According to three lawmakers, Tuesday's Budget presentation is going to call for a $250 million budget reduction in likely response to the Governor's "almost dead" toll hike scheme (Trenton finally heard our LOUD VOICES!!!)
Spending and borrowing restraints are two pieces of Corzine's "fiscal restructuring" agenda. But the governor conceded Thursday that his toll road plan, the centerpiece of his proposed financial fix, has little support and that he may have to settle for less than he originally set out to accomplish.
"I'm not conceding that it's dead. On the other hand, I'm a realist. I don't have 21 and 41 votes for this. I may not have any votes for this," Corzine said.
That plan, which would sharply raise tolls in order to halve state debt and fund decades of transportation projects, needs 21 Senate votes and 41 Assembly votes to win approval. It has received a cold response from lawmakers and a skeptical public.
Sen. Joseph Vitale, D-Middlesex, said Corzine is now eyeing a roughly $250 million reduction in spending this coming year. Two other lawmakers, who asked for anonymity while discussing the governor's planning, confirmed that figure.
Corzine had previously pledged to hold spending flat, a move that alone requires more than $2 billion in spending cuts.
"We can only spend the revenues we have, and details of the plan will come on Tuesday," said Corzine spokeswoman Lilo Stainton.
Corzine said he still hopes to halve the state's $32 billion debt. But his comments Thursday focused more often on investing in state infrastructure, the second of the two prime goals in his toll plan.
"We may not get everything I want with regards to these issues, but if we get a long way down that path, I think we will have made real change, a real contribution to both the present and the future of this state," Corzine said.
He cited the importance of investing in bridges, highways and the state's mass transit system, and said "we will get as much as I can in restructuring the finances and hopefully the debt of the state."
In recent days, some lawmakers have embraced the prospect of using more moderate toll hikes, gas tax increases or a combination of the two to fund transportation projects.
Sen. Raymond Lesniak, D-Union, said Wednesday that tying toll increases to improvements on the toll roads would be an easier sell than Corzine's plan, which was criticized for, among other things, hitting up drivers of some roads to pay for statewide debts and transportation needs.
Corzine would not discuss details of his budget Thursday but hinted at going further than just freezing spending.
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