletown day, contracting out leaf and brush, consolidating maintenance and refusing finance cmte. Even now we should be assuming the governors tool chest will pass and we should be planning accordingly..."

Why the big increase, what are the driving forces behind the budget? In addition to what Sean Byrnes stated, nearly every appropriation line item in the budget saw an increase of some kind even though most revenues streams dried up.

Not surprisingly, after the mayor took such a public stance against the MTEA after April's defeat of the school budget, taking his lead from Governor Christie and insisting that the teachers accept a wage freeze and contribute to their health benefits, the largest overall increase in the budget after the increase to the health and pension funds were Salaries and Wages paid out to employees who will enjoy an 8.9% increase over last year!

If you doubt what I say, you can print out a copy for yourself >>> Here and see for yourself.

If you plan on attending the budget introduction meeting bring a copy of the budget with you, along with your questions in order to ask the mayor why he and others on the Township Committee have done such a poor job in preparing for and planning this budget. If they would have heeded Sean Byrnes and former Committeeman Patrick Short's advice over the past year and leading up to the introduction of this budget, the situation we find ourselves in today may not have been so costly to residents.

Saturday Morning Cartoons: Father's Day Off

Sit up in that easy chair and breakout the Wheaties, its' toon time again !



Happy Father's Day !

president Obama's Weekly Address: 6/19/10 Republicans Blocking Progress

The President calls on Republicans in Congress to put scoring political points aside, and instead to focus on solving the problems facing the nation. At the time of this address, the Republican leadership is blocking progress on a bill to boost the economy, retain jobs for teachers and cops, and help people buy their first home; another bill which would hold oil companies accountable for any disasters they cause by removing the current $75 million liability cap; and 136 highly qualified men and women who have been nominated to government positions.

It's Your Town Newsletter Volumn 2, Issue 11, 6/7/10

The latest edition of the Middletown It's Your Town Newsletter has just been released and as always it is very informative.

This edition of the Newsletter contains information about the Middletown Township Committee Workshop Meeting held on June 7,2010. The newsletter contains big news about the change to the township recycling program that will have a direct impact on how residents are to recycle paper waste.

Also in this edition Township Committee has decided to move forward on a resolution to develop a financial Budget Awarness Committee championed by Democrat Sean F. Byrnes

You can read it >>> Here

Middletown Schedules Second Attempt For Budget Introduction Monday Night

Posted on it's website earlier today, Middletown announced that there will be Special Meeting of the Township Committee, Monday June 21, 2010, 7:00 PM Town Hall Main Meeting Room, for the purpose of the Introduction of Municipal Budget.

This will be the second attempt at introducing the township budget to the public. The first meeting you will recall that was scheduled for June 2nd, had to be officially postponed due to the lack of an available quorum of committee members. Unofficially it was rumored, the real reason for the cancellation was due to the lack of support to introduce a budget that contained a 15% tax increase prior to the June 8th Primary where the mayor was facing a primary challenger.

As it so happens, Monday night is also when the regularly scheduled monthly Township Committee meeting takes place. It will be interesting to see if the Township releases the budget resolution along with the meeting agenda and other resolutions for the night, on the township website before 7 PM Monday.

Back before the June 2nd Budget Introduction Meeting was cancelled, the Township Committee and Administrator caught flack from residents for their lack of transparency when they decided not to post the budget resolution online before the meeting.

Hopefully this time they will learn from their earlier mistake and post the resolution online prior to introduction, so that residents have an opportunity to see what it contains and how it will effect them so that they can question how and where their tax dollars will be spent for the rest of the year.

Monmouth County Saves Green by Going Green; Freeholder Mallet Spearheads The Initiative On Behalf Monmouth County

Monmouth County Democrats's Notes facebook page

The Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders has partnered with a solar power developer to install solar panels at five county locations that will allow the county to reap the environmental and economic benefits of clean energy technology.

“With this agreement, Monmouth County positions itself as a leader in New Jersey for sustainable energy production,” said Freeholder Amy A. Mallet, who spearheaded the initiative on behalf of the county. “The stars are aligned so that the county is getting new roofs, we’re saving $3 million, we’re creating jobs and it’s all being done at no cost to the taxpayers.”

