War of Words- Beck, Panter, Karcher

[admin]

www.politicsnj.com/panter-beck-abandons-freehold-students-time-need-9874

PANTER: BECK ABANDONS FREEHOLD STUDENTS IN TIME OF NEED
By danreilly - June 21, 2007 - 7:22pm
Tags: Mike Panter for State Assembly,
Release Date: June 21, 2007
PANTER: BECK ABANDONS FREEHOLD STUDENTS IN TIME OF NEED



Republican Caves to Partisan Politics at Pivotal Moment

(FREEHOLD, NJ) – Assemblyman Mike Panter (D-Monmouth/Mercer) criticized his 12th District colleague, Assemblywoman Jen Beck, today for failing to support the students of the Freehold Borough School District. The school district has faced a fiscal crisis as its per pupil spending fails to meet thorough and efficient standards established under the State’s mandated average.




In the Fiscal Year 2008 budget, Panter and Senator Ellen Karcher (D-Monmouth/Mercer) secured nearly three million dollars for school districts which do not meet the thorough and efficient standard, including approximately $550,000 for the Freehold Borough School District.




“Ellen and I worked tirelessly to secure additional aid for school districts like Freehold,” said Panter. “Meanwhile, our colleague in the 12th continued to issue public statements about her efforts, but failed to support Freehold in tonight’s vote.”




Beck voted against the $550,000 aid to Freehold Borough in the FY 08 budget, turning her back on the children of Freehold Borough for her own political aspirations. In addition, throughout the budget process, Beck indicated she would request the necessary aid for the Borough. Despite these claims, Assembly Republican leadership indicated last month that none of its caucus members would make budget resolutions. At the last minute, Beck made a request to assist the Borough and save face in Freehold.




Last week, Karcher and Panter informed Borough residents and school adiministrators that the additional aid would be provided to the district. Meanwhile, Beck issued a press release in which she indicated “…ensuring that our children are receiving an adequate education needs to be a priority (6/13/07 Beck release).”




“Jen clearly demonstrates her top priority- ensuring adequate campaign quotes,” said Panter, who supported the resolution’s passage on Thursday. “Her vote sends a resounding message to the children of Freehold Borough and all constituents of the 12th District. When faced with a tough decision between doing what’s right for her constituents or her own political aspirations, Jen Beck will always put herself ahead of those who elected her.”




“I had hoped that Jen could push aside partisan politics in the face of such a crisis, but, as usual, she’s allowed political posturing to dictate her legislative agenda,” concluded Panter.

[admin]

www.politicsnj.com/beck-slams-panter-karcher-lack-leadership-freehold-funding-issue-9938

BECK SLAMS PANTER, KARCHER FOR LACK OF LEADERSHIP ON FREEHOLD FUNDING ISSUE
By TFitzsimmons - June 22, 2007 - 4:51pm
Tags: Jennifer Beck, Freehold, budget,
Release Date: June 22, 2007
Assemblywoman Jennifer Beck today called Assemblyman Mike Panter’s attack on her support for Freehold schools a complete misrepresentation of the facts, and questioned his whereabouts while Beck was holding meetings with parents and key Trenton decision makers.




“In typical fashion, my Democrat counterparts are twisting the truth for political gain,” added Beck. “I guess it is easy to get the facts confused when you have been absent for most of the process. As I recall, neither Assemblyman Panter nor Senator Karcher came to sit with parents and school officials from Freehold when they came to plead for more money at both Friday and Monday’s public budget hearings. On at lease five separate occasions, I arranged for school officials and parents to sit with legislators and/or the governor’s staff to discuss the fact that that Freehold Borough and 8 other schools throughout the state were being funded below the minimum amount required by law.

Senator Karcher attended two of those meeting, Assemblyman Panter attended none. So for them to take full credit for securing funding for Freehold Borough is the height of arrogance.”




Beck added,“I have been at the forefront of the issue, leading the chorus of calls for New Jersey to provided extra funding assistance to these 9 underfunded districts. “




Assemblywoman Beck said today that her vote against the budget was due to the lack of sustainable tax reform, the continued bias in favor of urban schools to the detriment of schools like those in her district, and the proposal to sell New jersey’s toll roads.

“Every state budget accomplishes some good, including providing Freehold Borough with an additional $550,000 in school funding, however, this budget will certainly do more harm than good,” said Beck. “Not only does this budget increase spending at nearly 3 times the rate of inflation, but it paves the way for sale of the New Jersey Turnpike and Garden State Parkway. That’s a recipe for disaster which outweighs any individual items which may be worthy of support.”


Beck concluded, “As I have done throughout my tenure, I will continue to make reforming the school funding formula and funding our schools at the minimum standard mandated by law a priority.




####





Contact:
Contact: Tom Fitzsimmons 732-889-4694

[admin]

I received this email from Ted Miller with instructions to pass it around Freehold Borough. Since this is the the best place to do so, I post here here for all readers.

Brian

Please forward this email I received from Jen Beck this Ever one you know in the Boro, our surrounding towns in District 12.. as well as in Monmouth


Ted,


I just wanted to let you know what occurred in Trenton the other night as far as the budget and Freehold Borough goes.



As you know by now, since the budget was passed Freehold got the $550,000 that it was announced they would get, which is good. There is also a commitment from the powers that be that Freehold will get the rest of the money to bring them up to T&E levels next year. The budget also contained money for the 8 other schools in Freehold's situation too, which i believe was jen's strategy from the start.Obviously we would’ve liked to get it all this year, but something is better than nothing, so overall I think Jen is satisfied with the progress we made.



As you also may know, Jen voted against the budget. At a time when the state is so cash starved that we’re considering selling the toll roads, she couldn’t in good conscience vote for a budget that raises spending by over 8% and still heavily favors urban school districts at the expense of districts like Freehold and others in the 12th district.



Obviously the budget had some worthwhile things in it too, like the money she helped get for Freehold. But you don’t get to vote yes on some stuff, but no on others…it’s the whole thing, yes or no. And she just felt it was a fiscally irresponsible budget.



Just to give one example ( there are many):the budget gives almost $22 million in aid to Abbott Rim districts. Its not bad enough that the 31 Abbotts soak up 57% of the state aid... now districts that BORDER Abbotts also get money. Yet they couldn’t come up with an extra $700,000 to get Freehold Boro all the way to T&E- go figure. There’s millions more just like that in wasted money. Plus it contained a provision to pave the way for the sale of the toll roads and the toll hikes that will come along with it, as per todays news reports.



This being the silly season, otherwise known as an election year, Panter and Karcher immediately put out press releases accusing Jen of “ abandoning Freehold students in time of need”. Yep, these two- who did nothing while Jen was setting up meeting after meeting in Trenton, who sat by while Freehold was flat funded for how many years- accused her of abandoning kids. It would be funny if I didn’t think it was going to show up in campaign literature from now until November.



I know you’ve said that people like yourself who were involved in the process know who was really the driving force behind getting the money for the schools. I sincerely hope that’s the case. She’s met with the education commissioner about the school funding formula a number of times- which as we’ve discussed is really the larger issue at hand- including 3 or 4 public meetings. Karcher and Panter never showed. They seem to materialize only when its time to take credit for something. But I guess that’s the way it goes in politics.



So that’s the story. Hopefully people will see through the BS and give credit to the person who made things happen.



Talk to you soon.



Tom Fitz....

[fiberisgoodforyou]

FB....Grand Fenwick

Karcher....the Duchy Gloriana of Grand Fenwick
Panter....Prime Minister Count Rupert Mountjoy

My Observation for those in the know....

[Marc Le Vine]

BECK SLAMS PANTER, KARCHER FOR LACK OF LEADERSHIP ON FREEHOLD FUNDING ISSUE

Unfortunately, Freehold Borough has to be very selfish about all of this voting and publicity. For us it must come down to one fact...DO WE GET THE MONEY WE NEED TO EDUCATE OUR KIDS?

It is humorous, though, to see our little. often disregarded town of 12,000 voters (by Trenton politicians) actually play a part in the larger game of state politics.

For the record, it is understandable what Jennifer Beck did in voting against the budget that our school monies were also a part of. However, it equally makes one cringe that her vote might have been the deciding vote cast to "giveth with one hand and taketh away with the other." This is not to say that a defeated state budget would not have been retooled and still included our funding. Still...a little too cardiac for some of us to watch.

In any case, Freehold Borough seems to be shaping up as the 2007 election battleground for the state assembly/senate races. We'll see if this means anything more for us (more funding in '08) than, the press, just reminding the rest of the state that our school system is part of the "have-nots" group. Once again, not a bonus for our PR efforts.

Marc

[aware guest]

GOP budget plan offers real relief

Editorial published in the Asbury Park Press
An Assembly Republican proposal to provide homeowners with property tax rebates as high as 30 percent deserves serious consideration by the Corzine administration. It comes a lot closer to offering meaningful property tax relief than the majority Democrats' rebates of up to 20 percent that Gov. Corzine signed into law in April.

To come up with the additional $1 billion needed to fund the larger rebates, the Republicans' proposal goes where the Democrats failed to tread: reducing spending for some government programs, eliminating others and cutting jobs. The Democrats paid for theirs with recycled tax dollars: dropping the homestead rebate program and diverting sales tax revenues.

Assembly Speaker Joseph J. Roberts Jr., D-Camden, referred the plan to Treasurer Bradley Abelow to review its feasibility. "No reasonable proposals should be off the table," Roberts said. Let's hope he means it. Corzine's $33.3 billion budget proposal for the 2008 fiscal year could be introduced in the Legislature as early as next week.

The Republicans' largest budget cut would take $450 million from the 31 Abbott school districts. The proposal would add $300 million in state aid to suburban and rural districts. That is sure to pit urban legislators against their suburban counterparts, who have a much stronger case to make. While the state has continued to pour billions of dollars into the Abbott districts, with no tangible results, middle-class districts have been saddled with skyrocketing property taxes, thanks in large part to flat state aid. It is an inequity that needs to addressed now, not next year.

Other specific cuts in the Republican plan include $64 million in proposed income tax breaks for low-income people and $17.5 million in rental assistance. Republicans would save another $80 million through pension reforms, $180 million by eliminating "pork" expected to be added to the new budget and $25 million by cutting unnecessary "political" jobs.

In addition to boosting the maximum rebates, the Republicans would increase the income threshold for receiving the maximum from $100,000 to $200,000, bringing more tax relief to more people. Even so, the $1,800 credit to the family paying the state average property tax of about $6,000 boils down to only $850 after deducting the dropped homestead rebate and the added expense of the average 6.5 percent local tax increase and 16 percent higher sales tax.

But that's the beginning of real property tax relief. And paying for it with permanent spending cuts offers hope that it will be lasting tax relief — something entirely absent from the Democrats' plan.

[very aware guest]

Oh, Grandma, what big no-bid contracts you have
Column, The Record of Hackensack, June 22, 2007

By ALFRED P. DOBLIN
RECORD COLUMNIST

For a lot of folks, if the sewers are in good repair, it does not matter if the contractor spread a little grease to get the job of laying pipe. But it isn't that simple.

