June 22, 2007

                                                            RE: Budget Bill Passes Both Houses –
                                                                   Governor’s Action Awaited
                                                                   Outstanding Issues Remain

Dear Mayor:

Last night, nine days before the Constitutional deadline, both Houses of the Legislature approved A-5000, the Appropriations Act for the State’s next fiscal year. Action was also taken on other bills that we have been working – and reporting – on. And on two crucial issues, no action was taken.

As reported in our June 14 and June 15 Budget Update letters, after over a month of work, it appeared that the State Budget would include language excepting local public library funding from levy cap calculations. This is of vital importance to our fiscal year municipalities, which need to comply with the new levy cap in their July 1 budgets.

On Wednesday, we learned that this remedy could not be included in the budget. Working with the Libraries Association, and thanks to the attention of Assemblyman David Russo and Assembly Majority Leader Bonnie Watson Coleman, we were able to secure support for an emergency bill on both sides of the aisle in both Houses.

On Thursday, we learned that the Administration was looking at other ways to address the problem. As a result, our legislation stalled.

We have been in touch with the Administration on this and are in the process of arranging a high level staff meeting with the Governor’s Office and Legislative Leadership. It remains our goal to: 1) provide immediate help to our fiscal year municipalities; and 2) secure a long-term solution that will benefit the over 240 municipalities that support a local public library.

We will keep you posted on this.

As reported in our June 18 Budget Update, the Appropriations Act would skim $10 million from the Public Archives and Records Infrastructure Support (PARIS) Grant program.

That language remained in the bill that yesterday passed both Houses. When we testified on this on Monday, several members of the Assembly Budget Committee expressed the desire to work with us in assuring sufficient funding to meet current infrastructure needs. Assembly Budget Committee Chairman Lou Greenwald is taking the lead in arranging a meeting at which key Committee members, from both sides of the aisle, will meet with Administration officials, the League, the Clerks’ Association and county representatives.

We will keep you posted.

Thanks to the hard work of dozens of local officials, such as East Brunswick Council President Nancy Pinkin and Councilman Bill Edge of Caldwell, and the commitment of many Legislators, like Senators Barbara Buono, Joe Vitale and Andy Ciesla and Assemblymen Jeff Van Drew, Fran Blee and Lou Manzo, both Houses have passed and sent to the Governor a bill that will repeal the application of the sales tax to ALL local parking and all non-profit health and fitness facilities and services.

Please see our June 20 letter and contact the Governor’s Office and urge him to sign the SCS for S-2269 & S-2289/A-4065.

The final Appropriations bill, which passed both Houses last night, includes the additional $9 million in Extraordinary Aid and the new $8 million Flood Recovery funding that we discussed in our June 15 budget update.

We commend all involved in the State Budget process, especially the respective Committee Chairs, Senator Bernard Kenney and Assemblyman Lou Greenwald, and the ranking Minority Members, Senator Bob Littell and Assemblyman Joe Malone. We also want to thank Speaker Joe Roberts, Senate President Dick Codey and Governor Corzine. Every year, every budget wrap-up letter that we write includes the phrase, “Though we didn’t get everything we had asked for ….” This year is no exception. But the process gave us ample opportunity to present our perspectives on the many components of the budget that effect local government in New Jersey.

We will report on the Governor’s consideration of the budget, as the need arises.

By a vote of 36-1, the Senate approved ACR-20/SCR-137. See our letters of June 12 and June 13 for further details. The Question will appear on this November’s ballot.

We thank all of you for your work with your own State Legislators on all of these issues. If you have any questions, contact Jon Moran at 609-695-3481, ext. 121.

Very truly yours,

William G. Dressel, Jr.
Executive Director