The 15-year Power Purchase Agreements authorized by state law allow the county to contract with a solar energy firm to install and maintain the system. Under the contract, the county will provide the sites and will agree to purchase the electricity generated. Dobco Inc. of Wayne will install, maintain and accept electricity production responsibilities over the 15-year life of the contract.

Solar companies are able to sell power at a discounted rate as a result of regulatory and tax incentives which are currently available in order to buoy alternative energy projects.

The Board of Chosen Freeholders unanimously approved a resolution to enter into a solar power partnership with Dobco at its May 27 meeting.

“Unlike recently implemented solar programs in other counties, Monmouth County will not incur debt to finance or provide guarantee for any part of the project,” Mallet said.

The solar photo-voltaic (PV) systems will be installed at five county locations that are among the highest consumers of electricity. PV systems use canopy and roof mounted solar panels to convert sunlight into electricity. All but the Human Services Complex in Freehold Township will be getting new roofs. At Human Services, solar panels will be installed in the rear parking lot.

All five locations combined will generate about 1.5 megawatts of electricity. They are:

· Hall of Records in Freehold;

· County Courthouse in Freehold;

· John L. Montgomery Care Center in Freehold Township;

· Human Services Complex in Freehold Township, and

· Library Headquarters in Manalapan.

The county is expected to save $144,000 dollars in fiscal year 2011 and $2.5 million over the course of the 15-year agreement. Adding the $600,000 value of the new roofs brings the total value to more than $3 million.

The county’s solar initiative comes less than two years after the Board of Chosen Freeholders created a Greenhouse Gas Reduction Committee, which conducted an energy audit of county buildings that indicated where the PV systems should be installed. Freeholder John D’Amico credited the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Committee with paving the way for the county’s solar projects.

“This is an innovative program, and it puts Monmouth County on the forefront in taking advantage of energy credits that New Jersey permits,” said D’Amico, who has advocated for federal legislation to supply funding for energy reduction projects. “New Jersey is second to California in solar energy.”

With this contract, Monmouth County becomes a state leader in its efforts to create clean, renewable, sustainable energy, Mallet said.

“The catastrophe which is occurring in the Gulf of Mexico is undeniable proof that we need to find real alternatives to the industrialization of our precious natural resources,” Mallet said. “Clean and renewable energy is the direction we all need to take. This bold effort demonstrates that Monmouth County is serious about seeking alternative fuel sources and protecting the environment.”

By completing these PV projects, the reductions in greenhouse gas emissions will be equivalent to:

· 1,286 metric tons of coal per year;

· 246 passenger vehicles per year;

· 144,655 gallons of gasoline per year;

· 2,991 barrels of oil per year;

· annual electricity usage of 167 homes per year, or

· 32,976 tree seedlings grown for 10 years.

The county is in the planning stages now for additional phases of implementation at other county facilities and properties.

“This is an excellent beginning,” Freeholder Director Lillian G. Burry said.

NJPP Monday Minute 6/14/10: Cap 2.5: An Unnecessary Amendment to the Constitution

Gov. Christie has proposed an amendment to the state constitution that would limit property tax increases to 2.5 percent each year. This amendment, which he is calling Cap 2.5, is part of a 33 bill "tool kit" he claims will fix property taxes in New Jersey once and for all. Under his cap, property tax increases would be limited to 2.5 percent; only debt payments would be outside the cap; and the only way to go above 2.5 percent would be with a 60 percent override by the voting public.

Given the hype surrounding his plan, one might think local governments in New Jersey currently have complete freedom to spend as they wish - without limits.

Anyone who believes that would be wrong.

Municipal caps on property taxes have been in effect in New Jersey since 1976; county and school caps more recently. All have allowed important exemptions for extenuating circumstances such as services essential to the public's health, safety and welfare.

In the past, each cap has been calculated differently, creating some confusion. The municipal cap allowed appropriations to increase by 2.5 percent or an "index rate", whichever was less; the county cap allowed increases of 2.5 percent or the cost of living allowance set by the Division of Local Government Services in the Department of Community Affairs, whichever was less; and the school cap allowed increases of 2.5 percent or the CPI, whichever was greater.

