Friend,

I just finished delivering my annual Budget Address, which outlined our administration’s priorities for the fiscal year. The message I delivered is clear: We're laser focused on continuing to make real progress against high property taxes, restoring New Jersey’s fiscal standing, growing our economy, and re-positioning our state for success, while investing in our future.

Our administration took office with a clear and unshakable goal -- to grow and strengthen New Jersey’s middle class. They said we couldn’t be pro-growth and progressive. That we couldn’t make New Jersey both stronger and fairer. But we have stayed true to our beliefs. We are who we said we’d be, and that’s how we will continue.

The property tax is the most unfair, regressive, and cruelest of taxes. A middle-class family pays a greater percentage of their income in property taxes here than a millionaire does anywhere else. Our success will be measured by whether we break that trend and tame the property tax beast, and the results are now becoming clear.

In just our first two years in office, we have achieved the first and fourth-lowest year-over-year increases in property taxes on record. No other administration has done so much in its first two years to control property taxes, or delivered more property tax relief. This year’s budget will double down on what’s working and add additional strategies for controlling property taxes.

Increasing school funding is property tax relief, protecting local taxpayers while ensuring we continue to have the best public schools in America. Providing high quality public employee health benefits through collective bargaining, at a lower cost to taxpayers, is property tax relief. Making it easier for communities to adopt shared services and make their operations more efficient is property tax relief. These reforms have been the backbone of our property tax relief agenda, and this year’s budget proposal will add to them with even more aggressive solutions.

We will continue the fight for a millionaire’s tax so we can deliver even more property tax relief to middle-class families. This will help us keep our promise of creating an economy that works for everyone, not just the wealthy and politically connected.

Today, we have a stronger surplus and we anticipate making the first back-to-back deposits into the rainy day fund in 20 years. We’re putting the brakes to the financial roller coaster our state has been on for far too long, and in the process we’re restoring our reputation with credit rating agencies to reduce our borrowing costs in the future.

Our budget will continue making the investments we need for our future: in NJ TRANSIT, in college affordability, in affordable health care, and much more.

Today is just the beginning of a long process, but it’s important for you to know exactly where we stand. I was elected to change the culture of our politics and finally make our state stronger and fairer, and while I’m proud of the progress we’re making, it’s clear that much more needs to be done. 

You will be hearing much more from our entire team in the coming months, and I look forward to working closely with our friends in the State Legislature, and with the grassroots advocates throughout our state pushing for change. Together, we will work to deliver the change New Jersey deserves, and that can only happen with your support. 

Thank you, 

Governor Phil Murphy