Governor Christie, Democrats offer dueling property tax proposals

New Jersey Governor Christie and legislative leaders have dueling plans on how to control property tax increase in New Jersey.

New Jersey Governor Christie and legislative leaders have dueling plans on how to control property tax increase in New Jersey.

More than 50 mayors from around the Garden State joined Governor Christie in Trenton to support his proposed constitutional amendment that would bar local governments from increasing property taxes more than 2.5 percent a year.

But Senate President Steve Sweeney wants the legislature to cap property tax growth at 2.9 percent. He says doing it with a constitutional amendment would cripple the state.

“I don’t think the people are going to want have a situation where they call 911 and there’s not enough ambulances on the street to cover their calls,” says Sweeney. “And that’s what we’re talking about, because they’re the bodies that get laid off when all these cuts come.”

Christie is dismissing the criticism.

“The only way they can oppose [the cap] is to say the ambulances aren’t coming,” says Christie. “They just want to scare people. This is silliness.”

The Governor wants the constitutional amendment to be on the November ballot so voters would have a say in limiting their property taxes.