Assemblyman Troy Singleton expressed concern during Wednesday’s Assembly Budget Committee hearing on proposed FY 2017 spending for the Department of Transportation that time is running out with no clear plan in place to fund the state’s Transportation Trust Fund (TTF).
“Governor Christie’s five-year TTF plan has been a complete failure, underscored by the lowest pay-as-you-go financing period in the history of the TTF. In fact, this last year of his “plan” will be almost entirely funded through bond proceeds and accounting gimmicks.
“Consequently, when you factor in the Port Authority debt funded contribution, which the administration conveniently tries to exclude, the past five years represent the highest borrowing period in the history of the TTF.
“If this weren’t alarming enough, come July 1st, the Transportation Trust Fund will go broke. Every governor since the TTF was created in 1984 has presented a transportation infrastructure funding plan to the Legislature. With the clock running out, the Governor’s silence on this issue is completely unnerving.
“The economy of our entire state is dependent upon a functioning and reliable transportation infrastructure. The lack of action by Governor Christie is a risk to our state’s economic growth and potentially the safety of road travelers. We cannot afford another day of silence from the administration,” said Singleton (D-Burlington).