Taxes and tolls:
Either way you will pay

Just when you thought New Jersey’s state highways might remain somewhat affordable to use, Governor Jon Corzine and Democrat leaders are working on new proposals to raise tolls that will put a significant dent in your wallet.

Oh, and as far as that Big Mac and fries you enjoy as a quick and inexpensive meal is concerned, the governor is considering slapping a "sin tax" on that as well. Corzine and Democrats claim any monies raised through the toll hike will be fully dedicated to funding the state’s depleted Transportation Trust Fund (TTF) for repairs to the state’s transportation infrastructure, while the fast food tax would help balance the state’s new impending budget.

Concerned that toll increases will drive more residents from the state, Assembly Republican legislators warned that any plan the governor seeks to rush through the Legislature should be greeted with skepticism.

Earlier this week, Corzine resurrected the topic of toll hikes, but as has been his practice, he failed to reveal any details of his new "targeted" toll increase plan. Like the state’s new school funding formula, which his Administration rammed through the lame duck Legislature last year, Corzine officials said the governor is looking to have this issue resolved after the budget is approved, but before July 1, the beginning of the new fiscal year.

"Governor Corzine didn’t get the message that New Jersey motorists do not want to pay more tolls at a time when gas prices and property taxes have made this state unaffordable for many families," said Assemblywoman Caroline Casagrande, R-Monmouth and Mercer. "If the governor is planning a scaled back toll hike, he needs to explain right now where those toll hikes will take place and by how much he proposes to increase those tolls."

Governor Corzine’s original toll plan, unveiled in January, called for borrowing $40 billion and increasing tolls by as much as 800 percent on the Garden State Parkway, New Jersey Turnpike and Atlantic City Expressway. The plan met with such staunch public opposition that Corzine eventually had to concede that the plan could not pass as originally structured.

On Monday, Corzine officials leaked word that the governor is considering a scaled-back toll hike plan to meet state transportation needs. The plan would likely include smaller toll hikes than his original plan, but no details were made available as to the actual amount of the increase.

The Star-Ledger on Tuesday reported that state Senator Raymond Lesniak, D-Union, is proposing a 50 percent toll increase on the New Jersey Turnpike and Garden State Parkway this year then another 50 percent hike in five years in addition to adding tolls on Interstates 78 and 80 which are now toll-free.

Assemblyman John Wisniewski, D-Middlesex, supports both a toll increase and is also calling for an 18 cent-per-gallon increase in the gas tax.

Senate Majority Leader Stephen M. Sweeney, D-Gloucester, said the plans should be considered.

Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon, R-Monmouth, cautioned against pushing through any toll increase proposal, noting that the public should be skeptical that these toll hikes would actually pay for transportation projects since the state has a history of raiding such funds for other "needs."

"Proposing to deal with this issue between the budget vote in mid-June and July 1st smells like an effort to sneak a bill through the Legislature without adequate review," said O’Scanlon. "This is far too important an issue, with far too great an impact on New Jersey residents, to rush through legislation that hasn’t been fully vetted. Any talk of a toll increase is premature when the administration has failed to prove to the public that the money we are currently spending is being spent wisely."

Meanwhile, in response to news that Corzine is open to imposing a new fast food tax on New Jersey, Assemblyman Richard Merkt said apparently there is no tax Corzine doesn't like like and urged the governor to return to looking for spending cuts rather than new revenue sources.

"The governor should put more effort into figuring out how to cut wasteful state spending and less into concocting new ways to pry even more tax dollars out of long-suffering New Jersey families," said Merkt, R-Morris. "New Jersey families are looking for commonsense solutions to help make our state more affordable, and taxing their cheeseburgers isn’t going to help."

Corzine said he’s open to using a "sin tax" to help provide funding for struggling hospitals. His comments came after opponents of budget cuts to hospital aid suggested a fast food tax during a meeting with Corzine. Corzine called the fast food tax "a constructive suggestion."

