DEPTFORD – Senator Barbara Buono, D-Middlesex and Chair of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee, today released the following statement regarding the Committee’s third and final public hearing to gain input on Governor Corzine’s proposed FY 2009 Budget. The hearing was held at the Gloucester County Institute of Technology.
“Sadly, this is the darkest fiscal period I’ve seen since I started on the Assembly Budget Committee back in 1994. Consumer confidence is low, and economic anxiety is at an all time high. There is no one right answer or solution, but we must stay within the Governor’s overall spending goals, while making sure that we hold onto the services which the residents of New Jersey have come to rely upon.
“Because Governor Corzine has called for drastic aid cuts to municipalities, more of the burden would be shifted to property taxpayers. It is my recommendation that we revisit some of the suggestions made during the special session on property tax issues to help alleviate this burden.
“I am honored to be the chair of this committee during such a challenging time, and I’ll make it my priority to re-evaluate the way business is done in New Jersey.”