N.J. budget woes worse than thought
Monday, November 16th, 2009
By: Phil Gregory
philgregorynews@gmail.com
Governor-elect Chris Christie's budget task force says state revenues are continuing to come in below projections, and various state agencies will have supplemental needs that will cause spending to be greater than forecast. The deficit for the next fiscal year is expected to exceed the $8 billion that had been projected.
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Task force co-chairman Rich Bagger says Christie wants freezes in a number of areas in the current budget.
Christie: Such as in discretionary grant and state aid accounts, freezing paid appointments and hiring, freezing regulations that would incur additional spending.
Bagger says the transition team will be making recommendations on specific spending reductions. Christie insists he will not balance the budget by increasing taxes.