Galloway Mayor Reacts Positively to Governor's Speech

Galloway Township Mayor Keith Hartman was encouraged by Gov. Chris Christie's statement during his budget address Tuesday afternoon that no further aid would be cut to New Jersey's municipalities.

"Municipal aid will be flat and aid to schools will be increased," Hartman said during Tuesday night's Township Council meeting. "Hopefully, this is a sign that things are turning the corner and they're starting to move in the other direction.

"He's going down the right path, and that's positive to see."

He also appreciated that the state will begin to make pension contributions again, something that hasn't been done in at least 10 years.

"He didn't do it last year because he said he couldn't do it, but he's doing it this year," Hartman said. "It's good to see him doing what he said he would do."

Christie vowed on Tuesday afternoon to continue with what he coined as a “new normal” in New Jersey and maintain the state on a path of fiscal discipline and reform.

The 2012 budget includes $200 million in proposed tax cuts, including property tax relief, and will increase aid to schools.

The governor proposed a total state budget of $29.4 billion, which reduced spending 2.6 percent from last year, and calls for pension and benefits reform, as well as education reform.

Christie laid out a plan to reduce wasteful spending in each reform category, and told the state that it would “require tough choices,” to make a difference in each of these arenas.

“This is a new paradigm for state government—a new normal—that cuts and spends responsibly, (encourages) our local governments to do better with what our taxpayers entrust to them, and causes businesses to feel welcome and want to stay and expand or relocate to our state,” he said.

In addition, the governor laid out the path for the state and its residents to emerge from the recession by attracting new businesses to the state with tax cuts, reform and incentives to encourage job growth, with a proposed phased-in program of $2.5 billion in job-creation incentives over the next five years.

Check back for more coverage of the governor’s budget proposal, including a in-depth review of his speech, local reaction and opinion and analysis from our editors.

Check out the photo gallery for a copy of the governor's PowerPoint budget presentation.