New Jersey Treasurer Defends $33 Billion State Budget at Red Bank Forum
By Larry Higgs, Asbury Park Press, N.J.
May 4–RED BANK — Education dominated the night, with room for a few questions about eminent domain and reusing Fort Monmouth, as state Treasurer Bradley Abelow brought a traveling road show of Corzine administration cabinet members to borough hall Wednesday to talk about the state budget.
For a little more than an hour, Abelow explained the proposed $33 billion spending plan, defended it and sometimes passed questions on to other commissioners and department heads.
Education Commissioner Lucille E. Davy seemed to be most in demand. Several parents from Freehold, wearing yellow “Save our schools” T-shirts, asked her why the district didn’t receive enough funding to keep from cutting seven teachers and five support staff.
The answer Davy had to most of their questions was that a new funding formula is being drafted, which should put school districts on a more even footing. But that wasn’t what Freehold parent Stacy Laberdee of Lenoir Avenue wanted to hear.
“We’ve been treading water, and now we can’t tread water any longer,” Laberdee said afterward. “I don’t feel like they gave us any assurance.”
She and others said the district receives $900 per student below the minimum amount of per-pupil spending to provide a through and efficient education and needed a $1.1 million infusion of state aid.
“The goal is to have a single unified formula where funding is based on the needs of the students serviced in the district,” Davy said, adding that additional money will be provided for special-education students, those not proficient in English and those from low-income families.
Davy said she doubted the new education funding formula would be ready before mid-November.
“If it were easy, we’d be done by now,” she said. “The governor made it clear that he wants us to work on a formula that is clear, equitable and constitutional.”
The crowd of over 120 people flowed out of the courtroom and into the hall. It included residents, local officials and state legislators, in addition to representatives of advocacy groups.
For a woman who asked Public Advocate Ronald K. Chen when an update to last year’s report about eminent domain would be issued, there was some good news.
“It will be ready to be published in about a week or two,” Chen said. “It’s appropriate to update what we’ve learned a year later, that there is a human face to how eminent domain affects people.”
Three questions about more money for specific programs led Abelow to point out that the state doesn’t have the money to fund everything.
“In the last three questions, people want more money for things we’d like to invest in,” Abelow said. “The challenge is we don’t have the money. Kindergarten to (grade) 12 education is $10 billion, a third of the budget.”
Tom Mahedy of Wall was one of two people to ask about state studies of how to reuse Fort Monmouth. Mahedy wanted to know if a $23,000 state study promoting reusues of the base by military contractors could include promoting contractors doing research and development of reusable energy sources.
That study is to be done with a third of the funds coming from the state and two-thirds from the private sector, said Virginia Bauer, Secretary of the New Jersey Commerce, Economic Growth and Tourism Commission. It will be done only if private industry provides the matching funds to the state money, she said.
But afterward Mahedy said that wasn’t the answer he was looking for.
“She skirted the issue,” he said. “Instead of research and development that promotes war, I’m looking for research and development for clean renewable energy.” Post a Comment View All Comments Professor Chen, Public Advocate, a good man by the way; wants to put a face on what eminent domain abuse has done to folks in New Jersey.
He really doesn’t have to look far. Long Branch took 47 Cooper in November 2002. The home belonged to Mr. Bruce Mac Cloud where he lived 300 feet from the ocean for over 20 years. He did not want to move, he was not cooperative with the taking, and as a result was forcibly removed by Long Branch Police and Building & Development Czar Kevin Hayes at gun point.
Two months later his house was demolished and today there are million dollar condos on his 10,000 square feet of land.
What makes this so horrible is almost 5 years later, Mr. Mac Cloud is still homeless, because the compensation courts have yet to have his trial. The Long Branch legal team keeps postponing his trial for some reason or another. His matter has been recycled in the Monmouth courts more times than any aluminum can.
Bruce, is at wits end and continues to suffer under the abuse of Long Branch Eminent Domain, along with many others throughout the State.
The Mac Cloud matter is so embarrassing to the State, no one wants to talk about it.
We should be ashamed of ourselves. As we build homes, schools and hospitals for the people of Afghanistan and Iraq — how can we stand idly by while one of our own is treated less than those over seas.
—–
To see more of the Asbury Park Press, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.app.com
Copyright (c) 2007, Asbury Park Press, N.J.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.