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GOVERNOR MET WITH STRONG BACKLASH AT OCEAN COUNTY FORUM
By Jo Ann La Russo
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| --Photo By Jo Ann La Russo Ann Gauthier shows the governor what some think of his plan. |
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Governor Jon S. Corzine called his financial restructuring and debt reducing plan an opportunity to get New Jersey back on financial footing.
Angry Ocean County taxpayers and residents that attended his town hall meeting last week at the Ritacco Center would hear none of it.
Corzine outlined his plan to form a Public Benefit Corporation (PBC) to run the Garden State Parkway, New Jersey Turnpike and Atlantic City Expressway and a section of Route 440 in Middlesex County. Increased tolls would be used to pay off half the state debt, fund transportation projects and replenish the transportation trust fund, which runs out of money in 2011.
The governor said transportation professionals would be hired for the professional jobs in the PBC and that the corporation would answer to the state attorney general.
He reported that spending cuts have been made in his administration, including the elimination of 2,000 state jobs and a hiring freeze.
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| --Photo Courtesy Of Governor's Office No amount of charts or graphs could convince the Ocean County crowd to get behind Corzine's plan to hike tolls. |
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He said there will be some spending cuts in the state's fiscal 2009 budget, which will be introduced February 26.
Corzine said he is "proud of the property tax rebates" offered in the state. He said that the new transportation plan offers 20 to 25 percent toll discounts for frequent drivers.
Corzine also told the crowd that the state is locked into contracts that he intends to see through. "You all get angry but the fact is that we wrote contracts that said I would pay the bills."
He said the proposed plan promises infrastructure improvements and spoke about the establishment of a Monmouth-Ocean rail line, saying that "mass transit is the best way." The proposed plan includes improvements and widening of the Garden State Parkway and repairs to 700 bridges.
"I don't feel comfortable looking into the eyes of New Jersey people saying, 'I'm not going to fix your bridges,'" said the governor, who admitted, "Our spending has outrun our revenue."
In an effort to support his plan, the governor has given $500,000 of his own money to help create an organization, Save Our State NJ.
Corzine said that if he did not believe his plan was sound, "I wouldn't be standing here," he told the crowd.
Save Our State NJ is backed by the governor and business and labor organizations, including construction unions that anticipate billons of dollars in new road projects if the toll plan is approved.
But public opinion does not necessarily back his plans.
Public Lashes Out
Opposing the toll plan is the group Americans for Prosperity, an organization headed by Steve Lonegan, a former Bogota mayor and leading opponent of Corzine's plan, which would increase tolls by 800 percent in order to pay off half the state's debt and fund transportation projects. Lonegan staged a rally attended by about 300 people at the Holiday Inn, Toms River, prior to Corzine's visit.
At the Ritacco Center, regardless of Corzine's figure sheets, charts and slides, the more than 2,000 people at Saturday's meeting remained unconvinced that toll hikes on New Jersey highways are the solution to the state's financial problems.
And they said so, loud and clear.
The crowd's mood was clear from the very start. Toms River Regional School Board Superintendent Michael J. Ritacco was almost immediately booed off the stage in his attempt to introduce the governor to the crowd.
When Corzine did take center stage at long last, the audience went wild, leashing out frustrations they have felt since the governor's proposed toll hike and debt reduction plan was announced.
It took several minutes before they let Corzine speak and when he did begin, many of those in the crowd drowned out his every word.
In an attempt to quiet the audience, the governor asked hecklers to calm down, "out of respect for those who are here to hear me speak."
Corzine told the audience that his plan is "the least burdensome way" to solve the state's fiscal problems and said that alternative plans could mean a 40 to 50 cent gasoline tax, a 30 percent sales tax increase or a 20 percent increase in state income tax as other methods for funding.
Following his speech, residents lined up two fold, appealing to the governor to seek an alternative plan.
John Caporrino of Holiday City South is firmly against the idea.
"We never expected this," he said. "Higher tolls will make it harder for retirees, students and commuters."
Rosetta, a senior citizen from Toms River, agreed. "I'm totally against it."
"This is going to go right on the backs of commuters," said Sara Stewart and Diane Thorn, of Toms River, who were seen outside the meeting earlier with a protest sign.
Chris Amasio of Brick agreed and protested with his slogan, "Will the last person in New Jersey please turn out the lights?"
"We won't be able to afford to live here anymore," said Amasio, a commuter, who added, "The governor is not listening to what the people say."
Toms River Township Council President Gregory McGuckin voiced his strong disapproval of the governor's plan, saying, "This proposed toll hike represents an unfair and inequitable burden on the residents of Toms River."
Ocean County Freeholder Joseph H. Vicari said that he commends Corzine's efforts in attempting to develop plans that he says could improve the state's financial conditions.
"There is no doubt that his state is suffering from debilitating fiscal problems," said Vicari. "As taxpayers, as consumers, as motorists, we all carry a heavy financial burden and make every effort to pay our fair share for state programs and services."
"Yet," Vicari said in a statement, "the county is already struggling with the new state aid funding formula. Now we are faced with this new toll road and monetization plan that will also affect the majority of our households."
With almost 40 miles of the parkway running through Ocean County, "It's apparent that the toll hikes will not be shared equally across the state," Vicari said.
Opposition Is Mounting
In his speech, Corzine said that he doesn't believe that tolls will reach the maximum increase. He said that the plan is not meant to burden one region over another.
The parkway serves as the main artery for motorists who need to access jobs in North Jersey.
"Ocean County motorists already pay millions of dollars into the parkway through the toll system. They will feel the financial burden of this action over and over again," said Vicari, "not just on the road but in our stores and as consumers when prices go up in order to meet the demands on a shipping industry that is also paying more to bring us goods and services."
The New Jersey Chamber of Commerce last week endorsed Corzine's plan, a move which angered Republicans who claim the toll increases will hurt the economy, causing them to announce this week that they will lobby businesses against the Democratic governor's plan.
Republican Anne Estabrook and Lonegan said they will launch an effort to build a coalition of businesses opposed to the plan.
The Toms River Ocean County Chamber of Commerce has come out strongly against the toll hike plan, citing the effect it would have on the 800 businesses and firms in the area, with over 20,000 employees and their families. They have requested a summit conference to determine the right solutions to the fiscal problems of the state and say in a letter that they are "eager to cooperate with state government to bring this to a reality."
The Ocean County Department of Tourism has also voiced strong opposition to the toll hike plan, fearing that the tourism industry which generates jobs and revenue to the area in the millions of dollars would be adversely affected by the toll hikes.
Outside the Ritacco Center, Toms River resident Dennis Galante and a group of concerned taxpayers sported T-shirts that said, "no more taxes, cut spending, cut the pork." The group are members of the newly formed Ocean County Flying Pigs Club, an organization that Galante said is made up of citizens who believe that the toll hike will devastate Ocean County.
Toms River's Shut Up and Eat restaurant owner Ann Gauthier was unrecognizable in a pink pig suit at the Ritacco Center.
"The turnout was fantastic," said audience member Suzanne Penna, who is the editor of the Viking Press at Ocean County Community College. "People have been made aware of the facts surrounding the entire debt issue."
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