IF A WELL-CONNECTED New Jersey law firm were hired to defend the wolf's actions in "Little Red Riding Hood," it would not focus on the wolf's unbridled desire to consume Little Red; instead, it would argue that said wolf, disguised in drag as Grandma, should be offered protection under the state's anti-discrimination laws.
The attempted consumption of Little Red is of little worth.

I'm not belittling the state's important new law that protects the transgender community from discrimination. It's a good law. I use it as a reference point. Give political players in New Jersey enough time and they will find a way to subvert something intrinsically good, turning it into something intrinsically profitable. I'm talking pay-to-play.

This week the borough of Wood-Ridge dismissed the need for enacting stronger pay-to-play reforms. It's not surprising. The mayor of Wood-Ridge is Paul Sarlo. Call him mayor. Call him state senator. Call him engineer. At least you can't call him Grandma – that is one of the few titles he doesn't have.

Sarlo is defending pay-to-play because it is more than the bread and butter of Bergen County Democratic politics, it's the foie gras on toast.

Bergen Democrats may challenge the state's pay-to-play laws, assuming they can find other county Democratic organizations in New Jersey to join in the legal challenge. After all, Jersey wolves run in packs and with PACs. The same law Sarlo referred to as "some of the most comprehensive pay-to-play reforms in the country" will probably be challenged by the very people that remain closest to Sarlo.

Given his comments about the current pay-to-play reforms, it will be interesting to see if Sarlo champions any future legal move made by fellow Democrats in Bergen or other counties to overturn pay-to-play. He flip-flopped on EnCap, why not pay-to-play?
The general argument against pay-to-play reform is that it infringes on the right of individuals to support candidates of their choosing -- and on freedom of speech. Who's against freedom of speech? Certainly not I.

Pay-to-play supporters say all that is needed is complete transparency -- if the public knows where the money is coming from and where it is going, there can be no corruption, no backroom deals, no political machine.

This is New Jersey. Political corruption in the Garden State is like ground contaminants. You may be able to put a cap on top of the soil, but unless you suck out all the toxins, they will spread somewhere else, out of sight until someone starts getting sick.
I agree with many powerful Democrats that voters don't care as much about pay-to-play as the media. For a lot of folks, if the sewers are in good repair, it does not matter if the contractor spread a little grease to get the job of laying pipe. But it isn't
that simple.

Huge development projects make some people a lot of money even if the project isn't completed. Whether condos rise from former landfills, attorneys get paid to argue in court and public relations firms get paid to argue with people like me.
Wolves eat Little Reds; that is what wolves do. Political wolves
like pay-to-play.

If the state's current pay-to-play reforms are successfully challenged in court, don't expect Wood-Ridge to take the lead
and draft a local ordinance preventing connected law firms and developers from contributing to either political campaigns or political action committees that can wheel donations across
the state.

In America, we have a constitutionally protected right to stand on
a soapbox, espouse our opinions (assuming they do not incite violence and hate) and be safe from prosecution.
That's called free speech.

In New Jersey, you can stand on a soapbox, but who builds that box and how you get a prime location for the box, well, that isn't free. And that's called pay-to-play.

The wolves are minding the hen house. The fact that the wolves are in drag is immaterial.

[highly aware guest]

Turnpike salesman
Editorial, The Trentonian, June 22, 2007

To many, the idea of selling the New Jersey Turnpike to a private company is an outrageous idea bordering on lunacy. And it may indeed be. But it’s hardly a revolutionary or unprecedented idea. America’s first toll roads were owned by private investors, for example, the Long Island Motor Parkway, which from 1907 to 1938 offered paying automotive customers a direct route between Flushing, Queens, and Hauppague, L.I.

Over the decades the trend swung toward public ownership. Now it seems to be swinging back. Private, profit-seeking companies are operating toll roads in Canada, Italy, France, Spain and Portugal.

Gov. Jon Corzine is not alone in salivating over the pot of gold he supposes would be found at the end of a New Jersey Turnpike privatization rainbow. Gov. Ed Rendell is likewise savoring the bundle to be made from selling the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

The idea isn’t popular in either state. It wasn’t in Indiana, either, but it happened anyway, public sentiment be d**ned. Gov. Mitch Daniels leased the Indiana Toll Road to a Spanish-Australian consortium for $3.85 billion. The proceeds are earmarked for transportation improvements.

The Indiana deal was preceded and accompanied by some tough state government economizing measures that enabled Daniels (President George W. Bush’s former Office of Management and Budget director) to persuade skeptics he could be trusted to be a prudent steward of the windfall.

The question is, could Corzine? The New Jersey state payroll is bigger than it has ever been, in both number of bodies and tax dollars, with costs substantially exceeding the Cost of Living Index. But despite astronomical long-term unfunded liabilities in public employee pension and health care costs, the governor has yet to act like the tough CEO he claims he once was in the private sector and promised to be as governor. Instead, he has acted pretty much like a run-of-the-mill, craven politician who’s fearful of riling up the public employee unions.

So could Corzine be trusted with a windfall from a Turnpike sale?

On the evidence we’ve seen so far, no. The money would soon be gone. and then what public asset would have to be sold off next? A state college? A state park?

[ultra aware guest]

PORK STILL ON MENU

They did it again. The Democrats who control the Legislature promised that this year, unlike years past, the budget process would be open and transparent. They lied. Democratic leaders and Gov. Corzine last week hammered out an agreement on a $33.5 billion budget — including more than $100 million in so-called "Christmas tree" add-ons for pet projects — behind closed doors. When will they realize "Christmas in July" is an advertising gimmick, not a model for governing? A hearing on the Christmas tree "grants" was held Friday and another will be held Monday. Why bother? "We're going to be voting on resolutions in a package that's already decided on? I mean, that's pretty stupid," said Assemblyman Joseph Malone III, R-Burlington. "That's not transparency. That's lunacy." No kidding. The Democrats boast they reduced the amount of grants from previous years. But $100 million isn't chump change for a state teetering on the edge. And the grants will have been determined — once again — with no meaningful Republican input. Bottom line: It's business as usual in Trenton.

- Asbury Park Press,
June 17, 2007
$100,000,000


FIRING DEAN UNDER INDICTMENT COST TAXPAYERS OVER $450,000

The taxpayer-funded attorney representing the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey has been paid more than $450,000 to get a sleazy dean fired. And the meter is still running. When the final bill comes due, the sleazy dean should be forced to pick up the tab. The tenure proceedings against R. Michael Gallagher, the former dean of UMDNJ's Osteopathic School in Stratford, are a stomach-churning example of how taxpayers are forced to pay twice to root out the bad apples — first for the corrupt acts themselves, then for the legal costs of getting them removed from their jobs. A bill sponsored last month by Assemblywoman Amy H. Handlin, R-Monmouth, would change that. It deserves prompt bipartisan support. Under the bill, if a person is fired for a crime and challenges it but is ultimately convicted, he or she would be responsible for any legal bills incurred. Handlin should clip a photo of Gallagher to a copy of her bill and slide it under the door of Assemblyman Mims Hackett Jr., D-Essex, who chairs the State Government Committee.

- Asbury Park Press,
June 6, 2007
$450,000



CHAIRMAN’S LAME EXCUSE PREVENTS $1 MILLION SAVINGS FOR TAXPAYERS

Don't blame me, says Assemblyman Jerry Green, a Union County Democrat. He's not blocking a bill that would save taxpayers a cool $1 million annually by cutting a few unneeded patronage jobs at county tax boards. Oh no, Green wants us to believe the stall is the fault of the bill's Republican sponsors. Green says they haven't pushed him hard enough to get the measure on the schedule for consideration by his Assembly Housing and Local Government Committee. Ridiculous. Last we checked, legislative committee chairmen can bring up any bill they want. And Green and Assembly Speaker Joe Roberts (D-Camden) and every other lawmaker should want this bill. It reverses the Legislature's wasteful creation of new tax board jobs three years ago, at the very time the volume of tax appeals and other work of the boards was dropping to 15-year lows. As Green himself says, this is a good-government bill. But if he and his colleagues don't stop girl thingyfooting and start chopping these pension-padding positions for political hacks, their idea of good government will be clear.

- The Star-Ledger,
June 2, 2007
$1,000,000



A SHOPPING SPREE WITH ABBOTT SCHOOL CASH

The director of a pre-K program in Passaic, an Abbott school district, cannot account for nearly $500,000 in state funds she received in 2005-06, according to an audit by the state Department of Education. Some of the money went to shopping sprees at stores like Victoria's Secret, a personal loan to an employee and to make a home mortgage payment, according to the report. The audit of the Children's Heimeshe Workshop's 2005-06 finances, done by the department's Office of Compliance and Investigation, found that Director Libby Leibowitz could not provide proof that thousands of dollars of state money she spent went to benefit the school. The report also said checks worth $44,668 were written out to petty cash, but that Leibowitz could not say where the money went. Leibowitz also used state money to make a $3,661 personal mortgage payment and recorded charges to Kohl's, Jin's Nail, Mary Unisex Beauty and Hosiery Planet that auditors could not prove were to help the school. Auditors also found that Leibowitz could not provide receipts for all of $360,000 in various debit card charges and nearly $50,000 in additional discretionary spending. The report also found Leibowitz didn't conduct proper employee criminal background checks, required by law, nor appropriately spend all the money she was given for classroom technology. Investigators noted a lack of computers in the classrooms, even though the program was given money to provide two in every room. The school district budgeted $788,573 in state aid to the school during the 2005-06 year, the education department said. This school year, the budget for Heimeshe was $847,826.

- The Herald News,
June 2, 2007
$500,000




ABBOTT DISTRICT MUST REPAY $72,000 IN STATE AID ... FOR TAXI TRIPS

Bad news keeps coming to the Trenton school district, which now has been told it must repay thousands of dollars to the state for improperly using taxi drivers to transport special education students. Although the use of cabs during the past three years has alleviated the district's transit problems, a re cent state audit revealed the district violated public contract laws and owes the Department of Education an estimated $72,000 it received in state aid. In addition, auditors discovered the district hired taxi drivers who had not submitted a criminal background check to the DOE. School officials also failed to put a contract in writing and pay the taxi company they hired in a timely manner, investigators found. This is the third time in a period of five weeks that the agency has flagged Trenton public schools for noncompliance with state statutes.

- The Times of Trenton,
June 1, 2007
$72,000



NO NEED FOR PUFFERY

NJ Transit, which is raising its fares almost 10 percent today, is paying almost $400,000 for six people to help produce publications that include a puff-piece newsletter. What a waste. Before it cries poverty again, the agency should review its publications program with an eye toward cutting its staff and their bloated salaries.

- Asbury Park Press,
June 1, 2007
$400,000



BLOW WHISTLE ON LEGAL BILLS

The legal bills for defending the state Board of Public Utilities and three of its top officials against a whistle-blower lawsuit have grown to nearly $600,000 — with the trial phase not even in sight. What a disgraceful waste of taxpayers' money. Assemblywoman Amy H. Handlin, R-Monmouth, who plans to introduce a bill this month to require state contracts that pay by the hour to have maximum limits and deadlines for completion, sums the fiasco up well: The money "has been thrown away in an effort to muzzle a whistle-blower." The whistle-blower's allegation that the board set up an illegal $80 million to $100 million private bank account is the subject of a criminal investigation. That should be more than enough reason for the state to settle this suit rather than defend the people charged with punishing the employee who brought the problem to investigators' attention.

