Budget Cuts Loom as Shortfall Tops $700 Million
Sandy reconstruction, income tax surge will help, but not enough -- says Office of Legislative Services.
Reported by Mark Magyar, NJ Spotlight With New Jersey facing a $705 million budget shortfall that could easily double by June, the Senate Democratic budget chairman Thursday called upon the Christie administration to lay out a plan to close the gap before the size of the deficit becomes virtually unmanageable. “Every month that we delay, the options grow more limited,” Sarlo warned. “Certainly, we don’t want to be where the House [of Representatives] was, falling off a fiscal cliff” at the end of the budget year. David Rosen, budget officer for the nonpartisan Office of Legislative Services, told Sarlo’s committee on Jan. 3 that it would be “optimistic” to expect the current $705 million gap not to grow over the next six months. “Every …
