Constituent Newsletters

By Senator Jim Beach, Assemblyman Lou Greenwald & Assemblywoman Pam Lampitt

Recently, Democrats in the Legislature announced “Back to Work NJ”—a legislative package to create jobs, help small businesses and families, and stimulate New Jersey’s economy. Assemblyman Greenwald has been at the forefront of leadership on this issue, sponsoring many of these bills and chairing multiple hearings to consider this package of job-creation and economic development bills.

Astoundingly, some have argued that working to create jobs and help businesses grow should be on the backburner in Trenton. With unemployment over 9% in New Jersey, we could not disagree more. Now is the time to take bold, smart action to create jobs and put New Jerseyans back to work, and that is exactly what what we are doing – with 30 bills ready to be voted on by the full Assembly and Senate.

Each of us has sponsored major measures in this 30-bill job-creation package, which have already been approved by committees in the Assembly and the Senate. Most of these initiatives have received bipartisan support and cooperation. We call on Governor Christie to support them. In the upcoming weeks, we will provide you with detailed updates on these proposals to create jobs. Working together, we can create jobs and jump-start New Jersey’s economy.

To our towns and counties, interest arbitration is a roadblock in efforts to lower property taxes. These public employees are often awarded contracts with annual raises of 4, 5 or even 6 percent—with no regard to a town’s fiscal reality or staggeringly high unemployment. With daily reports of layoffs in the private sector and residents struggling to find jobs, these contracts must better reflect economic conditions and fiscal realities.

Legislation I have sponsored would reform this broken system. This week, the Governor signed this historic measure into law – part of the property tax reform “toolkit.” This bipartisan bill would level the playing field for towns and property taxpayers by placing a 2 percent cap on salary increases for police and firefighter arbitration awards. By requiring arbitrators to consider the wallets of property taxpayers and the balance sheets of municipalities, we can ensure that arbitration awards put the property taxpayer first.

In addition, my bill will ensure that unbiased arbitrators are selected fairly and provides incentives for arbitrators to consider cases more quickly, preventing cases from dragging out unnecessarily. My legislation will also sunset after three years. This provision will allow us to study the effectiveness of this reform and evaluate the best options in a bipartisan fashion on how to proceed.

By Senator Jim Beach, Assemblyman Lou Greenwald & Assemblywoman Pam Lampitt

Several months ago, Governor Christie unveiled a package of legislative proposals which he described as a “toolkit” for local governments and school districts to keep down property taxes, now that New Jersey has a historic 2% cap on property taxes. We have held numerous hearings and closely studied these measures—listening to you, the taxpayers, as we evaluated the Governor’s so-called “toolkit.” As a result, we have passed many of these proposals and sent them to the Governor’s desk in 2010.

We have approached these complex pieces legislation thoughtfully and deliberately. On some issues—including a bill to cut government spending by streamlining the sample ballot process—the Governor has agreed with our ideas. On others, including arbitration reform, we have worked together productively toward bipartisan compromise. As a result, true arbitration reform will be signed into law today.

For some issues, such as civil service reform and cracking down on taxpayer-funded “golden parachutes” for unused sick leave, we continue to negotiate with the Governor and work toward the best possible compromise for the families of New Jersey.

During 2010, the offices of Senator Beach, Assemblyman Greenwald and Assemblywoman Lampitt have hosted several “mobile office” events designed to provide convenient constituent services in towns throughout the Sixth District. Staff members from our offices have already traveled to six towns, including Cherry Hill, Collingswood, Haddonfield, Pine Hill, Voorhees, and Winslow to assist residents.

These outreach events are staffed by experienced constituent service representatives who can help taxpayers and residents with questions or concerns on a variety of State issues, including unemployment, taxation, utility assistance, student financial aid, veterans’ issues, and more.

The offices of Beach, Greenwald and Lampitt will continue to travel to towns throughout the district in 2011, in an effort to bring State services directly to taxpayers and residents. Look for a “mobile office” event to come to your town in the near future!

During 2010, the offices of Senator Beach, Assemblyman Greenwald and Assemblywoman Lampitt have secured nearly $13,000 in utility assistance to families across the Sixth District. This funding, available through grants in the NJSHARES program, helps qualifying families struggling to pay their gas and electric bills. To learn more about this program or see if you qualify for assistance, call Senator Beach’s office at (856) 429-1572 or Assemblyman Greenwald & Assemblywoman Lampitt’s office at (856) 435-1247.