- Asbury Park Press,
May 8, 2007
$600,000



YOU CAN DO BETTER SPENDING A MILLION BUCKS

Some state legislators reportedly want to add a million dollars to the state budget specifically earmarked to save a handful of varsity sports at Rutgers University. First, let's give lawmakers a few points for good intentions, even if there's some political grandstanding going on in their efforts. But really, if the state has a spare million bucks hanging around, aren't there countless better ways to spend it?

- The Courier-News
April 29, 2007
$1,000,000



CHARITY CARE HAS WASTED MILLIONS

New Jersey's cash-strapped Charity Care system for subsidizing hospital care for the indigent has been beset by fraud and Legislative manipulation that have led the $583 million-a-year program to waste tens of millions of dollars, according to a State Commission of Investigation (SCI) report.
The SCI claimed that hospitals are giving away tens of millions of dollars in state-subsidized treatments each year to patients who fraudulently lie about their incomes to qualify for the free care or who are actually covered by private insurance. Separately, the SCI review found that so-called "Christmas Tree" grants and other budget manipulations by the state Legislature had "skewed" state payments under the program away from hospitals like the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey that provide the bulk of charity care services in favor of hospitals whose free case loads are shrinking. The "manipulation," according to the report, has rendered irrelevant the $2.5 million-a-year the state spends calculating proper Charity Care distributions.
The SCI recommended immediate action to address "the full scope of structural weaknesses, administrative deficiencies and policy problems that routinely subject New Jersey's Charity Care program to real and potential waste, fraud and abuse." Among other things, the commission proposed: (1) an aggressive program to recover payments made to patients covered by health insurance; (2) a dedicated fraud recovery unit, and (3) proper distribution of Charity Care funds without budget manipulation.

- The Star-Ledger,
April 18, 2007
$23,400,000



TAX DOLLARS ARE WASHED
OUT TO SEA

A government-funded environmental preservation committee lacked oversight and accountability and spent New Jersey taxpayers' money on a vendor who had a personal relationship with the panel's executive director, according to a state audit. The January report, obtained by Gannett New Jersey, found the bipartisan, bi-state New York/New Jersey Clean Ocean and Shore Trust Commission, known as COAST, had no formal written policies or procedures for operations and did not keep records of its meetings or time worked by staff. The report discovered that since 2000, although it kept scant records of timesheets, 85 percent to 99 percent of the commission's spending each year went directly to salaries. In 2004, when New Jersey budgeted $144,000 for the commission, $142,156 was allocated for salaries. Of the seven years the audit looks at, $840,000 of the nearly $1 million in state funds given to the commission went to salaries. After the Office of Legislative Services, which funds COAST through the Legislature's annual budget, received invoices for the services, two legislative appointees to COAST, Sen. Joseph M. Kyrillos Jr. and Assemblyman Steven Corodemus, both R-Monmouth, requested an audit. Kyrillos said funds for the commission should be deleted from the 2007-08
state budget.

- Home News Tribune,
April 3, 2007
$1,000,000



WATCH AS $6 MILLION IN ROAD SIGNS FADE AWAY

The state Department of Transportation is spending $6 million to replace 11,000 overhead highway street-name signs that have faded beyond recognition. The new signs will be made of the highest-grade material, according to the DOT, but will wear out after seven years. That's not long enough. The Monmouth County engineer said his office several years ago was concerned about the grade of sheeting used by the county and convinced the freeholders to invest in a more expensive "high-performance" grade. The material was expected to last 10 years and is exceeding that time frame. The Ocean County engineer reported the same experience, with less weathering of road signs because the county uses a different material. The DOT brass should instruct their traffic engineers to pick up the phone and get tips on how to make signs more durable from their counterparts at the Shore.

- Asbury Park Press,
March 30, 2007
$6,000,000



PRICE TAG FOR NEW SCHOOL: $187 MILLION

The price tag for a proposed state-of-the-art high school in New Brunswick has soared to $187 million -- double the original projections and far more expensive than any other project undertaken so far in New Jersey's school construction program. Officials of the state Schools Construction Corp. said yesterday the price has been pushed up by land costs of $1 million per acre, labor and material expenses rising at the rate of $800,000 per month, and increased costs for relocating a business from the site. The total bill for the 2,000-student high school is on track to exceed $450 per square foot. It would exceed the $175 million New Jersey set aside in 2002 for the revitalization of the entire city of Camden. "Is somebody out of their mind?" asked Assemblyman Joseph Malone (R-Burlington), a sponsor of the legislation that set up the state's school construction program in 2000. "What in God's name are you going to build for $187 million? Is it going to be gold- plated?"

- The Star-Ledger,
March 29, 2007
$187,000,000



NEW, UNOPENED SCHOOL WILL BE PARTIALLY DISMANTLED

The Taj Mahal of elementary schools — Neptune's Midtown Community Elementary School, built at a cost of $42 million — has a "major" mold problem, officials say. And the building isn't even finished. The mold problem, blamed on "uncontrolled water intrusion" in rear walls, will delay the planned September opening of the school by another year and will cost another $5 million to $10 million to clean up. How did this happen? Where were the inspectors who should have been overseeing every phase of the project? How did the problem get to be "major" without anyone detecting it until now? The head of the state Schools Construction Corp., Jerry Murphy, said the entire upfront cost of the repair work will be borne by the SCC. That means the cost will be borne by the state's taxpayers until — and if — the state determines who is liable. Don't hold your breath.

- Asbury Park Press,
March 28, 2007
$10,000,000

[more ultra aware guest]

RUTGERS PAYS $200,000+
TO 98 WHILE ASKING FOR MORE STATE AID

State funding cuts of more than $66 million last year led Rutgers University to lay off 189 staff members, eliminate 374 part-time lecturers and cancel hundreds of course sections. The university's budget woes led senior administrators to relinquish salary increases, with the savings dedicated to financial assistance for students coping with an 8 percent tuition increase. But 98 top administrators, department chairs, coaches and athletic officials were paid more than $200,000 in 2006, a review of Rutgers salary records found.

- Asbury Park Press
March 26, 2007
SAVINGS IF NO ONE RECEIVED MORE THAN $200,000 A YEAR:

$844,676

EXECUTIVE BRANCH SPENDS $230 MILLION ON OVERTIME

Last year, the state's executive branch spent more than $230 million on overtime pay. Throw in the OT costs of New Jersey Transit and the New Jersey Turnpike Authority, and the total is more than $340 million, enough to make the Turnpike and the Garden State Parkway toll-free for about six months. Most of the executive branch's overtime — 79 percent — was paid to employees in three large departments: Human Services, Corrections, and Law and Public Safety, according to a Gannett New Jersey review of payroll data. Overtime in the executive branch makes up about 5 percent of the $5 billion salary budget. Sixty-six state employees made more than $60,000 in overtime last year, with some more than doubling their salaries. Six of them took home more than $80,000 in OT. Last year's figure represents a 20 percent increase in overtime costs since fiscal year 2004.

- Asbury Park Press,
March 11, 2007
EVEN IF OVERTIME PAYMENTS WERE CUT IN HALF:

$115,000,000

INSPECTOR GENERAL SAYS GRANTS WERE UNUSED, MISSPENT

The state should demand that a trade association for drug treatment providers return nearly $1.8 million in grants it never used or misspent on perks and lobbying efforts in violation of state rules, a report from the inspector general said yesterday. The scathing 75-page report is the second that Inspector General Mary Jane Cooper has issued in three months about improprieties involving the state Division of Addiction Services. It takes aim at the Addiction Treatment Providers of New Jersey, a trade group, and a nonprofit it created that accepted $8.7 million in government grants between 2002 and 2006.

- The Star-Ledger,
March 1, 2007
$1,800,000
COST A PRIMARY CONCERN

What price relevance? That is a key question as New Jersey joins the nationwide rush to hold its 2008 presidential primary early enough to make a difference. Lost in the debate has been the cost, now estimated at $8 million. County officials, understandably, are howling at yet another state mandate unaccompanied by state dollars. Gov. Corzine and the legislative leaders who have been adamant about boosting the state's role in presidential politics should redirect existing funds to pay for it.

- Asbury Park Press,
March 1, 2007
$8,000,000
CAN’T YOU JUST
SMELL THE ROSES?

The state Education Commissioner told a state Senate panel Monday that new rules might be needed to limit school district spending on non-educational expenses such as flowers, food for meetings and employee travel. Commissioner Lucille Davy appeared before the Senate's education committee to discuss last month's audits of four Abbott districts, including Camden, where auditors found $4,800 in questionable spending on flowers over two years. Richard Fair, the New Jersey state auditor, told the senators that previous state audits have turned up similar problems. "In most of the cases school districts know the problems, the Department of Education knows, it's just that nothing's been done," he said.

- Asbury Park Press,
February 27, 2007
$4,800
ON THE WRONG TRACK?

A $150 million train service planned for North Jersey would carry fewer riders than any railroad in the state, prompting criticism that it is little more than a pet project for the hometown of a local congressman. Critics said the 750 to 1,000 daily riders forecast for the Passaic-Bergen line aren't enough to justify the federal and state investment. The line would carry far fewer people than similar lines in Hudson County, Newark and South Jersey, according to NJ Transit figures. NJ Transit officials said the Passaic-Bergen line would promote economic development but would not be a cure-all for congestion on highways such as Routes 80 and 4. The agency approved $25 million for the line in its 2007 capital budget.

- The Record of Hackensack,
February 18, 2007
$25,000,000
NEW AUDIT FINDS NEWARK SQUANDERED MILLIONS

An audit of the way Newark City Hall sends out its water bills, inspects its restaurants and pays private tow-truck operators has documented an antiquated and disorganized bureaucracy that has been squandering millions of dollars, encouraging municipal malfeasance and potentially putting the health of its residents at risk. The $1.2 million audit, commissioned by Mayor Cory A. Booker soon after he took office in July, found that the city had failed to collect $80 million in tax revenue and that it loses about 30 percent of its drinking water each day through undiscovered leaks. [Newark is one of the largest recipients of state aid.]

- New York Times,
February 8, 2007
$80,000,000
AUDIT SHOWS BPU CONSULTANT EARNED MORE THAN BOSS DID

A former executive director of the state Board of Public Utilities — rehired as a contracted adviser — earned more last year than the agency's president, according to a new state audit. The audit of the BPU's Office of Clean Energy, released last week, found that a private adviser earned about $190,000 in 2006 — about $50,000 more than BPU President Jeanne M. Fox's salary. The consultant, Michael Ambrosio, was criticized in a previous audit by the state Department of the Treasury for working for the Office of Clean Energy while representing several clients seeking BPU grants.