Data in the chart from the New Jersey Division of Taxation show property tax revenues since 1966. Over those 43 years, statewide average property tax increases ranged from less than one percent between 1976 and 1977 to 15.3 percent between 1969 and 1970. The most recent data from the Division of Taxation show increases from 2008 to 2009 of 3.6 percent on average.

The common link between the lowest property tax increases has been the infusion of state money or other support. Only three times in the past 40 years have property tax increases been less than the 3.6 percent increase this past year:

• 1976 - 1977 when the state income tax was enacted (.46%)
• 1990 - 1991 when Gov. Florio increased income and sales tax rates to increase state aid to schools and municipalities (1.3%) and
• 1996 - 1997 when the state took over cost of the courts from local governments.

That's because of an imbalance in the state's tax structure. Local government in New Jersey relies solely on property taxes and state aid for support. In other states, local governments have a more balanced source of revenue that includes local income and sales taxes in addition to property taxes. In the absence of higher state aid, municipalities could be helped by access to additional local revenue streams.

No doubt property taxes in New Jersey are high, but that does not mean New Jersey is a high tax state. Among all states, New Jersey ranks third in property taxes as a percentage of personal income, according to an analysis of Census data by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. But when local income and sales taxes are figured in, too, New Jersey falls to 24th. And when all state and local revenues are combined, New Jersey is 31st among the states.

In New Jersey, school budgets tend to be the heaviest lift in terms of property taxes. As an average across the state, they account for nearly 60 percent of property taxes paid while municipal taxes account for about 25 percent to 30 percent and county taxes account for about 10 percent to 15 percent.

While history shows state money helps to constrict property tax growth, the 4 percent cap, enacted in April 2007, after months of deliberation by the Legislature during its special session on property tax reform, may prove to have the same effect in future years.

Last year was the first full year of the four percent cap. Preliminary evidence seems to indicate it is working. Between 2008 and 2009, the total amount raised by property taxes increased to just over $24 billion from $23.2 billion, or 3.6 percent.

Rather than make hasty policy by enacting a constitutional amendment, it would be wiser to allow the recent statutory property tax limits to continue reining in property tax increases as the legislation intended, and to provide real reforms that rebalance the local tax system.

The Ashley Lauren Foundation: Rock For Hope

Rock for Hope

Get ready for June's high energy event!

This concert is being sponsored by Wellspring Stables to benefit

The Ashley Lauren Foundation.

Sunday, June 27th from 5-9pm

The Downtown, 10 Front St. Red Bank.

Attendees will enjoy a great evening of live entertainment by Jersey's best local talent The Mike Dalton Band, The Jamie Brown Experience, The Imitations, Antonella Barba and Charlie Mack

The evenings emcee will be on-air personality Lisa Anderson from

The Breeze Radio, 107.1

Gather a bunch of friends, Come out and make your Sunday count asyou will be supporting a wonderful cause.

Tickets now on sale: $35 and $40 at the door.

VIP packages available.

Please buy tickets through the donation link on

www.ashleylaurenfoundation.org

Proceeds will benefit The Ashley Lauren Foundation, whose mission is to bring hope and help to children in New Jersey that have been diagnosed with cancer through financial, material and emotional support.

For further event information, visit http://www.ashleylaurenfoundation.org

call Victoria 732.688.1772

The Ashley Lauren Foundation is a non-profit, charitable organization founded to help others face the battle against pediatric cancer, "Hope and Help for Children with Cancer"

It's Flag Day !

I should be ashamed of myself for not remembering that today was Flag Day, if it hadn't been for a post on facebook today by Congressman Frank Pallone I would have totally forgotten about it altogether.

Flag Day is one of those non-discript holidays we all learn about in grammar school but never seem to remember afterward, which is a real shame when we consider what symbols our "Old Glory" stand for; Liberty, Freedom, Honor and Prosperity.

Thanks to the U.S Department of Veterans Affairs I found a brief history on the Origins of Flag Day that I would like to share:

"That the flag of the United States shall be of thirteen stripes of alternate red and white, with a union of thirteen stars of white in a blue field, representing the new constellation."

This was the resolution adopted by the Continental Congress on June 14, 1777. The resolution was made following the report of a special committee which had been assigned to suggest the flag’s design.

