December 12, 2005

STATEMENT OF THE HON. PETER A. CANTU, MAYOR,
PLAINSBORO TOWNSHIP,
IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT,
NJ LEAGUE OF MUNICIPALITIES AND CHAIR,
NJ LEAGUE OF MUNICIPALITIES’ TRANSPORTATION TRUST FUND
REAUTHORIZATION COMMITTEE,
CALLING FOR ACTION ON TRANSPORTATION TRUST FUND
REAUTHORIZATION

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2005
TRENTON, NJ

The condition of New Jersey’s Transportation Trust Fund (TTF) has reached crisis proportions, and so, we respectfully request immediate action to reform and replenish the Fund. A solution to this crisis should not have to wait until after the First of the year, when the new Governor and Legislature will, of necessity, have to focus on closing another mammoth overall budget deficit.

By June 30, 2006, the TTF will be completely bankrupt. All $805 million in constitutionally dedicated TTF revenues will be consumed by debt payments. The New Jersey Department of Transportation and NJ TRANSIT will be forced to shut down. And $150 million in annual Local Aid for municipal and county transportation projects will disappear. But even before June 30, the effects of inaction will be apparent, as municipalities and counties begin work on their annual budgets.

New Jersey’s counties and municipalities are responsible for 88% of our roads and 39% of our bridges. Local roadways and bridges carry 55% of all traffic; and local governments maintain 32,810 centerline miles of roads, 2,498 major bridges and 4,584 minor bridges. In 2003, it was estimated that, for repair and maintenance of these assets – not for the construction of any new roads and bridges, but only to ensure the safety and utility of the current stock – we would annually need $211 million for county bridges, $7.5 million for municipal bridges, $44 million for county roadways and $112 million for municipal roadways for a total of $374.5 million.

Local officials know that these investments HAVE to be made. Failure to do so can compromise the safety of the public, the economic vitality of our communities and the security of our neighborhoods.

BUT, in order to pay for these improvements, absent a long-term commitment of increased funding to the Transportation Trust Fund, in general, and to the Local Aid Program, in particular, New Jersey’s chronic and anachronistic over-reliance on the regressive and excessive property tax will intensify.

So, a long-term fix for the Transportation Trust Fund isn’t only about roads and traffic and jobs and public safety. It is also a necessary first step on the road to property tax reform. An Administration and a Legislature dedicated to property tax reform – and we all heard a lot of talk about that during this Fall’s campaigns – have to first make certain that the problem doesn’t get any worse, before they even start to think about how they can help the people of New Jersey to make it better.

This issue should be resolved before competing priorities, and the pressure to put together a budget, make reforming and replenishing the TTF even more difficult. The best way to address and resolve this crisis is during the Lame Duck session of the Legislature.

On behalf of the New Jersey League of Municipalities I respectfully urge all involved to work together to implement an adequate solution to this monumental problem.