- Asbury Park Press,
February 8, 2007
$190,000
AUDIT FINDS MILLIONS OF DOLLARS HAVE BEEN WASTED IN STATE-RUN SCHOOL DISTRICTS

Outside audits of four of New Jersey's largest and most troubled school districts found inadequate financial controls and raised questions about more than $15 million in expenses. Despite years of state oversight in all four districts, the reports found Newark, Jersey City, Paterson and Camden schools all need immediate attention in areas including payroll, accounting and purchasing. Among the findings by the state-hired auditors: (1) In Camden, more than $13 million in expenses was "questionable." (2) Purchases from an open account held by Newark superintendent Marion Bolden included figurines, decorations and a $1,795 jukebox. (3) Jersey City administrators spent thousands of dollars for out-of-state and overseas trips. (4) In Paterson, custodians could double their pay through overtime, and controls were so lax that more than 2,000 purchase orders exceeded their stated dollar amounts by a combined total of more than $6 million.

- The Star-Ledger,
January 31, 2007
$15,000,000
IT PAYS TO KNOW
THE RIGHT PEOPLE

As lawmakers struggle with controversial proposed reforms to the state's public retirement system, Joseph R. Mariniello, a politically connected municipal attorney who racked up retirement credits with 11 North Jersey towns and Bergen County, was approved yesterday for a state retirement package that will pay him $123,700 a year. Mariniello, 63, won approval by the Public Employees Retirement System board of trustees to receiving monthly retirement checks of $10,308.48, starting this month. He racked up more than 31 years of pension credit as an attorney for Bergen County and for 11 Bergen and Hudson communities, including West New York and Fort Lee. He was ranked 16th among the state's most highly paid "double-dippers," according to a list that was released last year during debate over ways to rein in soaring public retirement costs. His pension will be almost seven times the average, $18,000 a year, for a career state worker.

- The Star-Ledger,
January 18, 2007
$123,700
DEP LOST MILLIONS THROUGH POOR ACCOUNTING

Because of faulty paperwork, the Department of Environmental Protection has failed to charge $10 million to polluters responsible for environmental cleanups, a state auditor's report has found. In addition, the DEP has lost an untold sum of money because its automated billing system does not calculate interest charges on overdue accounts, the Dec. 19 audit says.

- The Courier-Post,
January 5, 2007
$10,000,000
MEDICAID THEFT COSTS NJ $900 MILLION

New Jersey officials suspect their cash-starved state loses $900 million annually through Medicaid fraud, nearly enough to cut next year’s projected budget deficit in half and make life easier for beleaguered taxpayers.

- The Record of Hackensack,
December 28, 2006
$900,000,000
CLASS, PAY ATTENTION!

For New Jersey politicians, the podium of higher learning can serve as a refuge for higher earning. At a time when taxpayer-funded higher education in the Garden State is enduring budget cuts and scandals, politicians and others from public life are peopling the state-run lecture halls, along a wide-ranging pay scale. Some, such as former Gov. James J. Florio, are well compensated. Florio, who left office in 1994, earns $96,632 a year for teaching one course at Rutgers one day a week. Others teach for free, sharing with students their decades of experience.

- Asbury Park Press,
December 3, 2006
HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS
LOTTERY JACKPOT
FOR DEBTORS

The New Jersey Lottery paid nearly $1 million last year to people who owed debts to the state, according to a new audit that found the agency wasn't checking a state database before paying prizes. The Division of State Lottery processes prize payments of more than $600 and is required to determine if winners defaulted on student loans and child support. Amounts owed to the state are to be deducted from the prize and forwarded to the proper agency before payments are made. But state auditors, in an audit dated Nov. 16, found the division paid $900,000 last year that should have been withheld for debts.

- The Burlington County Times,
December 1, 2006
$900,000
YOU CAN NEVER HAVE ENOUGH LAWYERS

Despite a long-standing executive order meant to keep the state's lawyers in the Office of the Attorney General and not within individual departments, the Board of Public Utilities has significantly increased its number of in-house lawyers, or legal specialists, in recent years. The BPU employs a staff of 14 legal specialists, several of whom have political connections, at a combined salary of $1.2 million per year, on top of the $2.4 million the BPU pays to have the Attorney General's Office for legal representation.

- Asbury Park Press,
November 13, 2006
$1,200,000
BILLIONS SPENT
WITH LITTLE OVERSIGHT

At the Atlantic City Convention Center Authority, employees can spend up to $125 per person on business dinners and get reimbursed for up to two alcoholic drinks while entertaining customers. At the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority, the former acting executive director billed the state for $1,700 in gasoline reimbursements, even as he was provided with a car for commuting, according to a report issued Monday by state Inspector General Mary Jane Cooper. These were some of the unusual perks included in Cooper's survey of the state's independent authorities, quasi-government agencies that spend billions of dollars each year, often with little oversight. The report shows a varied set of benefits across the 45 entities Cooper reviewed, with vast differences in salaries, vacation time and policies for reimbursing workers for transportation, meals and cell phone use. For example, confidential secretaries at some entities earn $33,363, while others make $125,000 a year, according to the report. Cabinet officials make $141,000. At the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority, the entire week between Christmas and New Year's Day is considered a paid holiday, and at two other entities top executives can provide additional days off or approve shortened workdays. Cooper recommended changes to bring the benefits in line with what state employees get.

- Asbury Park Press,
October 24, 2006
WHO KNOWS? BUT YOU KNOW IT’S A LOT!
CAMDEN SPENDS YOUR TAX DOLLARS TO DEFEND AN ABANDONED DEVELOPMENT

America's poorest city is continuing to spend money to defend a Bergen Square redevelopment plan the city has already abandoned. To pay for the legal defense, the Camden Redevelopment Agency is dipping into a $1 million reserve fund, steered to the city in July 2005 by state Sen. Wayne Bryant, D-Camden. Records concerning the fund have already been subpoenaed by federal and state grand juries. Assemblyman Kevin O'Toole, R-Essex , said the fund should be frozen until legal questions about it are resolved. O'Toole calls the $1 million a "slush fund," and he says he is concerned that, with the recent resignation of Camden Chief Operating Officer Randy Primas, money will be used to "feather the nest of politically connected law firms" until Primas' replacement is selected. Councilman Gilbert "Whip" Wilson said it seemed "like a waste of money" to defend a redevelopment plan the city is already redoing. As of June 30, the law firm had been paid $94,732 from the fund to defend redevelopment agency plans in court.

- The Courier-Post,
October 19, 2006
$94,732
MAYOR’S THREE-MONTH TRAVEL TAB COSTS TAXPAYERS $48,000

During his final three months in office, former Newark Mayor and current state Senator Sharpe James spent at least $48,000 in travel, dining and entertainment expenses, city records show. From March 27, when he announced he would not seek re-election, until he left office June 30, James traveled to Puerto Rico, Brazil, Martha's Vineyard and Detroit, often accompanied by bodyguards and aides. Some of James' travels, including a $6,500 trip to Rio de Janeiro during his final week in office, previously were reported by The Star-Ledger. But additional records obtained through the state's Open Public Records Act reveal the magnitude of the mayor's spending during his lame duck period and also suggest he was a chief executive who had little oversight of where he traveled or how much he spent. For example, James, unlike other city employees, was not required to have travel requests pre-approved, and came and went as he pleased, said former Newark Business Administrator Richard Monteilh. The records also show James' expenses often were reimbursed without an explanatory voucher. The revelation of the new expenses before James left office comes amid mounting evidence that state and federal investigations into his spending are widening. Federal investigators, who already have demanded a wide range of documents from City Hall, recently subpoenaed four of the ex-mayor's police bodyguards to testify before a federal grand jury. (The Newark City budget is heavily subsidized by state tax dollars.)

- The Star-Ledger of Newark,
September 25, 2006
$41, 500
PAYING SOMETHING
FOR NOTHING

New Jersey taxpayers will pay Goldman Sachs and Bank of America about $275,000 over the next eight weeks as the result of glitches in a complicated deal that was supposed to save money on borrowing for the state's school construction program. Because of delays in the school building program, the state does not yet need $500 million it was scheduled to borrow Sept. 1. So the loan has been postponed to Nov. 1, but under an "interest rate swap" deal worked out three years ago, the banking giants will collect money for nothing in the meantime. Until the state actually borrows the school funds, the deal will re quire New Jersey to pay the banks interest of 4.407 percent on the nonexistent loan, while the banks will return payments of about 3.99 percent to the state. The banks will keep the difference, which experts project will total $274,678. State officials "placed a bad bet," said Robert Brooks, professor of finance at the University of Alabama and the author of a book on swaps. "Things like swaps really shouldn't be used when you have timing uncertainty."

- The Star-Ledger of Newark,
September 14, 2006
$275,000
NO ONE HOME

New Jersey officials are investigating a $1.5 million, no-bid contract awarded to Life Skills Academy, a private company operated by a Trenton couple that apparently used state money to run its national headquarters in Atlanta, according to a published report. The Record of Bergen County reported yesterday that Life Skills Academy, run by Emmanuel ben Avraham and his wife, Elinah Avra ham, spent nearly $1 million in state funds during the past three years at its national headquarters on Peachtree Street in Atlanta. But the newspaper reported a visit by a reporter to the headquarters' address found no sign of the organization. Gov. Jon S. Corzine's office and other state officials are investigat ing the contract, including the $385,000 sent by Life Skills Academy to finance its Atlanta operation this year.

-The Times of Trenton,
August 16, 2006
$1,000,000
CORZINE REJECTS REQUEST
TO CUT $25 MILLION IN ‘PORK’

A Union County Republican whose lawsuit helped temporarily quash $25 million of grants for lawmakers’ pet projects last year is again asking Gov. Jon S. Corzine to block millions of dollars of “pork” he says were improperly wedged into the state budget. David Robinson, a Cranford attorney, said grants added to the $30.8 billion state budget violate a line in the state Constitution barring laws tailored to favor narrow causes. Corzine rejected the argument that the spending violates the law.

- The Courier-Post of Cherry Hill,
July 28, 2006
$25,000,000
CAMDEN SCHOOL BOARD SECRETARY GETS MORE THAN $100,000 IN OVERTIME

The executive secretary for former Camden Schools Superintendent Annette D. Knox was paid more than $100,000 in overtime over the last three years, far more than any other district employee. “The board was unaware such overtime was being approved,” School Board President Philip E. Freeman said. The state has taken over the operations of the city of Camden and still pours massive amounts of money into the school district.

- The Philadelphia Inquirer,
July 28, 2006
$100,000
NEWARK’S PARTING GIFT
TO OFFICIALS: $658,187

Former Newark Mayor and current state Senator Sharpe James and 21 outgoing members of his administration were issued city checks last month totaling $658,187 for unused vacation and sick time, according to a city document obtained by The Star-Ledger. Half of that total went to the ex-mayor and seven of his former department heads. The state continues to provide Newark with significant amounts of state aid.

- The Star-Ledger of Newark,
July 26, 2006
$658,187
AUDIT LASHES BPU
FOR $83 MILLION
BANK ACCOUNT

Top executives at the state Board of Public Utilities created a private bank account worth more than $80 million that lacked basic controls, allowing for an array of questionable decisions and suspected abuses, a long-awaited audit contends. The audit, conducted by the state Treasury Department, says managers of the account sought no official permission to establish it, kept terrible records, asserted no controls, hired with limited or no competition and essentially ran a tab of an estimated $83 million without anyone beyond an inner clique knowing of its existence.