A flag of this design was first carried into battle on September 11, 1777, in the Battle of the Brandywine. The American flag was first saluted by foreign naval vessels on February 14, 1778, when the Ranger, bearing the Stars and Stripes and under the command of Captain Paul Jones, arrived in a French port. The flag first flew over a foreign territory in early 1778 at Nassau, Bahama Islands, where Americans captured a British fort.

Observance of the adoption of the flag was not soon in coming, however. Although there are many claims to the first official observance of Flag Day, all but one took place more than an entire century after the flag’s adoption in 1777.

The first claim was from a Hartford, Conn., celebration during the first summer of 1861. In the late 1800s, schools all over the United States held Flag Day programs to contribute to the Americanization of immigrant children, and the observance caught on with individual communities.

The most recognized claim, however, comes from New York. On June 14, 1889, Professor George Bolch, principal of a free kindergarten for the poor of New York City, had his school hold patriotic ceremonies to observe the anniversary of the Flag Day resolution. This initiative attracted attention from the State Department of Education, which arranged to have the day observed in all public schools thereafter.

Soon the state legislature passed a law making it the responsibility of the state superintendent of public schools to ensure that schools hold observances for Lincoln’s Birthday, Washington’s Birthday, Memorial Day and Flag Day. In 1897, the governor of New York ordered the displaying of the flag over all public buildings in the state, an observance considered by some to be the first official recognition of the anniversary of the adoption of the flag outside of schools.

Another claim comes from Philadelphia. In 1893, the Society of Colonial Dames succeeded in getting a resolution passed to have the flag displayed on all of the city’s public buildings.

Elizabeth Duane Gillespie, a direct descendant of Benjamin Franklin and the president of the Colonial Dames of Pennsylvania, that same year tried to get the city to call June 14 Flag Day. Resolutions by women were not granted much notice, however, and it was not until May 7, 1937, that Pennsylvania became the first state to establish the June 14 Flag Day as a legal holiday. Flag Day is a nationwide observance today, but Pennsylvania is the only state that recognizes it as a legal holiday.

Bernard J. Cigrand, a school teacher in Waubeka, Wisconsin, reportedly spent years trying to get Congress to declare June 14 as a national holiday. Although his attempts failed, the day was widely observed. “Father of Flag Day” honors have been given to William T. Kerr, who was credited with founding the American Flag Day Association in 1888 while still a schoolboy in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Both President Wilson, in 1916, and President Coolidge, in 1927, issued proclamations asking for June 14 to be observed as the National Flag Day. But it wasn’t until August 3, 1949, that Congress approved the national observance, and President Harry Truman signed it into law.

OBAMA SINGS KICK ASS SONG?!?!

President Obama gives a strong Hip-Hop performance in the video below as he unleashes his anger on BP during his interview with Matt Lauer.

Friday Morning Funnies: BP Spills Coffee

This is what happens when BP spills coffee, courtesy of UCBComedy.com



hat tip goes to LAUGH!!

Pallone Announces First Round of $250 Rebate Checks Now Being Sent to Tens of Thousands of Seniors

For Immediate Release -

Washington, D.C. – Today, Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06) announced starting June 10, Medicare will begin mailing out to tens of thousands of seniors $250 ‘donut hole’ checks. Under the recently enacted health reform law, seniors who fall in the donut hole coverage gap in 2010 will receive this one-time tax-free $250 rebate check. These checks will continue to be mailed monthly over the next several months as seniors enter the coverage gap.

The checks are just the first benefit from health reform for seniors in the Medicare Prescription Drug program. Beginning in January 2011, seniors in the donut hole will receive a 50 percent discount on brand name drugs. By 2020, the donut hole will be completely closed.

“This is the first example of how the health care reform law will strengthen Medicare and help seniors,” said Pallone. “In the past, seniors who have fallen into the Medicare donut hole were forced to choose between food and prescriptions. Health reform is fixing these problems. Important reforms like this will continue to phase in throughout the year and make health care more affordable and accessible for millions of New Jersey’s seniors.”

