From Janathan Tamari at the Philadelphia Inquirer:
New Jersey Senate Republicans plan to take aim today at a state aid program that funnels money to a handful of financially struggling cities, including Camden, arguing that such support rewards bad management without demanding accountability or improvement.
They have hammered at the program for several years, questioning how the money has been doled out and saying funding intended for short-term fixes has turned into permanent subsidies from the state's taxpayers.
"No city is held accountable for horrifically bad spending practices," Sen. Marcia Karrow (R., Hunterdon) said in a news release. "This year, even more than the past, New Jersey can't afford to write big checks to towns that have no plan for getting their finances under control today or any time in the future." . . . .
The debate this year will come against a backdrop of financial struggles at all levels of government and one day after the latest award, a $5 million lifeline for Jersey City. Last week the state gave $56.35 million to Camden and smaller amounts to Bridgeton and Paterson.
The "special municipal aid" program was created to provide short-term support for struggling municipalities, but an audit last year raised questions about its growth and some cities' annual reliance on the state's backing.
The program has grown from $41 million in fiscal year 2005 to $132.6 million in the current spending plan, though it was as large as $174.7 million two years ago. Gov. Corzine's new budget proposal includes $142.4 million in special municipal aid.
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