Proposed aid cuts unfairly penalize NJ's small towns
If residents of Middlesex County's smaller towns were still standing behind Gov. Jon Corzine, his plan to cut their municipal aid should be enough to make them jump ship.

Corzine's proposed state budget slashes property tax relief funding in half for towns with populations under 10,000, such as Spotswood, Milltown and Jamesburg; and entirely for towns like Helmetta, with less than 5,000 residents.

The move will amount to a direct hit on the pockets of residents in each of these towns, whose mayors believe they are being unfairly penalized. Corzine's stated goal of encouraging small towns to share services or merge with others is of no consolation. Most local communities over the years have opposed consolidation because they want to maintain home rule and preside over their own, typically lean budgets. Furthermore, no town will be able to merge or restructure to share services in time for this year's municipal budget. In most cases, officials will have to raise taxes or cut services.

Admirably, local leaders are not content to sit back and let it happen. Town officials, who were nearly finished preparing this year's budgets when they received the news, have lashed out against the plan, even coordinating protests such as a rally held Saturday in Helmetta.

Milltown Mayor Gloria Bradford said the governor's plan amounts to bad government, and like leaders in several other small Middlesex County towns, she believes municipal spending has been managed efficiently in her borough. Generally speaking, the smaller the town, the better the ability to scrutinize each dollar.

"The state should be as well-run as we have been," said Spotswood council President Curtis Stollen, who bemoaned the fact that Spotswood is being forced to pay more money into the state pension fund each year, but would lose $225,000 in state aid this year. The borough's initial 2008 budget carried a tax rate hike of 5 or 6 cents per $100 of assessed valuation. That could nearly double with the loss of aid.

Helmetta officials are also looking at a yet-unspecified municipal tax increase as a direct result of a nearly $150,000 cut in aid. Borough Council President Vincent Asciolla expressed frustration that the state wants to penalize little towns. "They don't come here to look at our books," he said.

Local towns already share some services and it is true that they should look to partner if they can save money by doing so. Last year, South River made a bold move by disbanding its building department and contracting with Old Bridge to provide the service, for example. South River officials are currently monitoring the controversial move to determine whether it is benefiting the town, but it is not expected to save a great deal of money.

Regardless, such agreements take time and analysis. Sudden aid cuts that bring about local property tax increases are not the way for the state to encourage shared services. Corzine and the state Legislature should put a stop to this ill-conceived proposal.