The ‘donut hole’ coverage gap is the period in the prescription drug benefit (once their prescription drug costs exceed $2,830) in which the beneficiary pays 100 percent of the cost of their drugs until they hit the catastrophic coverage threshold.

Last year, roughly 109,000 Medicare beneficiaries in New Jersey fell in the donut hole and received no extra help to defray the cost of their prescription drugs. Now, under health reform, help is on the way.

Medicare recipients don’t have to do anything to get the $250 check – once their drug costs for the year hit $2,830 the one-time check will be issued automatically. But seniors should be on the lookout for fraud. Seniors who want to learn more about this new benefit or how to protect themselves from fraud or scams should call 1-800-Medicare, visit www.medicare.gov, or contact the State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) 1-800-792-8820 or http://www.state.nj.us/health/senior/ship.shtml.

Mary Mahoney Democratic Candidate for Middletown Township Committee

As a resident of Middletown for 24 years, I have enjoyed the roles of wife, mother, and successful business woman. For the last ten years, I have worked to improve our community, serving as a PTA volunteer and board member and, until recently, as a director on the board of the Lincroft Village Green Association.

I was content to continue this service but my recent exposure to Township officials changed my mind. The Township’s ill-planned approach to building turf fields opened my eyes to the serious shortcomings of our local government. This experience and the extreme challenges facing our State and Township convinced me to get more involved. As a result, I have decided to pursue, a seat on the Middletown Township Committee.

Participating in recent town meetings, I became disillusioned with the lack of transparency, poor planning and misplaced priorities that waste our precious resources and tax dollars. Despite a $5,000,000 budget deficit in 2010, our Township Committee has yet to hold a budget meeting and has already missed five months of potential budget savings. This is unacceptable. Twenty-nine years of single party rule has produced inefficiency and waste.

This Township needs a common sense, apolitical approach to governing. I have no personal agenda other than a determination to serve my fellow residents. My aim is to protect our quality of life and will strive to improve it. I welcome your energy, input and shared commitment to work with me in achieving this goal.

Mary E. Mahoney
Democratic Candidate for Middletown Township Committee

Join Senator Buono On June 16th, 2010

On Wednesday, June 16th, we hope you’ll join Senator Barbara Buono for a very special event at Tumulty's Pub in New Brunswick.

We are facing an assault that threatens New Jersey's tradition of progressive policies that we pride ourselves on.

We need to organize against a rollback of environmental regulations that protect workers and the public, against a disinvestment in public education, and against policies that harm our most vulnerable and erode our civil rights.

Join us to share ideas and strategize for moving forward over dinner and drink.

Tumulty's Pub

361 George Street, New Brunswick, NJ

Wednesday, June 16th

5:30 pm - 8:30 pm

Donation: $25 payable to the Election Fund of Barbara Buono

(includes admission, food, wine and beer)

Please RSVP by Friday, June 11th on Facebook, to ProgressivePolicyNJ@gmail.com,

or by calling (732) 494-6279.

Free parking available in the Wilson Deck after 5PM. Entrance on Neilson Street.

Senator Barbara Buono (D-18) is the first woman to serve as Majority leader in the New Jersey State Senate. Each and every day, she’s working hard to create jobs, bring about fiscal accountability and make Trenton more open, honest and accountable. Barbara Buono believes progressive values and solutions make sense – not only because it’s the right thing to do, but because it’s also the smart, practical and fiscally responsible course of action.

Let’s come together to protect our environment, create jobs and make our state a more affordable place to live and work. Let’s find ways to provide funding for the best possible public education our children, for affordable healthcare for all our families and to make sure seniors can afford life-saving prescription drugs.

Right now, our progressive agenda is under attack. Barbara Buono wants to hear from you on how we can work together to forge the best possible future for our state and all the families who live here.

Please join Senator Buono Wednesday, June 16th to share your ideas, concerns and solutions. We look forward to seeing you there!

Pallone: The Fight Begins Today

Not many people realize that Congressman Frank Pallone is also a blogger extraordinaire, he contributes regulary to the Daily Kos.

This morning he published the following piece that announces his campaign for re-election kick-off event in Long Branch on Sunday afternoon:

With yesterday’s primary election in the books, the journey to November’s general election starts right now.