- The Asbury Park Press,
July 26, 2006
$83,000,000
UMDNJ ABUSES TOP
$243 MILLION

More than $243 million. That’s the price tag – so far – for waste, fraud and abuse at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. A new report by the federal monitor overseeing the university details countless cases of overbilling, double-billing, mismanagement anf fiscal abuse. “At this stage of our review, losses due to ‘overbilling,’ ‘double-billing’ and ‘waste’ could exceed $243 million,” according to the report. “It must be emphasized that we anticipate that this amount may increase as we continue to do our work.” UMDNJ receives significant amounts of state aid.

- The Star-Ledger of Newark,
July 20, 2006
STILL BEING TABULATED
CHRISTMAS IN JULY

After all the drama ended at the Statehouse with the signing of the budget Saturday, Gov. Corzine and the Democratic leadership went right back to business as usual by scattering "pork" grants to districts represented by Democrats. When the news reached Republican lawmakers Tuesday, they charged that politics — not merit — was the most important factor in determining which grant applications were funded. No kidding. Given the state's fiscal troubles, none of the grant requests should have been approved. If and when the state finds itself with a budget surplus again — something not likely any time soon — a more objective way of determining which grant requests are approved must be put in place...All of the grants earmarked for Monmouth or Ocean counties went to one of six districts — the 12th — the only one with elected Democrats in Trenton. After the leadership squabbled over increasing taxes for every state resident, they turned and handed money to the districts represented by Democrats so they could buy back their seats in 2007. Just as disturbing as the largess of the Democrats is the number of state politicians — 15, and many of them dual officeholders — who saw fit to approve grants that benefit their own employers. Haven't these guys ever heard of abstaining? Their tax-everyone-more-so-I-can-spread-it-around-in-my-district mentality has to go. Take Camden County Sen. Wayne Bryant. (Please!) He voted for a $1.7 million grant to the Camden Redevelopment Agency and for $175,000 to Lawnside, both of which employ his law firm. He also voted for a $100,000 grant for Rutgers University Law School at Camden, where he is employed. Didn't anybody in the room notice there was something wrong with all that? Apparently not, as they were too busy slobbering over the rest of the $450 million identified as "Christmas tree" items by Republicans. Corzine vetoed about $51 million in proposed grants. He should have reloaded his pen and kept going...After Corzine was elected, he painted a bleak financial picture and pledged to right the wrongs. "Let us resolve that, having been through a period of turmoil, we will not go back to business as usual," he said in his inaugural address. "The task must go forward, no matter how tough the choices, with a readiness to share the sacrifices," he said when he presented his budget proposal in March. How then can he justify taxing more and spending more? This budget should not have included any discretionary spending. Corzine should put a moratorium on all such grants until the state is in the black. When that day arrives, specific criteria should be drawn to establish funding priorities and hearings should be held to make certain grants are based on merit, not partisan politics.

- Asbury Park Press,
Editorial, July 13, 2006
$450,000,000

[much more ultra aware guest]

FROM IPODS TO A PLASMA TELEVISION: THANK YOU TAXPAYERS!

State investigators are looking into whether two Camden principals improperly spent tens of thousands of dollars of district money on a big-screen plasma television, iPods, laptops, and other electronic equipment. Some of the items were allegedly for their personal use, sources familiar with the investigation told The Inquirer. The state picks up most of the costs incurred by public schools in Camden.

- The Philadelphia Inquirer,
June 27, 2006
TENS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS
$200,000 BUYOUT FOR STATE
SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT
FACING CRIMINAL PROBE

Camden Schools Superintendent Annette D. Knox agreed yesterday to step down amid a criminal probe, a test-cheating investigation, and allegations that she gave herself bonuses. She will receive nearly $200,000 severance, a third of what she had sought. In a statement last night, Gov. Corzine announced Knox's resignation, effective June 30. The state, which has oversight over the district, helped broker the deal.

- The Philadelphia Inquirer,
June 22, 2006
$200,000
WHAT’S NEXT?
A $900 SCREWDRIVER?

“I'm disabled and needed a high-back chair. I had to fill out a ream of paperwork that had to go thru 3 levels of approval to get the chair. Then I was given a brochure of chairs and I was blown away by the prices. The state paid $349 for my chair at "state contracted vendor price." This same chair could've been purchased then and now at Best Buy, Staples, Office Depot, etc. for about $89.99. (I still have the brochure) I needed a voice-activated microcassette recorder for my meetings. Once again, "state contracted vendor price," $149. retail mentioned above, $39.99. I offered to buy it myself because it bothered me that taxpayer money was being wasted like that. The state purchased the recorder. I was given a brand-new computer with speakers and a huge sub-woofer that sat on the floor beneath my desk. (I used it as a foot-prop) Guess what? (It was purchased as part of a) package "deal" for these PCs. (They came equipped) with all the bells and whistles – and we were not allowed to have sound on our computers. The sound cards were removed. I know that speakers usually come with a computer, but the monster subwoofer is optional, expensive, and totally unnecessary. So when I reflect on what I know during my tenure as a state employee, I KNOW that the powers that be are deliberately ignoring areas where cuts can be made. Our legislators need to look at these vendor contracts. They'll find plenty of waste there.”
- Email from SMC of Pleasantville, a former state employee, sent to the New Jersey Budget Forum on the NJ Legislature’s website, June 20, 2006
ANYONE'S GUESS!
OVERTIME COSTS
RISE SHARPLY

New Jersey state workers racked up $600 million in overtime over the past three years, records show, contributing to a multibillion-dollar budget deficit whose reversal is pegged to higher sales taxes and gutted services. From 2003 to 2005, overtime pay grew 10 percent. It peaked at $212 million last year, when nearly half the state's workforce of more than 80,000 put in extra hours. The number of workers earning overtime climbed to 40,000, an 8 percent increase over the same three years, records show. Overtime piled up as Trenton froze aid to towns and schools, scaled back property tax rebates and borrowed billions to patch a hemorrhaging annual budget. An analysis of overtime records by The Record found: (1) Each year, the three top-paying departments were Human Services -- which consumed $220 million, more than a third of the overtime; Law and Public Safety; and Corrections. (2) The top 10 overtime earners in 2005 took home a combined $781,000 extra. Four of those employees managed to make more than double their base pay. And with salary and overtime combined, all but two of the 10 made in excess of the $141,000 paid to the governor-appointed commissioners overseeing their departments. (3) Four registered nurses did particularly well working in Human Services' chronically short-staffed developmental centers. In Woodbridge, two nurses added more than $88,000 each to their $59,000-a-year salaries. Another, paid $57,000 a year, had more than $74,000 in overtime. At the North Jersey Developmental Center in Totowa, one charge nurse earned at least $73,000 in OT in each of the past three years. One of the Woodbridge nurses made the most overtime – $88,860.48 – of any state worker last year, for a gross of $148,133.04.

- The Record,
June 18, 2006
$600,000,000
COVERUP OF $100 MILLION BPU SCANDAL CONTINUES

Democrats in Trenton are trying to hide a $100 million scandal by refusing to release an audit that shows how the state's utility regulators use a renewable energy fund financed through people's electric bills, a state senator alleged Thursday. "Who are they hiding? Who are they protecting? Money was given to friends and cronies," said Sen. Peter Inverso, R-Mercer, who has been pressing to see the audit of the state Board of Public Utilities' Clean Energy Program. At a Senate Judiciary Committee meeting Thursday, Sen. Thomas H. Kean Jr. pressed the same issue, asking if state Attorney General Zulima V. Farber would take steps to make the audit public. A judge shielded it from public view last year at the state's request. Farber said she would, but only after the audit is finished, which she insisted is not yet the case. Republicans have disputed this. The BPU's responsibilities include regulating power companies' rates. The Clean Energy Program takes $10 to $20 a year from each customer's power bills. The BPU's Web site says the money is supposed to go to provide "education, information and financial incentives for renewable energy systems and energy efficiency measures." News reports have said the top people at the BPU opened a private bank account with clean-energy money and that money from the account ended up in projects fostered by friends or relatives of the BPU clique that had access to the account. At the same time, people who have said they have applied for clean-energy money, after actually borrowing to install solar cells on their homes, have waited months without hearing from the program.

- Asbury Park Press,
June 16, 2006
$100,000,000
PRESCHOOL ACCUSED
OF STEALING STATE
FUNDS FROM KIDS

A state grand jury has indicted three leaders of a defunct preschool for needy children for allegedly diverting more than $200,000 in state funds for their personal use. The nine-count indictment against the New Africa Day Care Center alleges that the director, her son and her ex-husband used taxpayer dollars to buy, among other things, two Jaguars and vacations in Chicago and Hyannis Port, Mass. New Africa received about $1.8 million in public funds from January 2001 to March 2004. New Africa was one of hundreds of private centers that signed contracts with the state to provide preschool education for poor 3- and 4-year-olds. Taxpayers have spent $2.5 billion on the so-called Abbott preschool program since it was mandated by the state Supreme Court in 1999. In April, in a four-part investigative series called "Lessons in Waste," The Record detailed problems in the landmark program, including sloppy bookkeeping at virtually every school, so bad in most cases that auditors couldn't tell how much in state tax money had been spent. The series also noted the state's failure to act against those who allegedly cheated the system.

- The Record of Hackensack,
June 15, 2006 $200,000
‘I’M DOING SUCH A GREAT JOB,
I THINK I’LL GIVE MYSELF
A BONUS . . . AND
KEEP IT A SECRET!’

Over the last two years, Camden Schools Superintendent Annette D. Knox received $17,690 in performance bonuses that the school board did not approve or even know about. The board now says it can't say whether she earned the bonuses and plans to ask her for documentation, according to Philip E. Freeman, the board president. Freeman accused Knox yesterday of deceiving the board by not telling it of the 2004 bonus as late as last week, when members grilled her about the 2005 bonus before they approved a new contract. Freeman and other board members said the bonuses should have been approved by the board because they involved the spending of district funds. Knox currently earns $185,483.

- The Philadelphia Inquirer,
June 5, 2006 $17,690
LIGHTS, CAMERA ... CUT!

Assemblyman Joe Pennacchio, R-Morris and Passaic, says that $10 million used for tax credits for the movie industry could be put to better use, such as funding the health insurance program for 50,000 New Jersey children. He explains, "Our resources would be better spent on providing health insurance for children... money that is currently set-aside for this tax break should be redirected to this valuable program. This is a matter of budgetary priorities and our children should always come first."

- Millennium Radio,
June 5, 2006 $10,000,000
IF ONLY CAMDEN’S TEST SCORES WOULD RISE
THIS HIGH, THIS FAST

The Camden school board has approved a new three-year contract for Superintendent Annette D. Knox, who will be paid more than $200,000 by the second year. The contract requires Gov. Corzine's approval as part of the state's oversight of the district. Knox is set to earn $192,903 for the 2006-07 school year, Board President Philip E. Freeman said. She would be paid $200,619 for 2007-08 and $208,644 for 2008-09. The amounts do not include potential bonuses, car allowances, or an annuity account the district pays into on her behalf. As part of the package, Knox can earn 10 percent of her base salary for meeting performance goals. Knox is paid $185,483 for 2005-06. She is among the highest-paid superintendents in the area and supervises one of the largest districts, with 16,385 students. The average salary for a superintendent in the region, which includes Philadelphia's suburbs in Pennsylvania and Camden, Gloucester and Burlington Counties, was $132,199 in 2004-05, the most recent figure available.

