Political Machines Fight to Keep the Line, Tax on Businesses to Close Transit Gap, OSC Goes After Hudson County, Questions on Murphy’s Budget, Get Ready for the Eclipse

Political Machines and County Clerks Burn Tax Dollars in Fight to Hold onto Unfair Election Practices

northjersey.com

A day after a preliminary injunction from a federal judge put the fate of New Jersey’s county line into question, 17 of the 19 county clerks named as defendants in the federal lawsuit challenging the ballot design have filed an appeal.

The clerks also filed an emergency motion to stop enforcement of the order from U.S. District Court Judge Zahid Quraishi that was released Friday. Read More

Temporary (?) Tax on Businesses to Fill NJ Transit Gap

New Jersey Monitor

The surtax is expected to generate $818 million annually, with most of the money going to NJ Transit. The tax, which would apply retroactively to the first six months of 2024, is meant to fill a $766.8 million deficit in the agency’s fiscal year 2026 budget that won’t be bridged by 15% fare hikes its board is expected to approve at an April 10 meeting. Read More

NJ State Comptroller Comes Down Hard on Hudson County for Misuse of Professional Service Exception to Avoid Proper Bidding

NJ OCS

Even after the Appellate Division’s decision, the County has again shown disregard for the requirement that its procurements valued at $12.5 million or more be timely submitted to OSC. It is against the public interest to permit this significant expenditure of taxpayers’ funds to be spent without the protections of New Jersey’s public bidding laws and OSC’s statutory review. Pending receipt and review of the CAP, in accordance with N.J.S.A. 52:15C-11(b), the County shall not proceed with the contract award. Read More

Is Murphy’s Budget Sustainable?

NJ Spotlight

Gov. Phil Murphy’s plan to spend more than the state will take in during the next fiscal year means one-shot sources of revenue could cover more than 5% of annual spending for a second straight year.

According to new budget estimates obtained through a public-records request, Murphy is planning to use nearly $3 billion in revenue from nonrecurring sources to support his proposal to increase overall state spending to a record-high $55.9 billion during the 2025 fiscal year. Read More

Everything You Need To Know About the Solar Eclipse

Patch

In New Jersey, the moon will cover about 90 percent of the sun at the peak of the eclipse, according to a NASA map that is searchable by ZIP code. Read More

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