While we still don’t know who our opponent will be, we do know she will either be a self-funding billionaire or the darling of the tea party. We also know that, no matter what, we will be facing a well-funded right-wing assault seeking to turn back the clock to the Bush/Cheney policies that have caused so many problems for our state and nation.

Congressman Frank Pallone's diary :: ::

I treat every election the same, no matter who is on the ballot: run hard and let the voters know of the work we've done to make their lives better. I’ve been fighting hard every day to deliver real results for the 6th District. I’ve fought to create and protect jobs, while opposing trade agreements that destroy jobs and give tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas. I've safeguarded our beaches and am holding corporate polluters accountable by forcing them to foot the bill for cleaning up their toxic waste sites. And I've worked hard on health care reform that will help everyone across the nation.

But there is still much work to be done, and I simply can not continue my work without your support. So I hope you will join me at my hometown headquarters, as we kick-off my re-election campaign. It's not going to be anything fancy – just some food and refreshments – but it will give us all a chance to get to work, making sure the 6th Congressional District stays blue.

Sunday, June 13th
2:30pm - 4:30pm
Pallone for Congress Campaign Headquarters
495 Broadway, Long Branch, NJ
Please RSVP on Facebook
or to matt@pallonefornewjersey.com

Over the coming months, I am going to need help from all of you – the progressive activists who have always made up the backbone of my grassroots campaigns. Together, we will keep fighting to put people to work, make continued investment in renewable energy sources and our infrastructure, and make sure our most vulnerable citizens – children, the impoverished and our seniors – have access to quality, affordable healthcare.

Although it may almost be summer – when many of us are dreaming of days at the beach and barbecues with families and friends - we can not afford to be lackadaisical. Today is when the real fight begins.

So please stop by on Sunday, and be sure to bring your friends and family. As always, don’t forget to follow me on Twitter and Facebook for the latest updates on what I’m doing for New Jersey's 6th District, both here at home and down in Washington.

Primary Election Results For Middletown

For those that are interested in the outcome of today's primary election in Middletown, the votes broke down as follows:

For the three way race for the right to represent the Middeltown GOP the results are;

Newcomer Kevin Settembrino received 2,023 votes (39.13%), Gerry Scharfenberger received 1,914 votes (37.02%) and the challenger of both who wished to upset Scharfenberger, Tony Avellone received 1,211 votes (23.42%). There were 22 write-in votes that totaled .43%

For the Democrats, both candidates were running unopposed;

Incumbent Sean Byrnes received 689 votes (50.18%) and his new running mate Mary Mahoney received 674 vote (49.09%). There were 10 write-in votes that totaled .73%
So now with the results of the primary behind us and all the candidates settled, let the games begin as they say, the campaign starts tomorrow !

With No Advance Notice, Gov. Christie Visits Holmdel's Village School

It must have been quiet a surprise for the teachers as well as the students at Holmdel's Village school earlier today when Gov. Christie showed up unannounce to read a book to Mrs. Klinger-Rossi's 3rd grade class according to a press release that was issued by Holmdel's School Superintendent Barbara Duncan.

No word as of yet what book the Governor read to students but I would bet that it wasn't "My Pet Goat":

June 8, 2010

Today, June 8, 2010 Governor Christie paid a surprise visit to a very lucky 3rd grade class at Village School. After reading a story to the class the students were given an opportunity to ask the Governor questions. Below is a sample of questions they asked:

They asked the Governor what was the coolest part of his job, and Governor Christie responded, "having dinner at the White House with the President and Mrs. Obama and all of the other governors in the nation." One student asked what his major goal was and he responded, "to have everyone in New Jersey have a job."

They asked about what was the hardest part of his job and he said that it was telling people, "No." One student asked what it was like when he first became governor. Governor Christie explained that he went into his office and didn't know what he was supposed to do and no one would come and visit him because they were too afraid to enter his office. One student asked what the best part of being governor is and he said, "visiting students in schools." He also likes to let students into his office when they are on tours of the State house where his office is in Trenton on the Delaware River.