- The Philadelphia Inquirer,
June 1, 2006 $200,000
I’M A TRAVELIN’ MAN,
I’VE MADE A LOT OF STOPS,
ALL OVER THIS WORLD. . .

In a 3-year span Board of Public Utilities (BPU) commissioner Fred Butler traveled to places like New Delhi, Budapest, Brussels, Rome and Sydney. He also took working trips to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and Bratislava, Slovakia. In fact, Butler traveled to 15 countries on six continents and ten US states. He racked up enough frequent flyer miles to get two round-trip, first class tickets to Hawaii which he has not cashed in. In all, Butler spent 270 working days over the three years outside of the state of New Jersey. Who paid and how did these trips help lower your utility rates? "We just don't know," says Assemblywoman Amy Handlin, "and I believe the public deserves answers to precisely those questions." Handlin is sponsoring a bill that would create an independent board to review each of the state's roughly 230 authorities. She says the board should have power when it comes to punishing authorities and agencies that are not acting in the public's interest, "If they're wasteful and profligate they deserve to be cut back or shut down." A BPU spokesperson says Butler's trips were paid for by trade organizations but, who is really paying? BPU's own records reveal that in Fiscal Year 2002 the BPU paid these trade groups $14,660 in dues. In FY 2006 the BPU shelled out $576,058 in dues. Handlin wants to know if the Board is simply doing an end-around and really using ratepayer and taxpayer money to pay high dues which are then used to pay for the trips.

- Millennium Radio,
June 1, 2006 $576,058
TESTING TAXPAYERS' PATIENCE

The state spends a whopping $20 million a year to develop and distribute standardized tests for Grades 3-8 and 11. At a budget hearing this week, the state's acting commissioner of education was asked why New Jersey created its own tests rather than simply use off-the-shelf exams. The reply was that the tests had to reflect the state's core curriculum standards – but that the Education Department is now working with 12 other states to develop common tests and share the costs for the 11th-grade tests. In other words: The plan is to save money by making standardized tests more standardized. What a concept.

- The Record of Hackensack,
Editorial, May 17, 2006 $20,000,000
LIVING LIKE A KING

There’s nothing quite like a trip to merry old England – especially when it includes chauffeured limousines, a night at a $500-a-room hotel, a luxurious meal at London’s oldest restaurant, all at taxpayers’ expense. Just ask Jersey City School Superintendent of Schools Charles T. Epps Jr. Epps, who now also is an assemblyman representing the 31st District, voyaged to the U.K. to attend a prestigious meeting of educators known as the “Oxford Roundtable.” Epps was reimbursed $5,179 for the trip, according to records released by Assembly Republicans. Receipts show Epps and his group spent over $400 on chauffeured limousines and $260 for a car service. He also spent $500 for a lone night’s stay at a luxury hotel and $470 for another night at an apartment. During the rest of the trip, Epps made do at a $320-a-night hotel. But what seems to be drawing the most interest is Epps’ epicurean experience. One Saturday night he and his group dined at London’s Rules Restaurant, which was founded in 1798 and has its own estate where it raises the game hens it services. Records show they left just before midnight after shelling out the equivalent of $160 for two ribs of beef and $25 for two bowls of asparagus soup.

- The Jersey Journal,
May 12, 2006 $5,179
CAMDEN NORTH???

Every other Friday, 26 times a year, city employees get paid, except when a quirk of the calendar every dozen years sandwiches an extra pay period into the year. It happened in 2004, accounting for an extra $3.2 million Paterson paid its workers. But now, the state wants the city to get that money back, saying it never should have paid it in the first place. Because Paterson's budget year does not follow the calendar, that extra check two years ago didn't actually show up on the balance sheets until the city started crafting its 2006 budget last winter. This fiscal year began July 1 and will end June 30. When the city took its 2006 budget to the state Department of Community Affairs for approval in February, the department saw the error and balked. "We asked them to explain their deficit," said DCA spokesman Sean Darcy. "We told them they overpaid their employees, and they have to get it back." The city's deficit required an infusion of $30.8 million in state aid to balance the nearly $193 million budget. That grant, from the Distressed Cities program, caused the state to nudge Paterson toward rectifying its books. Tony Zambrano, the city's acting finance director, said Thursday that during his decades as a city employee, this has happened twice before. He said both times the city paid an extra check to its workers and the state never raised any objections.

- The Herald News,
May 12, 2006 $3,200,000
MEETINGS IN NEVERLAND

Two Camden principals whose schools are under scrutiny for possible cheating on state tests are now also under investigation for allegedly masterminding a scheme to bilk $28,000 from the district for themselves and other employees. Both allegedly submitted payment requests for attending after-school meetings that were not held, according to sources familiar with the investigation. The requests totaled $28,000.

- The Philadelphia Inquirer, May 10, 2006 $28,000
CAMDEN'S $2 MILLION
PAYROLL MISTAKE

City workers got an extra 2004 check. Recover the money, the state says. Giveback? What giveback? say the unions. Camden gave its employees an extra paycheck in 2004, a $2.6 million mistake that now has the state ordering New Jersey's poorest city to recover the money. The error was spotted about two months ago by the state, which was reviewing Camden's finances because the city receives millions in aid from New Jersey taxpayers. Camden officials say they have known about the overpayment since it was made. But it was not until the state found the mistake that "we began discussions with the unions, showing that folks had received an overpayment and we need to correct it," said Melvin R. "Randy" Primas, the chief operating officer of Camden, who is appointed and paid by the state. Camden is expected to get the money back in its own budget, not repay the state. Union leaders say there are no talks about a giveback. No Camden official would explain yesterday why the city decided to issue the extra paycheck to its 1,300 workers. Salaries range from more than $100,000 a year for the police chief and mayor to $24,000 for a clerk.

- The Philadelphia Inquirer,
May 10, 2006 $2,000,000
NEWARK TEACHERS GETTING RICH IN ONE OF THE STATE’S
POOREST DISTRICTS

A millennium Radio News exclusive financial analysis reveals a staggering 327 teachers and administrators in the Newark school district are making over $100,000 a year for a total of over $38.3 million taxpayer dollars. This includes gym teachers, shop teachers and art teachers. There are security guards on the list. The person in charge of food services brings down over 100-grand. There are a whopping 72 vice principals on the list. The state district superintendent is raking in over a quarter-of-a-million bucks. Newark is one of the state's 31 poorest or, so-called Abbott districts. The Newark school district is in such dire financial straits that the State of New Jersey has actually taken it over. New Jersey is currently battling yet another state budget deficit and the Governor is proposing tax hikes. A state Supreme Court ruling mandates that the state subsidize these districts. That means taxpayers from Cape May to Sussex County are helping to fund education in the districts. The state Department of Education website reveals the Newark school district received almost $700 million in state aid for the 2005-06 school year and stands to get nearly that for the 06-07 year. Helping put the huge salaries in perspective, the New Jersey Education Association's latest available figures on the median teacher salary in the Garden State puts that number at $57,707 dollars. The New Jersey School Boards Association says the average starting salary for a teacher in this state is $40,350. [Editor’s note: If the 327 teachers and administrators earned $60,000 a year, more than the median teacher salary according to the NJEA, the cost would be cut from $38.3 million, to $19.6 million.]

- NJ 101.5 FM News,
May 8, 2006 $18,600,000
FREE HOUSING FOR
PRISON ADMINISTRATORS

During a hearing on the budget for the Department of Corrections, Acting Corrections Commissioner George W. Hayman was asked by Assemblyman Kevin O’Toole, R-Essex, Passaic, why prison administrators who earn more than $91,000 a year were living in free housing. Hayman said that of 14 administrators, seven accepted the housing as part of their appointments and that it is helpful to have them nearby in case of emergencies. "Not only do I question whether this free housing is necessary, I also am concerned about the legal implications of this housing being provided for free, and with no tax considerations," O'Toole said. "When we have aging facilities that are in need of upgrades, and questions about security in our prisons, I cannot see a justification for handing out taxpayer-funded housing to administrators earning six- figure salaries." O'Toole said the free housing violates language in the current budget that states, "No employee of the DOC shall reside in departmental housing without payment of fair market rental rate."

- The Star-Ledger, May 5, 2006 Market value of 16 state-owned houses and two small
office buildings.
TAXPAYER WINS LAWSUIT AFTER ILLEGAL & POLITICIZED
GRANT PROCESS

Score one for the little guy. Self-described, 'ordinary taxpayer,' David Robinson sued Governor Jon Corzine asking a court to freeze $25 million in remaining grant money he believes was illegally steered by Democratic lawmakers to fund their pet projects. Robinson says, "We won the suit….the Governor agreed to permanently impound the funds and none of that money in grants will go out the door." On behalf of his client attorney Mark Sheridan filed suit in Trenton Superior Court last month against Corzine and State Treasurer Brad Abelow claiming the Administration planned to continue to "unconstitutionally and illegally" send out millions in taxpayer dollars. $40 million was originally appropriated by the Legislature in Fiscal Year 2006 and even more the year before to "Property Tax Assistance and Community Development Block Grants" under control of the State Treasurer. The legal action asked a judge to freeze the unspent $25 million in grant monies remaining in the state's coffers. The Governor decided to voluntarily freeze the account pending a review.
$25,000,000
RIGHT, BUT FOR THE
WRONG REASON

As lawmakers pick through a state budget proposal that includes tax increases and program cuts, one senator Wednesday questioned plans to spend $65.5 million to bail out three cities struggling with their own financial problems. Sen. Barbara Buono, D-Metuchen, worried the money could be wasted in a year when budgets are tight across the state, criticized the aid to "distressed cities" after pointedly questioning Department of Community Affairs Commissioner Susan Bass Levin during a Senate budget hearing. "The state doesn't have a lot of credibility when it comes to oversight," Buono said, pointing to officials' statements on trouble tracking millions of dollars that have gone to some poor school districts under the Abbott vs. Burke program. "I'm concerned history will repeat itself." . . . The DCA angered Buono after it rejected her request for aid to Edison, a suburban town in her district, but approved millions more for Camden, Ewing and Paterson. The state expects to spend $95 million in the current budget for aid to six distressed cities. The fiscal year 2007 budget, which takes effect July 1, includes $78 million for the program.

- Asbury Park Press,
May 4, 2006
$65,500,000
MUSIC TO THE
TAXPAYERS’ EARS? DOUBTFUL!

