Christie pushes more ‘tool kit’ items for N.J. property tax relief

Gov. Chris Christie wants the lame duck session of the New Jersey Legislature to enact more measures to control property taxes.

In his speech Thursday at the annual League of Municipalities convention in Atlantic City, Christie said the property tax cap and worker benefit changes already enacted by the Legislature are not enough.

“Now is not the time to stop. Now is the time to double down,” he said.

The governor wants lawmakers to act within 60 days to eliminate payouts for unused sick leave, reform civil service, and increase shared services among local governments.

League President Chuck Chiarello said those proposals won’t provide immediate results.

“Everything you do, even a small step, will help. However, it takes a number of years for all of that to phase itself in,” Chiarello said. “So, there is no instant relief.”

Senate President Steve Sweeney said lawmakers may move on the governor’s proposals by the end of the year. He added that Democratic lawmakers already are working on the proposals.

The governor is “picking out issues that he knows we’re close to and that we’re going to have success,” Sweeney said. “So you get to say, ‘Look what I did when’ we were not that far away to start.”