Mrs. Duncan, Superintendent of Holmdel schools asked the last question before the Governor posed for pictures with the class. She asked Governor Christie why reading is so important to him that he would spend his time visiting us and reading a book to our 3rd grade class? The Governor answered her by saying, that reading has always been very important to him and he encourages his children and all children to be avid readers. Mrs. Klinger-Rossi and her class then presented Governor Christie with a certificate for excellence in reading!

Groups offer prayer for the environment in the wake of BP calamity

A friend sent me the following post from the NEW YORK THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY blog. It's about a group of people that gathered on the beach to pray that Northwest Florida be spared from the oil spill lurking in the Gulf of Mexico.

I thought it relevent and worthwhile to post considering that while BP has started to recover some of the oil being released by it's deep water well, it hasn't contained it all. More and more oil each minute is being spilled into the waters of the Gulf of Mexico and see that man has not been able to stop it fully as yet maybe a little bit of divine intervention is not such a bad thing to pray for.



"Well before some other groups began praying for the environmental catastrophe surrounding the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, there was this group (which posted its video on May 8th).

Since then, groups around the country have joined together to offer prayer for an the end to that oil leak, and for relief to the communities, residents and wildlife that call the Gulf of Mexico home."

NJPP Monday Minute 6/7/10: EITC Helps the State and Working Families

Budgets are about priorities so it is surprising that a Republican governor like Chris Christie would propose cutting a benefit that rewards work, avoids welfare and cuts taxes. Yet that is the impact of his recommendation to reduce the state Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) by 20 percent.

The EITC is a federal and state program that helps low wage working families make ends meet. State EITCs are calculated as a percent of the federal credit. Nearly half a million struggling working families with children receive this credit. For a parent raising two children working in a full time minimum wage job ($15,000 a year), Gov. Christie's budget proposal would reduce the family's state EITC credit by about $300. The total loss to these struggling households from this policy recommendation is a staggering $45 million.

The driving force behind the governor's proposal to cut the state EITC is budget savings-but those may be questionable because of the impact of those cuts on the amount of federal funds New Jersey receives to support low wage workers. The US House of Representatives has passed legislation that includes the extension of TANF Emergency Contingency funds. If this legislation becomes law, New Jersey would receive up to $120 million in new federal funds in FY 2011. With Senators Menendez's and Lautenberg's help, the Senate could approve these funds soon. But if the state EITC appropriation is cut in this year's budget, the state could lose money because the amount the federal government gives the state is based on how much the state has increased funding for benefits to low-income families since 2007.

Beyond budget savings, the administration is supporting its decision to cut benefits by saying, "New Jersey's benefit is one of the most generous in the country. At the reduced rate, New Jersey will be more in line with the average benefit in the 22 other states that offer the credit." Unfortunately this statement misses the point of the state EITC.

New Jersey's EITC is currently set at 25 percent of the federal EITC, making it sixth highest among the 23 states with their own EITCs. States calculate their credits as a percent of the federal EITC which is available to families and individuals with incomes up to $48,000 to reduce the taxes they owe. For most of these households the federal credit is also "refundable"-meaning that even if they do not owe taxes, they still receive a refund. The purpose of this policy is to compensate low-income families for the federal payroll taxes (social security etc) they pay.

States have enacted their own EITCs for a variety of reasons, including the impact of state and local taxes on low income families. More important than taxes, however, is how much it costs to live in different states. New Jersey's cost of living is fifth highest in the nation, exceeding Minnesota, Vermont, Maryland and New York even though all of these states have higher state EITCs than New Jersey. Parents in low wage jobs who have children cannot make ends meet with New Jersey's high child care, housing, health insurance, and transportation costs now-and most of these will become even less affordable when the effects of the cuts and program cost increases in Gov. Christie's budget take place.

The impact of EITCs is to encourage people to work. Without the subsidies provided by the EITC, it makes more economic sense for low-income families not to work and instead go on welfare. Welfare subsidizes many of the costs to raise children but it doesn't lead to a strong work ethic.

A recession--when people are struggling to make ends meet and are worried about losing their jobs--is the wrong time to cut supports to working families. Many families who were living a middle class life style have fallen on hard times been forced to take lower wage or part time jobs, and that's if they have been lucky enough to find them. But basic expenses, like housing, do not go away. These folks need public support from the state to maintain their independence until the economy improves and they can regain their standard of living.

