Following months of painstaking review of New Jerseys finances, political rhetoric and legislative compromise, Gov. Corzine unveils his proposed state budget Feb. 22. Neither the administration nor legislators want to speak of the dreaded T-word unless it is to announce that they plan to hold the line on taxes. Of course, chances are excellent that the final, constitutionally mandated balanced budget for FY 08, due on June 30, will bear only some semblance to what is proposed. Many factors are still up in the air. For example, negotiations with state worker and teachers unions are ongoing.
JAMES W. HUGHES is a professor of urban planning and dean of the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, in New Brunswick. He is director and co-author of many Rutgers Regional Reports that have documented employment and various socioeconomic trends in the New York-New Jersey metropolitan area. Hughes has taught Housing Economics and Markets and courses in demography.
Call Hughes at 732-932-5475, ext. 756 (office).
JOSEPH J. SENECA is a university professor at Rutgers Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy. He is chair of the New Jersey Council of Economic Advisers. From 1976 until 1990, he chaired the Economic Policy Council of New Jersey, an independent commission that provided nonpartisan economic analysis to both Democratic and Republican administrations. He is co-author of many Rutgers Regional Reports.
Call Seneca at 732-932-5475, ext. 757 (office).
HENRY COLEMAN is a professor of public policy and past director of the Center for Government Services, a unit of Rutgers Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy. He is one of the countrys leading experts in the area of government finance. From 1985 to 1988, he was executive director of the New Jersey State and Local Expenditure and Revenue Policy Commission (SLERP). He also served as a policy adviser on fiscal, budget and housing issues to Gov. Jim Florio. He has taught practicums at the Eagleton Institute of Politics.
Call Coleman at 732-932-2499, ext. 616 (office).
MARC HOLZER is a Board of Governors Professor and dean of the School of Public Affairs and Administration at Rutgers-Newark. Since 1975, he has directed the National Center for Public Productivity, and he is the founder and editor in chief of the Public Performance and Management Review. Holzer is a former president of the American Society for Public Administration and has received several national awards in the field.
Contact Holzer at 212-579-5734 (Feb. 22 only), 973-353-5093, ext. 23, or molzer@andromeda.rutgers.edu.
KATHE CALLAHAN, an assistant professor in the School of Public Affairs and Administration and associate director of the National Center for Public Productivity at Rutgers-Newark, is an expert on measuring government performance and accountability. She can discuss what the public is likely to expect from the Corzine administration in terms of his performance and management of the economy in difficult times.
Contact Callahan at 973-353-5093, ext. 31 (office), or kathe@andromeda.rutgers.edu.
INGRID REED is director of Rutgers Eagleton Institute of Politics New Jersey Project. The project aims to coordinate, strengthen and expand the institutes efforts to assist individuals, organizations and governments in shaping New Jerseys political agenda. She has organized the Eagleton initiative for better New Jersey campaigns since the Eagleton Forum in 1997.
Contact Reed at 732-932-9384, ext. 232 (office), 609-610-3312 (cell) or ireed@rci.rutgers.edu.
Contact: Steve Manas
732-932-7084, ext. 612
E-mail: smanas@ur.rutgers.edu