Should the New Jersey Performing Arts Council get a $1.2 million grant from the state’s Art Council, on top of $5 million to pay capital construction debt, when its CEO is getting a salary of $600,000 and seven of his Vice Presidents are making an average of $171,000 annually? Consider the following report: “The senior management of the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark is defending its salaries, after some lawmakers questioned how its CEO and Vice Presidents could be making huge six-figure sums with the state in such fiscal ruin...As of 2004, the last year for which records are available, NJ PAC's CEO Lawrence Goldman had an annual salary of $600,000. From 2000 to 2004, his salary was increased 71%. The Center's eight Vice Presidents (there are now seven) were making an average of $171,000 annually...Goldman, as of 2004, was making more than the CEO at Carnegie Hall, who also doubles as that center's Art Director. The salaries have raised objections among some lawmakers because in fiscal year 2004, the state supplied NJ PAC with over $5.5 million dollars. ”

- NJ 101.5 FM News,
May 3, 2006
$1,200,000
IN CELEBRATION OF BLACK HISTORY MONTH: A MARTINI BAR COMPLETE WITH ICE SCULPTURES

Here in the kleptocracy of New Jersey, not even Black History Month escapes the taint of corruption. The federal monitor looking into the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey alleges a Black History Month celebration that was supposed to cost $5,000 escalated to $22,000, complete with martini bar and ice sculptures. Donald Bradley, a UMDNJ trustee and Newark City Council president, took advantage of the observance to entertain political backers. He also is charged with helping sublease UMDNJ office space for $1 a year to a political backer. The report says the backer owes about $75,000 in property taxes -- and $3 in back rent. He didn't even pay the $1 a year.

- Bob Ingle, Politics Patrol Gannett
News Service, May 1, 2006
$20,000
THE JETS APPRECIATE YOUR SUPPORT ... AND TAX DOLLARS

The acquisition of a 20-acre site in Florham Park that will serve as the practice home for the New York Jets will cost the state $20 million, says the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority. The deal, unanimously approved by the sports authority board, was one of a series of resolutions that were passed relating to the plans of the Jets and the New York Giants to share a new $1 billion Meadowlands football stadium that would open in 2010.

- The Record of Hackensack,
April 28, 2006
$20,000,000

[manymuchmore ultra aware guest]

WHATEVER GOES UP WILL COME DOWN – EXCEPT
YOUR TAXES!

The state Schools Construction Corp. yesterday approved spending $48,000 to knock down a new Union City apartment building that has stood vacant since it was erected on property the state needs for a new elementary school. State officials contend the building was erected simply to inflate the value of the long-vacant property, and say they should only pay about $326,000, the value of the property before the three-story apartment building was put up. The building's owners are seeking $2.2 million. The demolition was approved yesterday as officials added new items to a contract to clear properties for a proposed $36.9 million Columbus Elementary School.

- The Star-Ledger,
April 27, 2006
$48,000
MILLIONS WASTED ON UNUSED BEDS

Parole Board officials say the state has spent as much as $1.6 million over the last two years for addiction treatment beds that went unfilled, under a contract that requires payment upfront whether the services are used or not. The state Parole Board, through the Department of Human Services, has a $2.7 million contract for 115 inpatient beds at privately run drug treatment centers around the state. But it has paid about $800,000 a year for nothing because 30 percent of those beds went empty, board Chairman John D'Amico said in a recent letter to Human Services Commission Kevin Ryan.

- The Star-Ledger,
April 26, 2006
$1,600,000
REPORT ON UMDNJ EXPOSES MISSPENT FUNDS

A top academic dean and a trustee of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey engaged in "unethical and potentially illegal" activities involving the misspending of thousands in public funds, according to a highly critical federal report to be released today. Among the monitor's latest findings:

Financial statements were falsified to show the university's headache center, headed by R. Michael Gallagher, former dean of UMDNJ's School of Osteopathic Medicine near Camden, was making a profit - enabling him to receive a $15,000 annual bonus.
Thousands of dollars in dining and entertainment bills were charged to university accounts, including meals at the dean's country club and other top restaurants. While the dean's expenses soared, he was laying off 25 UMDNJ staffers.
UMDNJ spent more than $10,000 at trustee Newark City Council President Donald Bradley's behest to underwrite a catered affair at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center that included a martini bar and ice sculptures - despite a state ban on spending public money for liquor. The programs for the event were printed by a company owned by a top aide to Bradley, under a no-bid contract worth $1,800.
Bradley pressured the university to sublet an empty medical building - at a token fee of $1 a year - to a campaign contributor, and lobbied UMDNJ to create a clinic there. The contributor, according to the report, "indicated in an interview that he negotiated the terms of the lease directly with Council President Bradley."
- The Star-Ledger,
April 24, 2006
$26,800
MEDICAL SCHOOL PROBE COSTS YOU!

The federal effort to clean up finances at the state’s medical university is on pace to cost taxpayers nearly $8 million a year – a total far above the fraudulent billing the sparked the effort. Private-practice attorneys, investigators and accountants hired to aid in the reform of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey are billing at a rate likely to top $1.98 million for the first quarter of 2006. U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie installed a federal monitor at UMDNJ at the close of 2005 after investigators found evidence that the university had over billed federal insurance programs for more than $4.9 million.

- The Record of Hackensack.
April 22, 2006
$8,000,000
NO BAD FISCAL DEED
EVER GOES PUNISHED

The Willingboro School District spent $4.64 million more than budgeted during the 2004-05 school year and did not seek higher taxes or cut spending enough to avoid the same problem this year. The result? Governor Corzine signed a bill into law last week that will provide the district a 10-year, no-interest loan to cover its estimated $10 million deficit. The state Department of Education appointed a retired school administrator to begin monitoring the district, which must pay $600 a day in salary for the monitor and an additional $150 per night meeting. Willingboro is already paying an interim superintendent $500 per day and must legally resume paying its suspended school superintendent his $135,000 annual salary starting next week.

- Burlington County Times,
April 22, 2006
$10,000,000
IT’S NICE TO BE THE MAYOR OF NEWARK, ESPECIALLY WHEN THE STATE HANDS OVER MILLIONS OF $$$

State officials have denounced a plan by Newark to transfer tens of millions of taxpayer dollars to two private funds under the partial control of retiring Mayor (and State Senator) Sharpe James, and have ordered the city to freeze all actions involving the money. In a letter sent to city lawyers on Thursday, the state Department of Community Affairs said there were serious unanswered legal questions about the creation of the funds and the assignment of $80 million in city money to projects chosen by a board that includes the mayor and his allies at City Hall. The agency also questioned the Municipal Council’s ability to earmark $33.5 million of that money for “contributions” to nonprofit institutions around the city.

- The New York Times,
April 21, 2006
$113,500,000
ATOMIC HIGH

Since 2004, the Schools Construction Corporation has spent “millions” to buy a 130-year-old silk million in Union City and evict longtime residents nearby the site so it could build a new high school for 1,750 students. The project was suspended when the SCC ran out of money. That may be fortunate for the students who would have attended the school – because the site is contaminated with radioactive uranium and toxic PCBs. During World War II, it seems the silk mill was used by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to produce cold-rolled rods of solid uranium to help produce the first atomic bomb.

- The Record of Hackensack,
April 23, 2006
UNTOLD ‘MILLIONS’
THE HIGH COST OF
CHANGING A LIGHT BULB

What does it take to change light bulbs on the 75-foot rotunda ceiling of NJ Transit’s massive Secaucus rail station? A lot, according to The Record of Hackensack (April 13, 2006): “First, crack a hole in the roof big enough to drive a crane through. Then, hoist a crane onto the roof using, well, another crane. Build a ramp, widen a doorway and protect the interior floor with some plywood. Then you can start thinking about unscrewing a light bulb.” Seems the station was built with no easy way of changing bulbs on the skylight. Crane rental costs alone will top $10,000. NJ Transit dismissed any notion that the cost or work involved was extreme.

$10,000
AN OFFER THEY
COULDN’T REFUSE?

The state paid the family of a reputed mob associate far more than its estimated cost for the site of a troubled school project in Passaic, according to records examined by The Record of Hackensack (April 17, 2006). “Several months before the state School Construction Corp. paid the wife of accused Genovese crime family associate Richard Doren $4.3 million for his property in downtown Passaic, officials anticipated getting that land and seven additional parcels for $2.5 million. The agency closed on the property last year even as it was going prematurely bankrupt. The Passaic project has since become mired in controversy over the safety of the site, particularly because of the notorious pornographic movie theater and cut-rate hotel on the next block.”
$1,800,000
BEEN THERE, DONE THAT

Do we really need another public advocate? That was the question posed by James Ahearn, former managing editor of The Record of Hackensack, in a column. (April 5, 2006) His answer is no. The Department of the Public Advocate was an idea that was fashionable in the Seventies but is no longer necessary. “We already have a ratepayer advocate, for example, who represents the public before the Board of Public Utilities. We have an ombudsman for the institutionalized elderly, an ombudsman for prisoners, an ombudsman for auto insurance policyholders, and an advocate for mentally ill people in commitment proceedings. The system seems to work well. Why does the state need to consolidate these and related bureaucracies in one big department, with a fat expanded budget to support it, especially when the Treasury is running short of money? Beats me.”
$19,420,000
A SLUSHY SPRINGTIME

Saying Democrats have used millions of dollars in the state budget as a slush fund for pet projects, a Cranford attorney filed a lawsuit on March 30 to put the brakes on $25 million in pending “Christmas tree” grants. “My tax dollars and your tax dollars are going to support projects within a municipality that obtained those funds simply because somebody was connected,” David Robinson, the plaintiff, told the Asbury Park Press. (March 31, 2006)
$25,000,000

AVIS TRIES HARDER. MAYBE
CAMDEN SHOULD, TOO

Camden, which gets most of its money from the state, needs to tighten up its spending controls, the Courier-Post suggested in an editorial. (April 6, 2006) For the second time in two years, the newspaper noted, city employees spent thousands of dollars on car rentals without seeking required city council approval or putting out contracts for bid to get the lowest price. Employees had written checks for at least $187,000 to rent cars without the permission of the City Council or Randy Primas, the state-appointed chief operating officer. “City and state taxpayers, who also support Camden, now face increasing expenses to help get New Jersey on sound financial footing. No one can afford for Camden officials and employees to waste money.”
$187,000
TRENTON MAKES,
PATERSON TAKES

“The Corzine administration this week approved a $31 million bailout of Paterson,” The Record of Hackensack noted in an editorial. (April 7, 2006) “State taxpayers have every right to be skeptical – especially when New Jersey faces a severe budget crunch and few municipalities are expected to receive any increase in state aid at all...Now more than ever, Mr. Corzine must do all he can to assure taxpayers that state money is spent wisely. An unexpected $31 million bailout is a good place to start minding the store.”
$31,000,000
BLUEPRINT FOR A
$6 BILLION BOONDOGGLE

That was the headline on a Star-Ledger special report published on November 13, 2005. According to the Newark newspaper, the state’s Schools Construction Corporation (SCC) ignored key cost-saving safeguards “while generous arrangements were made in favor of politically connected firms – including more than $400 million in consulting contracts that went to campaign donors.” Despite squandering immense sums of money, the Star-Ledger reported on February 17, 2006 that the SCC says it will need another $13 billion on top of the $6 billion already authorized to complete school construction and renovation projects in Abbott school districts.
$400,000,000
THE $240 MILLION
HIGH SCHOOL

A report in The Times of Trenton on March 1, 2006 broke the news that the cost of renovating Trenton Central High School, originally projected to cost $99 million, will now cost $240 million. And that’s only if construction starts this year. “It will be four times as much as the cost of building the city’s downtown Marriott hotel,” the story read. “It will be 10 times as much as the cost of Mercer County Waterfront Park baseball stadium. But it’s only enough for one high school.” And it will be financed with your tax dollars.
$141,000,000
WHY SWEAT THE DETAILS?
IT’S ONLY YOUR MONEY

The state Inspector General released a highly critical report on the operations of the Schools Construction Corporation (SCC) in January that detailed cases of alleged fraud and waste. Two examples were cited in The Times of Trenton on January 13, 2006: “The SCC did little to ensure its $34 million investment in temporary classroom trailers was spent efficiently. Last spring, it spent $700,000 to buy eight trailers for a project. The inspector general found there were trailers available in nearby districts. Project management firms forced contractors to buy computers, cell phones and other equipment for the firms’ construction trailers, then told the contractors to pass the costs on to the SCC. An inventory resulted in $263,000 in credits due to the SCC from some firms.”
$963,000
SCHOOL PAYOFFS

A school official in the state-operated Paterson school district admitted before a federal judge earlier this year he took $47,000 in cash and free construction work from two contractors working for the district. The Record of Hackensack reported on February 7, 2006 that he companies who made the payoffs were paid $8 million for schoolhouse repairs that were never finished.
$8,000,000
THE RISE AND FALL OF AN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL...
AT YOUR EXPENSE

The Times of Trenton reported on January 4, 2006 how the state environmental commissioner ordered the Schools Construction Corporation (SCC) to prepare plans for the multi-million-dollar demolition of the city’s partially build Martin Luther King-Jefferson School so contaminated soil beneath the foundation can be removed. “The costs of demolition, including wasted construction dollars, could approach $23 million for the embattled SCC, which is already under the microscope for squandered funds,” the newspaper reported.
$23,000,000
EVEN MORE QUESTIONABLE
SPENDING HABITS

The Star-Ledger of Newark reported on March 10, 2006 how a new state auditor’s report has raised questions about $629 million in spending by the state Schools Construction Corporation (SCC) on excessive contractor rates, its “fastrack” speedy building policy. design changes, expenditures on canceled projects, land cleanup overruns, excessive contractor staff costs, contract add-ons and questionable change orders.
$623,000,000
A LESSON IN COLLUSION

The New York Times reported on March 10, 2006 that the state Attorney General’s Office had filed a lawsuit stemming from charges by state officials that the Schools Construction Corporation (SCC) overcharged more than $1 million for the site of a school in Union City because the property owner and city officials colluded to inflate the site’s appraised value.
$1,000,000
YOU CAN’T GET THERE
FROM HERE

“To those who suggest there is no more room to cut in the budget, maybe they should come outside into the light of the day and take a good hard look around. One thing they could see is the park project going on the other side of Route 29. In the midst of a fiscal crisis, the state is going to spend $20 million on a park that floods during major storms and can only be accessed by foot – if you are daring enough to cross a couple of unregulated jug handles and two lanes of traffic streaming on and off the Calhoun Street bridge over there. Why are we spending $20 million on a park that is almost impossible to reach without risking your life and will hardly be used?”

- Assembly Republican Leader Alex DeCroce Discussing the Stacey Park project behind the State House
April 5, 2006
$20,000,000
A CAKEWALK IN THE CAMDEN CHILDREN’S GARDEN

Annual budget subsidy for a privately-run enterprise that walked away from an offer that would have guaranteed it more ticket revenue last year.
$625,000
KEEPING IT
ALL IN THE FAMILY:
SPECIAL MUNICIPAL AID

Awarded by Democrats to Democrats in Democrat-controlled municipalities, including some that have been the target of criminal investigations and convictions for fraudulent waste of taxpayer money and others that even the state Department of Community Affairs has admitted are no longer in need of special financial assistance.
$78,400,000
FOLK ARTS APPRENTICESHIP AWARDS: FILLING THE GROWING DEMAND
FOR BERRY BASKETS

Want to learn how to make a berry basket, weave a Guatemalan rug, build a Puerto Rican guitar or paint a Ukrainian Easter egg? Then the Department of State has a program for you! Your tax dollars at work.
$67,500
DO THE MATH...

The state provides funding for two privately-run institutes for the advanced study of mathematics even though they have hefty endowments.
$160,000
THIS CHAIR IS GOING TO
COST YOU BIG-TIME...

It’s time for the Legislature to reconsider its priorities and the need to maintain funding for the Henry R. Raimondo New Jersey Legislative Fellows Program and the Senator Wynona Lipman Chair in Women’s Political Leadership.
$169,000
ABOLITION OF THE
DEPARTMENT OF STATE

Elimination of this department, which is the smallest in state government and has the least to do, would save millions of dollars in unnecessary and redundant administrative expenses. Functions of this department worth saving can easily be transferred to others.
$750,000
ELIMINATION OF THE
NJ COMMERCE COMMISSION

The individual entities under the umbrella of this commission, which has been mired in scandal and produced minimum benefits, can function without a additional and unnecessary layer of bureaucracy.
$3,500,000
PILOT COUNTY PROSECUTOR TAKEOVER PROGRAM

Save money by abandoning a plan that shifts the cost of running the prosecutor’s offices in four Democrat-controlled counties to the state.
$8,000,000
END DUPLICATE
HEALTH COVERAGE

By prohibiting all public officials and employees from enrolling for health benefits with more than one public entity, the state would save about a quarter of a million dollars a year. The savings for municipalities, counties and school boards would be about $1.5 million a year.
$222,000
ELIMINATE THE LOCAL FINANCE BOARD

The Local Finance Board should be abolished it functions turned over to the professional staff of the Division of Local Government Services. This is one of the few boards whose members receive a salary and it is largely ineffective. It has become a home for the politically connected seeking to continue to earn pension credit.
$160,000
A CAPITAL IDEA:
END CAPITAL CITY AID

The supposed rationale for this handout is that the city deserves special assistance because state government buildings are exempt from paying property taxes. However, Trenton’s designation as the state capital draws private sector investments in ventures such as restaurants, professional services and governmental affairs. This should be ample compensation for the property tax exempt status of state buildings.
$16,500,000
‘THIS MARKS THE END OF OUR BROADCASTING DAY...’

New Jersey Network, which was created by the state and heavily subsidized by the taxpayers since it went on the air in 1971, has outlived its usefulness in this era of cable and satellite TV and should be sold to a foundation, another public broadcasting station or commercial television company. This would include the radio network as well. Although it would be hard to project how much revenue the state could realize from a sale, other PBS stations have been sold for tens of millions, and in at least one instance, hundreds of millions of dollars.
$5,000,000
savings in annual operating expenses

$50,000,000 minimum revenue from sale of assets
ABOLISH LEGISLATIVE COMMISSIONS

The duties of the Intergovernmental Relations Commission, New Jersey Law Revision Commission and Clean Ocean and Shore Trust Commission should be shifted to more appropriate venues.
$1,070,000
ELIMINATE THE
DEPARTMENT OF PERSONNEL

This department’s budget is approximately $25.7 million. The Department of Treasury, which administers other employee benefits, could assume responsibility for departmental responsibilities that must be continued, such as civil service testing.
$15,000,000
PULL THE DRAIN PLUG ON THE SOUTH JERSEY PORT PROPERTY TAX
RESERVE FUND

Every year the state subsidizes the operations of the South Jersey Port Corporation for the purpose of paying artificially high payments in lieu of taxes. Is it appropriate for the state to continue to pay $2.54 million to make special payments to the City of Camden and to Camden County after passage of a $175 million special aid package for Camden?
$2,540,000
LEAVE STEM CELL RESEARCH
TO THE PRIVATE SECTOR

The state’s limited fiscal resources would be better spent on restoring property tax relief rather than making a significant financial commitment to an unproven field of science.
$250,000,000
RECONSTITUTE THE
VIOLENT CRIME COMPENSATION BOARD

Assembly Republicans have introduced legislation to establish a volunteer Victims of Crime Compensation Board. The state budget contains more than $500,000 for salaries for the VCCB. The bill does provide for reimbursement for expenses incurred as a result of members performing their assigned duties. Currently, voting members receive a $104,000 a year salary. Similar boards in other states have non-paid volunteers as members. Money that is currently dedicated to VCCB salaries could be redirected to property tax relief.
$523,500
WHAT’S WRONG WITH PHOTOCOPIES? OR POSTING THEM ON THE WEB?

Too many state departments and agencies spend exorbitant amounts, sometimes tens of thousands of dollars, to produce flashy, self-promotional annual reports. By ending the use of private vendors, such as professional photographers, and preparing these reports in-house, a significant savings would be realized. Annual reports should be simple and placed on the department’s or agency’s website to cut costs. Only the absolute minimum amount of plain paper copies needed for public distribution should be produced and by an inexpensive means.
$2,000,000
SLASH FUNDING FOR
STATE COMMISSIONS

There are numerous state commissions that receive tens, and in some cases hundreds, of thousands of dollars a year to support their work. Some of these commissions may have outlived their usefulness. (Does New Jersey still need a Sweet Potato Commission?) A sizable savings could be achieved if those commissions that still provide a useful public service are staffed with volunteers and encouraged to find private grants or foundation awards to subsidize their work.
$1,000,000
CHARGE STATE INMATES NEW OR HIGHER FEES
FOR SERVICES

The state could charge inmates in state correctional facilities higher commissary fees, a fee for using utilities, and a fee for all special activities. The 27,500 inmates – white-collar criminals and sex offenders among them – would pay an average increase of 60 cents per day, about $18 per month, to defray to the cost of their incarceration. The federal government routinely places fees on convicted white collar felons towards the cost of home confinement or community settings.
$6,000,000

[mucho aware illegal guest]

STOP PAYING FOR BENEFITS FOR ILLEGAL ALIENS

Assemblyman Michael J. Doherty is sponsoring a bill that would require proof of lawful presence in the United States in order to be eligible for certain State and local benefits. According to the non-partisan Migration Policy Institute, New Jersey has as many as 300,000 illegal immigrants and spends between $300 million to $400 million per year on public services for them. "If Governor Corzine was serious when he asked for help in finding ways to cut state spending, he can start by cutting off state and local benefits to people who are not supposed to be living in New Jersey," stated Doherty in a March 30, 2006 news release.
$350,000,000

[adefonzo]

As "private citizen" Andrew DeFonzo, let me just say that Jennifer Beck did more over the past 12 months to get the plight of the Freehold Boro School district in front of as many decision makers in Trenton as possible.

Just ask the "yellow t-shirts" who was the real voice for Freehold Boro in Trenton.

Assemblyman Panter and Senator Karcher jumped on board only when they saw that Assemblywoman Beck was going to be running for Karcher's Senate seat in November. In other words, they jumped on board when it was politically advantageous for them to do so...for their own futures as well as the future of their political party's dominance in Trenton.

Could it be said that perhaps Jennifer Beck only did all of that leg work in order to win a few votes of her own? Absolutely that point could be argued. For me, though, she went "way beyond the call of duty" in this regard. Again...don't just listen to me...ask the parents who spent their days testifying before the various committees in Trenton.

As far as her voting against the budget, I back her on that decision as well. As it was mentioned in the letter from the member of her staff, you can't vote on bits and pieces of the budget, and this budget (as also shown above) had a lot of ridiculous spending in it that was very unnecessary.

Perhaps we should take all the "pork" listed above and add a great many of them to the other thread that was resurrected today about whether or not the government does too much, or has grown too big. How many millions upon millions are being spent on things that we read about and simply scratch our heads??