Wilkins and Spellman Push Cures for Trenton's Spending Addiction

Wilkins and Spellman Push Cures for Trenton's Spending Addiction

Zero-based budgeting, strict spending caps and accountability needed to bring fiscal discipline to Trenton, stop population exodus

(Northfield, NJ) – Democratic state Assembly candidates Joe Wilkins and Blondell Spellman said today they will push for "zero-based budgeting" and strict spending limits for all state departments and agencies to cure a spending addiction in Trenton that is making New Jersey unaffordable for residents and businesses. The Second District candidates said that independent reports showing that the population exodus in New Jersey was "very real" and having a "negative impact" on the state's economy made it imperative to take dramatic steps to make New Jersey affordable again. Taking a sledgehammer to government waste and reducing property taxes were two major steps that should be taken immediately, they said.

"The time for talk and delay is over. Residents and businesses are fleeing this state in alarming numbers and we need to put a stop to it," Wilkins said. "The place to start is right inside the government with stringent spending controls such as zero-based budgeting, which will require bureaucrats in all state departments to justify every dollar they want to spend."

"Out-of-control property taxes and cost-of-living increases are making it extremely difficult, and in some cases impossible, for families to live here anymore," Spellman said. " Trenton needs to buckle its belt and do more with less, just like our families do every day. We will require the legislature to vote on every item in the budget and create a constitutional "rainy-day fund" so government is required to save money instead of raising taxes."

Spellman and Wilkins said they would make the tough new spending restrictions a priority to curb the residential exodus to more tax-friendly states such as Delaware and the Carolinas. They warned that a continued population loss will have an increasingly damaging effect on the state's revenues and overall economy.

The Democratic candidates proposed the following measures to combat spending:

• Zero-Based Budgeting – A process imposing a zero-dollar baseline for every department, which then would be required to justify its proposed funding for each program. Its spending proposals would be subject to rigorous examination by the legislature. Strict performance standards will enable the legislature to measure an agency's performance against that of private industry as well as of agencies that perform the same functions in other states.

• Increase Transparency & Accountability in government – Require the state to post all public records online, including: the salaries of public employees; bids for government contracts; actual government contracts; the pensions and benefits of public officials; perks for politicians including taxpayer-funded cell phones, cars and gasoline; the minutes of government meetings; budgets broken down by line item and tax charts; and other information pertinent to the public.

"We will crack down on abuse of the system and slash wasteful spending by making government more transparent," – Wilkins & Spellman

• Special session on spending cuts – A special session of the legislature to review spending and identify waste, including a line-by-line evaluation of the budget for all state departments and offices, as well as autonomous agencies.

• Spending caps at all levels of government – To control local spending and keep property tax bills in check, the Legislature enacted a four-percent tax levy cap on counties, municipalities, school districts, fire districts, and special taxing districts. Spellman and Wilkins will push a constitutional amendment to allow citizens to vote on imposing spending caps at all levels of government. (Would exclude direct property tax relief).

"No matter where we go, from the local Wawa to the Shore Diner, people are telling us that enough is enough," Spellman and Wilkins said. "We are listening closely, and their message is loud and clear. They want their legislators to reform the insidious culture of excessive spending in Trenton to help bring down their taxes. And that is what we intend to do."

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Paid for by Friends of Whelan, Wilkins & Spellman