Like O’Scanlon on the toll hike proposal, Merkt said that after the recent Medevac helicopter-funding tax, which promptly got diverted to other spending, the public might just be a little skeptical of the governor’s latest proposal for another new "dedicated" tax.

"Just like so many other 'dedicated' taxes, it is not hard to imagine this money getting diverted away from health care to other spending projects in the budget," Merkt said. "Governor Corzine appears to be entering into competition with the 'Hamburglar.' One wants to steal your hamburgers, the other wants to take your money so you can’t afford them."

GOP seeks accountability as families struggle to pay bills

As New Jerseyeans struggle to meet the rising costs of food and gas while digging deep to pay a myriad of Democrat-imposed taxes, Assembly Republican lawmakers are calling for accountability and questioning the state contractor hiring process, which they say is another area fraught with abuse and waste of taxpayer funds.

On Tuesday, it was learned that the contractor hired to oversee the new $102 million Rutgers Stadium expansion project is the same that was fired from 23 school construction projects for the state.

Assembly Republican Budget Officer Joseph Malone said it is shocking that Rutgers University would turn to a contractor who has been fired by the state from almost two dozen school construction projects and questioned whether the state ever plans on holding people accountable for the mess that became of the school construction program.

"How a state funded university can justify hiring a contractor that was fired, by the state, from school construction projects for faulty work is baffling," said Malone, R-Burlington, Monmouth, Ocean and Mercer. "This once again raises the question I have been asking since the school construction scandal broke in 2005: will anyone actually be held accountable for this debacle?"

According to news reports, just weeks after being chosen by Rutgers University to oversee a $102 million expansion of the Rutgers football stadium, a Rhode Island-based contractor, Gilbane Building Company, was fired by state officials from 23 school construction projects.

The decision to fire Gilbane came after a year-long delay at a Neptune elementary school, when the school’s brick facade had to be torn down and rebuilt after mold was found in exterior walls. The state is suing Gilbane for the estimated $13 million it cost to remove the mold.

The state’s school construction program has been plagued by problems almost since its inception. In a 15-page report issued in April 2005 by Inspector General Mary Jane Cooper, the program was said to be "vulnerable to mismanagement, fiscal malfeasance, conflicts of interest and waste, fraud and abuse of taxpayer dollars."

Several efforts have been made to reform the program since that report, but problems persist.

"We have no idea exactly how much money has been wasted because of the abuse and mismanagement within this school construction program, but it is likely a staggering total," said Malone. "Yet instead of holding people accountable, it seems like we are rewarding them with new contracts for state subsidized projects. Taxpayers who are struggling to make ends meet have every right to be outraged by these decisions."

The Rutgers stadium contractor revelation comes on the heels of a decision by the Corzine Administration to switch the contract for providing health care services in state prisons from Correctional Medical Services (CMS) to the University of Medicine an Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) with no competitive bidding process.

"At a time when our budget is near its breaking point there is no excuse for the state to make a decision that could add millions of dollars in costs to the state budget," stated Assemblyman David Rible, R-Monmouth. "This contract should have been put out for competitive bidding so that we could accurately determine what a fair price would be for these services."

The state currently has an $85 million contract with CMS to provide medical, dental and pharmaceutical services to state prisoners. The Corzine administration is looking to cancel that contract and put UMDNJ in charge of providing those services with the hopes that the cap on the school’s cost of purchasing pharmaceuticals will lower the state’s expense.

The administration did not competitively bid the contract and CMS has suggested that using UMDNJ may actually end up costing the state an extra $50 million per year. CMS officials have pointed to New Jersey’s decision to switch mental health services from CMS to UMDNJ in 2005, which they claim resulted in a 50 percent cost increase to the state.

"It seems clear that nobody is sure exactly how much this switch will either cost the state or save the state," said Assembly Republican Whip Jon Bramnick, R-Union, Morris, Somerset and Essex. "With our budget in crisis, now is not the time to be gambling on a proposal that could result in significant additional costs to our taxpayers. A competitive bidding process would have provided more cost certainty in making this decision."

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