The Economic and Fiscal Policy Workgroup held its initial organizational meeting on January 30, 2018. Over the course of several months, the Workgroup held seven meetings that included presentations by policy experts on critical issues and robust discussion of the pros and cons of potential solutions. Eventually, each member of the group was asked to submit policy recommendations based upon those presentations and discussions. The recommendations were shared with the Workgroup and aggregated into five categories:
- Pension & Benefit Reform
- Leveraging Assets to Stabilize the Pension System
- Education Reform at the Administrative Level
- County & Municipal Government Reform and Shared Services
- State and Local Government Tax Structure
The Workgroup split into five subcommittees that held meetings to review and evaluate those recommendations. Each subcommittee submitted a report with final recommendations. While the group did not vote on each individual recommendation, this report, in its entirety, represents the consensus of the assembled experts.
The issuance of this report represents the first step in what we anticipate being an ongoing process in the months ahead that will expand to involve stakeholders and the general public in an informed debate about how to put New Jersey on the path to progress.
Click here to read what some of the members had to say about the report.
MEMBERSHIP
Co-chairs:
- Senator Paul Sarlo – Chairman, Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee
- Senator Steven Oroho – Senate Republican Conference Chair
- Assemblyman Louis Greenwald – Assembly Majority Leader
Legislative Members:
- Senator Steve Sweeney – Senate President
- Senator Dawn Addiego – Deputy Minority Whip
- Senator Anthony Bucco – Senate Minority Budget Officer
- Assemblywoman Eliana Pintor Marin – Chairwoman, Assembly Budget
- Senator Troy Singleton – Chairman, Senate Military and Veterans’ Affairs
Subcommittee Chairs:
- Dr. Ray Caprio – Rutgers Bloustein School of Planning & Public Policy; Bloustein Local Government Research Center
- Frank Chin – Managing Director, American Public Infrastructure
- Richard Keevey – Rutgers University Bloustein School of Planning & Public Policy and Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs
- Dr. Michael Lahr – Rutgers Bloustein School of Planning & Public Policy and Rutgers Economic Advisory Service
- Marc Pfeiffer – Rutgers University, Bloustein School of Planning & Public Policy; Bloustein Local Government Research Center
Non-Legislative Members:
- Dr. Henry Coleman – Rutgers University, Bloustein School of Planning & Public Policy
- Lucille Davy – Of Counsel, Mason, Griffin & Pierson
- Feather O’Connor Houstoun – Adviser for Public media and journalism at Wyncote Foundation
- Ray Kljajic – American Public Infrastructure Inc.
- Robert Landolfi – Business Administrator, Woodbridge Township (retired)
- Senator Raymond Lesniak – Chair, Lesniak Institute for American Leadership
- Jerry Maginnis – Rowan University, William G. Rohrer College of Business
- Dr. Donald Moliver – Monmouth University, Kislak Real Estate Institute
- Dr. Joel Naroff – President, Naroff Economic Advisers Inc.
- Peter Reinhart – Monmouth University Kislak Real Estate Institute
- Kurt Stroemel – President, HR&S Financial Services
- Ralph Thomas – CEO/Executive Director, New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants