IN CASE YOU MISSED IT ...
TRENTON GROWS A LESS-DENSE 'TREE'

Editorial, Gloucester County Times, June 1, 2007

On the theory that it never hurts to ask, ask is what state Sen. Stephen Sweeney and other 3rd District lawmakers have done. They've asked for a lot.

In an improvement over past state budget years, Sweeney and the district's assemblymen have released a "Christmas tree" list a couple of weeks before a 2007-2008 state budget deal is put to bed in Trenton.

In a big improvement from one year ago, lawmakers probably won't need to criticize or defend state money for local-street sidewalks at 4 a.m. several days after the state shuts down in a budget stalemate.

It took widespread criticism of last year's debacle plus subpoenas of a host of majority Democrats whose last-minute funding success has raised conflict-of-interest issues to bring some reform to an annual free-for-all, where lawmakers with the most pull can lavish state bucks over selected constituents.

Democrat leaders, as well as Gov. Corzine, have initiated timelines to clue in the public on who has asked for what in advance of an 11th-hour budget vote. In theory, this will stop some $300 million of pork from slipping through without real deliberation.

But, looking over that 3rd District list shows why the reforms are half-measures. If many of these items were subjected to the regular appropriations process, sponsors would have a hard time justifying why the entire state should pay for them.

Assistance of $375,000 to upgrade Greenwich Township's water filtration system? That might fly as a regular appropriation. So might a $32,000 emergency generator for a Clayton ambulance building.

But a Logan Township desire for $1.6 million for an indoor recreational facility? Probably not. A bid for $10 million for a new Woolwich Township municipal building? C'mon. 

Woolwich does needs a new town hall. The township is working out of trailers and preparing to commit $13 million for a new complex. But it's not customary to have the state pay almost all the money back. Except for special grants for specific items, most towns must rely on local funding for a new municipal building. 

Even Sweeney says $10 million is a long shot, which means his project list (and, probably the lists other lawmakers will release) lacks realism. The public still won't get to see these items get pared down and become bargaining chips for "yes" votes on the state budget which is the crux of the problem. 

The new "transparency" is preferable to what happened in the past. Better still would be to resolve to let every wish-list item stand on its own two legislative feet, long before the budget deadline. 

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