Hot News

4.22.2008

By KEVIN GEORGE
Editor

TRENTON, N.J. — Just a couple weeks after West State Street was overrun with 100 tractors and as many as 1,000 members of the state’s agricultural community, New Jersey Gov. Jon S. Corzine is reportedly backing off his stance to eliminate the New Jersey Department of Agriculture because of state budget concerns.
Peter Furey, executive director of the New Jersey Farm Bureau, said he was encouraged by the news, but he maintains the fight to keep the NJDA is far from complete.
“We think it’s significant,” Furey said of the NJFB and Corzine’s reported change of heart, which has led the crusade to save the department from budget cuts.
“But it’s by no means the final word.”
Since he had delivered the governor’s annual state budget address on Feb. 26, Corzine had stressed he would be unwilling to waver from the proposal he delivered that day — that his budget plan must be accepted as a whole.
“It is a reversal from what he had been saying consistently since the budget message, and it’s most welcome,” Furey said.
State parks also appear to be spared the chopping block and would also stay open.
Mayors from throughout the state had recently visited with Corzine to share their concerns on the possibility of vandalism if the parks were left unmanned.
While nothing is actually official until a budget is completed by July 1, General Assembly speaker Joseph J. Roberts Jr. said on April 16 that legislative leaders and Corzine had reached a general consensus to ease some proposed cuts in the $33 billion budget — specifically, his original proposal to eliminate the Department of Agriculture.
“It represents a mild concession,” Furey said of Corzine’s change of heart.
“The remainder relies on the further interaction between and administration and the legislature in the budget process.”
In remarks last week to the editorial board of The Courier-Post of Cherry Hill, Corzine said it was “pretty obvious” that plans to close nine parks and the NJDA would be reworked.
It is unclear if Corzine’s position has changed concerning keeping the secretary of agriculture as a state cabinet-level position, or if the New Jersey State Board of Agriculture would be affected.
“It represents a major step forward for all of those who are concerned with the issue,” Furey said. “No longer are we dealing with an obstinacy in the attitude of eliminating the department. That is gone.
“However, what remains is a multitude of questions regarding the size of the cuts, the nature of the cuts and the structure of the department. … There are any number of scenarios that come to mind, taking into account the significance of (Corzine’s) statement that was made” on April 16.
Furey said he has been pleased with the impression the ag rally in Trenton on April 1 has made.
“There should be no doubt that the governor heard the message from so many people,” Furey said. “We’ll never know exactly the proportion, but that was unprecedented, well-organized and came off without a hitch.
“It drew the admiration of everybody in Trenton. The people of the statehouse have seen lots of demonstrations over the years. This one received quite a few accolades.”
Roberts told the Associated Press the goal is to leave a time cushion and adopt a budget by June 15, which would avoid a repeat of the July 2006 budget dispute that closed state government agencies for a week.
Corzine, who has been governor since January 2006, has also indicated he would prefer to avoid another state shutdown.