Christie gives himself more power to slash millions in N.J. municipal aid
TRENTON — By eliminating fewer than two dozen words from the state budget, Gov. Chris Christie has given himself the power to withhold hundreds of millions of dollars in funding that New Jersey's municipalities use to hold down property taxes, local government experts say.
A line-item veto in the budget Christie released just before the July 1 deadline included a change to a statewide program that would allow the administration to refuse to pay a town's property tax relief aid if it falls short of what the state deems as good governance practices.
"This is pretty draconian," said Jon Moran, senior legislative analyst for the New Jersey state League of Municipalities. "This is a sea change in how the program existed up until now."
That program encourages municipalities to implement best practices, as identified by the state's Division of Local Government Services.
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