Home News Tribune: Edison mayor calls on lawmakers to 'reprioritize' budget

June 5, 2008

By LALITA ALOOR AMUTHAN • STAFF WRITER

EDISON —As the township faces proposed cuts of about $1 million in municipal aid and $2.1 million for charity care at JFK hospital, Mayor Jun Choi called on state lawmakers to reassess the budget.
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At a news conference at the Edison Senior Citizen Center on Thursday, Choi and a broad coalition of organizations called for long-term financial solutions.

"We understand that cuts need to be made, but the state needs to reprioritize what's important and what's not," Choi said.

Using Edison as an example, the mayor explained how the municipality has reduced its overall workforce by 10 percent over 2.5 years, yielding millions of dollars in operational cost savings. He said the township did this without jeopardizing key services and in some cases actually improved the service delivery.

He called for fiscal responsibility and a long-term approach to the problem at the state level.

Choi said that the effects of the proposed municipal aid cuts would be either to reduce services deeply or increase taxes.

He added that the cuts to charity care threaten not only health-care services but also the viability of the largest employer in the township — JFK hospital, a move that could result in the loss of jobs.

The meeting was attended by several senior citizens, who raised their concerns about battling high taxes on a fixed income.

Choi said the reason he held the conference in the senior center is because he is aware that this group would be the most impacted by the budget cuts.

At the municipality level, he said, he has worked hard to downsize the government.

"We have a plan to keep it under 4 percent increases for the foreseeable future," he said. He noted that the school board budget — which is the responsibility of a separate board — is a big portion of the taxes.

The mayor was joined at the conference by members of the Better Choices Budget Campaign, a group which includes environmental, housing, labor, education and community organizations.

The group has called on legislators and Gov. Jon S. Corzine to consider revenue alternatives before passing a budget that makes deep cuts.

Jon Shure, the president of New Jersey Policy Perspective, said that the focus should not be on cuts in the budget but it should be on revenue sources for investing in New Jersey's future.

He added that Better Choices means looking at sensible revenue options that are fair, realistic and environmentally sound.

People can get involved by logging onto BetterChoicesforNJ.org

Lalita Aloor Amuthan;
laloor@gannett.com:
(732) 565-7271

Originally published here: http://www.mycentraljersey.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080605/NEWS/806050427