Gov. Christie Gives NJ Towns Cost-Cutting Checklist
New Jersey governor Chris Christie's so called "toolkit" of reforms aimed at controlling the cost of local government is starting to take shape. The first installment is a six page checklist of 88 items that locals have to fill out and get back to Trenton by October 1st.
KYW's David Madden reports that questions run the gamut, from pay hike limitations to the rate of recycling. The list of "best practices" are all aimed, according to Lisa Ryan with the Department of Community Affairs, toward showing those local governments how to do more with less. Five-percent of their state aid is tied to the number of affirmative responses.
As for the October 1st deadline:
"We're giving them five weeks to get it in to us. I think that's definitely a very do-able time frame."
The state league of municipalities isn't so sure about that, although many mayors did, in fact, request such a list. The group is also worried about whether one list covering every town is really effective, but they're surveying members since they, like everyone else, got the letter Thursday.
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