It is the wrong time to cut the state EITC for yet another reason. Increases in the federal EITC that took effect last year in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will end this year unless Congress extends them. The expansion of the Child Tax Credit to the poorest working families is also scheduled to terminate. A parent working full time for the minimum wage and raising two kids, would have their child tax credit reduced from $1,725 to $250, causing increased hardship to that family.

The disparity between the wealthiest and the poorest in New Jersey has been growing at an alarming rate. The state EITC helps address New Jersey's rising income inequity which has been growing at the ninth highest rate in the nation for the last two decades. During this time, the wealthiest five percent of New Jersey households have seen their incomes grow by 91 percent while those in the bottom 20 percent have seen only a 10 percent increase. In 2008, households in the top five percent (who earned an average of $412,476), earned 26 times the average amount earned ($15,705) by the lowest 20 percent.

Despite this, the governor refuses to reinstate the 2009 tax rates on those earning over $400,000 at the same time as he is essentially proposing a tax hike for lower income working families by cutting the state EITC. If the legislature is unable to override the governor on this issue, the economic divide between the "haves and have nots" will only further increase in our state.

Another Example Of mayor Gerry Not Telling The Whole Truth For Political Gain, Middletown PBA Given 7.7% Pay Raise

Tomorrow is June 8th, Primary Day, and seeing that mayor Gerry has a primary opponent this year in challenger Tony Avallone, it's time to point out one more example of how Gerry Scharfenberger likes to twist facts and issue half-truths for political gain when he thinks it is advantagous to do do.

Back on May 17th during the Middletown Township Committee meeting in which it was announced by mayor Gerry that he spent days lamenting over the school budget and decided to cut an additional $2.1 million once from it, he again felt compelled to bluster a half truth in order to make it seem that he had accomplished the almost impossible, while basking in the glory of sticking it to the Board of Education.

During committee comments that evening, Gerry couldn't wait to tell everyone what a wonderful accomplishment he had been able to pull off. It seems that during the executive session meeting which was held before the open public portion of the meeting, Gerry and his fellow committee members received the heads up that 2 out of the 4 or 5 unions that service the township had excepted a zero percent pay increase for FY 2010. To Gerry this was great news and an opportunity to score some cheap political points with those that were in attendance for the public portion of the meeting by letting them know that this was a great accomplishment that would go a long way in helping the township balance it's budget that has a deficit of $5 million.

When mayor Gerry prematurely made this announcement during committee comments (I say prematurely because all the details weren't known at the time) he received a few "that a boys" from people in the audience. But if he would have told those in the audience the whole story and not just a convenient half truth I doubt that those that cheered him would have done so.

(Here's Gerry making the announcement)


Out of the two unions that settled their contracts with the Township I was able to get the details behind one of them, PBA Local 124, which represent the officers of the Middletown Police Department. To their credit, the police accepted a zero percent increase for 2010 and agreed to contribute 1.5% of "pensionable base salary" toward their health benefits effective on July 1,2010 (which thanks to Gov. Christie they would have had to have done anyway), and they gave up 96 hours worth of holiday pay provisions.

What did Middletown have to give up in return?

The Township settled with PBA Local 124 by agreeing to a retro active pay increase of 3.85% for FY 2008 and an additional 3.85% retro active increase for FY 2009 for a total of a 7.7% pay increase that members of the PBA would see in their next paychecks.

Oh yeah and that 96 hours of holiday pay that was eliminated, well it really wasn't. The 96 hours worth of pay was rolled into the base pay of PBA members, so it wasn't lost at all, it is just not considered overtime anymore.

Don't get me wrong,I don't begrudge the fine men and women of the Middletown Police Department anything here, they do a fine job and should be rewarded. The purpose of pointing out their settlment is strickly to show that mayor Gerry Scharfenberger has a problem with presenting the whole truth when the whole truth may not be politically advantagous for him to do so.

While I don't expect Tony Avallone to unseat Scharfenberger tomorrow in the Republican primary, I do expect him to make a strong showing that will shock many in town into paying closer attention to what Gerry Schafenberger does and says in the future because the last thing Middletown needs when facing a $5 million budget deficit is another politician who can't be honest and tell the truth to residents.