May is the month when a New Jersey State Legislator's fancy turns to thoughts of the budget. And that is as it should be. The Annual Appropriations Act will need to be passed by both Houses and signed by the Governor before the end of June. The State Treasurer and the Office of Legislative Services are finalizing their respective revenue projections. And the Members of the Assembly Budget and the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committees are sharpening their pencils for the hard work of balancing spending needs and available resources.

As a local elected official, you, too, need to pay attention to this process. The outcome will affect the lives of your constituents. And it will have an impact on your ability to continue to deliver life sustaining and life enhancing programs and services to your fellow citizens, without further burdening them with excessive property tax increases.

League President, Mayor Peter Cantu of Plainsboro Township, spoke for us all when he testified before the Committees back in March. His message to State budget makers can be summarized in three points.

First, as property tax pressures intensify this year, the people of New Jersey must be given hope for future relief. Therefore, the Legislature must act on a property tax convention bill, in time to get the question on this November's ballot.

Second, municipalities assume an important responsibility in developing and maintaining the state's transportation infrastructure and an assessment of annual local maintenance needs indicated that $102 million would fund 75 percent of local costs. Therefore, the state's Transportation Trust Fund must be reauthorized and annual Local Transportation Aid must be increased.

And finally, despite the fact that the costs of doing the public's business at the local level increased by 3.5 percent last year, we have been told to anticipate level formula property tax relief funding and cuts in discretionary aid. The inevitable result will be property tax increases, service cutbacks or some combination of the two. Therefore, the Legislature needs to restore funding to the discretionary aid programs that would other shrink, pursuant to the Governor's proposed budget.

It's not too late to talk to your State Legislators on these three issues. This month, you can make a difference.

Editorial from

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S MESSAGE FROM 407 WEST STATE STREET.....   This Month, Make a Difference William G. Dressel, Jr. Executive Director New Jersey League of Municipalities May is the month when a New Jersey State Legislator's fancy turns to thoughts of the budget. And that is as it should be. The Annual Appropriations Act will need to be passed by both Houses and signed by the Governor before the end of June. The State Treasurer and the Office of Legislative Services are finalizing their respective revenue projections. And the Members of the Assembly Budget and the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committees are sharpening their pencils for the hard work of balancing spending needs and available resources. As a local elected official, you, too, need to pay attention to this process. The outcome will affect the lives of your constituents. And it will have an impact on your ability to continue to deliver life sustaining and life enhancing programs and services to your fellow citizens, without further burdening them with excessive property tax increases. We encourage you to attend our May 6 Property Tax Summit for an update on the latest development. League President, Mayor Peter Cantu of Plainsboro Township, spoke for us all when he testified before the Committees back in March. His message to State budget makers can be summarized in three points. First, as property tax pressures intensify this year, the people of New Jersey must be given hope for future relief. Therefore, the Legislature must act on a property tax convention bill, in time to get the question on this November's ballot. Second, municipalities assume an important responsibility in developing and maintaining the state's transportation infrastructure and an assessment of annual local maintenance needs indicated that $102 million would fund 75 percent of local costs. Therefore, the state's Transportation Trust Fund must be reauthorized and annual Local Transportation Aid must be increased. And finally, despite the fact that the costs of doing the public's business at the local level increased by 3.5 percent last year, we have been told to anticipate level formula property tax relief funding and cuts in discretionary aid. The inevitable result will be property tax increases, service cutbacks or some combination of the two. Therefore, the Legislature needs to restore funding to the discretionary aid programs that would other shrink, pursuant to the Governor's proposed budget. It's not too late to talk to your State Legislators on these three issues. This month, you can make a difference.       Editorial from New Jersey Municipalities, Volume 82, Number 5, May 2005