Dan Cirucci: Why Is Murphy Still Piling Up NJ Debt?

Monday, December 12, 2022

Why Is Murphy Still Piling Up NJ Debt?

New Jersey State Senator Declan O’Scanlon questioned why the Murphy administration plans on issuing $750 million in high-interest debt with interest-only payments for a decade when the State has billions sitting unallocated in its debt defeasance and prevention fund.

Sen. Declan O’Scanlon questioned why the Murphy administration plans on issuing $750 million in high-interest debt with interest-only payments for a decade when the State has billions sitting unallocated in its debt defeasance and prevention fund. (©iStock)

“The debt defeasance and prevention fund was created to offset reckless and expensive borrowing of the exact type that the Murphy administration will soon issue for the Transportation Trust Fund,” said O’Scanlon (R-Monmouth), a member of the Senate Budget & Appropriations Committee. “Instead of using funds already on hand to pay for our upcoming transportation needs, the governor wants to commit to 30 years of debt while kicking the can on principal payments ten years down the road. This proposed borrowing is utterly irresponsible and repeats the financial malpractice that has buried New Jersey in debt.”

The Murphy administration announced it will issue $750 million in debt this month to fund the Transportation Trust Fund (TTF). The 30-year debt will be issued at rates of 5% to 5.5%, with interest-only payments until 2032.

In total, debt service on the TTF debt will include $1.527 billion in repayments, including interest, that will cost New Jersey taxpayers more than double the $750 million that the Murphy administration plans on borrowing.

O’Scanlon said that high-cost debt makes no sense when the State has $3 billion in unallocated funds sitting in the State’s debt defeasance and avoidance fund.

“Since TTF debt is repaid through gas taxes collected at the pump, Governor Murphy is setting the stage for another big gas tax increase at some point in the near future,” added O’Scanlon. “To commit to such an irresponsible borrowing scheme when the State has money sitting in the bank to prevent new debt shows just how little the governor cares about helping families that are struggling with high taxes, inflation, and gas pr

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About Dan Cirucci

He's been cited by the late Rush Limbaugh, quoted in the New York Times, featured at Real Clear Politics and Lucianne.com and interviewed across all media.

He's Dan Cirucci, the founder and editor-in chief of the Dan Cirucci Blog, a Save Jersey blog columnist, frequent guest on the Matt Rooney radio show and one of the most widely honored public relations professionals in his field. He's also been a public relations consultant to numerous organizations and individuals and hosted The Advocates on RVN-TV.

Inducted into the Philadelphia Public Relations Hall of Fame, for many years he served as a Lecturer in Corporate Communication at Penn State University. A former President of the Philadelphia Public Relations Association (PPRA) he has lectured at Rowan University, Temple University, The College of New Jersey and Arcadia University. He has conducted workshops on public relations for thousands of participants throughout the nation and has taught countless others the art of public speaking. He has also advised numerous lawyers, judges, public officials and political candidates.

Cirucci is a prolific writer and his op-ed pieces have appeared in the Philadelphia Daily News, Philadelphia Inquirer, Courier-Post, Broad and Liberty and other print and online platforms.

A native of Camden NJ, Cirucci is a former President of the Philadelphia chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators. Cirucci served as Associate Executive Director of the Philadelphia Bar Association for nearly 30 years. He served as Chair of Penn State University's Professional Advisory Board for the Corporate Communication major at Penn State Abington and on the Pennsylvania Bar Association's Judicial Selection Commission.

He received his MA degree from Rowan University and his BA from Villanova University. He has been named a Distinguished Alumnus of Rowan's public relations program and received the E. A. "Wally" Richter Leadership Award, the highest honor from the National Association of Bar Executives' Communications Section. He has also been honored by numerous other local, state and national groups.

In his hometown of Camden, Cirucci taught fifth grade at the Ulysses Wiggins Elementary School named for the founder of the Camden NAACP. There he was one of the first teachers in the country to teach African-American history to inner city students. He later served as editor of a local weekly newspaper, as Assistant to the Township Manager of Cherry Hill Township and as Associate Director of Communications at the New Jersey State Bar Association.

Cirucci's passions include all things Italian, politics, the popular culture, books and authors, art, communication, music, theatre, movies, dining and travel.

He and his wife Carole have two grown children and seven grandchildren.

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