WyBlog

Gov. Christie's veto pen slashes more questionable spending

When he took office NJ Governor Chris Christie notified all state agencies to prepare for significant budget cuts. The Delaware River and Bay Authority, which operates the Delaware Memorial Bridge and the Cape May - Lewes Ferry, didn't pay attention. Their latest proposed budget increases spending by more than 3%.

And so, with the stroke of his veto pen, Gov. Christie told them to wake up and smell the coffee.

On Tuesday, Christie vetoed the agency's 2010 budget because it contained a 3 percent increase in spending compared with 2009. The authority's 2009 budget was $76.2 million, a 1.8 percent increase compoared with 2008.

When the boss says to cut spending you'd damn well better cut some spending! Or, he'll cut it for you (cough, Burlington City High School, cough).

I think the next stop for Gov. Christie's Veto Pen Clue Train needs to be the city of Camden, NJ. One of newly elected Mayor Dana Redd's first official acts was to double the salaries of her top aides.

The top salary for mayoral aides would jump to $150,000 from $71,000. Redd also wants to raise the maximum salaries for city attorney and mayor's counsel, though not as drastically.

Camden receives hundreds of millions of dollars in state aid every year. But if they're so flush with cash that they can double the salaries of their mayor's political cronies, well then perhaps it's time for the state to reconsider just how badly Camden needs our tax dollars. A very careful scrutiny of that aid formula, veto pen at the ready!, is apparently long overdue.

Watch the pennies Mayor Redd, and the dollars will take care of themselves.

Posted at 17:34 by Chris Wysocki   [/nj_politics]   Comments | Archived | Perm Link |
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