Chris Christie proposed on Tuesday what his aides said amounted to a state takeover of Atlantic City, a troubled casino town that has been teetering on the edge of bankruptcy.
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On Tuesday, Christie – taking a break from campaigning for the GOP presidential nomination – said that he and the state senate president, Democrat Steve Sweeney, had agreed on the outlines of a plan to take over numerous city’s functions.
“So we do need the state, the force that the state brings with it, to help us restructure our debt, to give us extra strength in dealing with collective bargaining agreements, and to show us best practices of other cities that are going to provide services at a lower cost for government”. Changing the city’s financial fundamentals will not change the fact that gambling was the quick fix for a dying Atlantic City and there is nothing on the horizon that will replace it. This state takeover may be its only chance.
The Atlantic City move comes as the cash-strapped city ponders asking the state for permission to declare bankruptcy. The city had been talking bankruptcy, and Sweeney had been talking about state control.
“We can’t ask the taxpayers of Atlantic City any further-and how can you ask the people of New Jersey-to step up to the plate when we’re not running as efficient a government as we can possibly can”, Mr. Sweeney said. In a statement released after the news conference, he suggested he could have problems with the part of the proposed intervention that would give the state the authority to amend or even scrap collective-bargaining agreements with city workers. Prieto, who was not at the news conference, also cautioned Christie and Sweeney not to ignore him.
The agreement announced during a State House news conference resolves weeks of bickering between leaders in Trenton and Guardian, who threatened to file for bankruptcy after Christie vetoed a financial-rescue package last week.
“If the Assembly is not involved, then there is no agreement”. Sweeney has said “there is Atlantic City fatigue in this building”, referring to the reaction of lawmakers from the rest of the state when Atlantic City seeks more money from the state.
It would allow the state to dissolve city departments, consolidate and privatize municipal services and sell city assets, which were all proposals included in a recent report by the city’s emergency manager Kevin Lavin about how to turn around the failing city.
Tuesday’s announcement is the latest in a series of steps the state has taken during the last five years to tighten control over Atlantic City.
The legislation is expected to include state aid for Atlantic City, which is facing a more than $30 million deficit this year and is scheduled to run out of cash by April 1, Mr. Guardian said.
Still, the city’s remaining casinos have been successfully challenging their tax assessments, helping to reduce a ratable base that once totaled more than $20 billion to just over $7 billion.
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Atlantic City’s casino revenue has fallen from $5.2 billion in 2006 to $2.56 billion a year ago.
