PARK RIDGE – Josh Gottheimer says he’s been talking to a lot of people in diners  – and they agree about New Jersey:

“It’s just too damn expensive.”

That ain’t exactly a revelation, but it is the focus of Gottheimer’s campaign for governor.

When the now CD-5 congressman launched his campaign two months ago, he boldly pledged to reduce both the state’s income and property taxes.

On Wednesday, he came to PIM Brands, a maker of fruit and chocolate snacks in this Bergen County town near the New York border, to put some, if you excuse the cliche, meat on the bones.

Immediately into a presentation that was watched by about 100 company employees, Gottheimer reiterated plans to cut property taxes by about 15 percent.

That’s certainly a worthwhile goal, given the fact New Jersey property taxes are the highest in the nation.

At the same time, reducing them is not easy for any governor, the main reason being that property taxes are not levied by the state. They are controlled by local governments and support the needs of municipalities,  school districts and counties.

So, whether he wants to or not, no governor can simply decree that property taxes be reduced.

His plan attacking the problem has many parts.

One is the realization that high housing costs lead to high property taxes. (Keep in mind that property taxes relate to a home’s assessment)

“As a result when demand outsrips supply, the costs go up – and that’s exactly where we are now,” Gottheimer says in a campaign release.  He wants to ease the shortage by adding “more than 200,000 housing units.”

Then there’s encouraging municipalities and school districts to save money themselves, thereby reducing property taxes,

Gottheimer says he’s convinced he can cut the state’s budget through efficiency measures by at least 5 percent – and he wants local government units to do the same. Some of this can be accomplished by combining services among towns and school districts.

The concept is hardly novel. But the “home rule” nature of New Jersey and the parochial views of many local politicians make this harder than it should be.

He also wants to challenge a current system in which New Jersey residents working at home for New York-based companies pay income taxes across the river. Gottheimer wants that money to be paid to New Jersey.

Some of the savings realized by the above suggestions will be used to reduce income taxes.

As of now, the state’s income tax ranges from 1.4 percent to 10.75 percent, making it one of the most progressive in the nation.

Gottheimer says he likes that, but he wants to make it even better.

He proposes a “family tax credit” that would benefit every Jersey family with dependents – children or seniors.

Gottheimer calculates these credits would mean a 50 percent cut for those in the low brackets and a 25 percent cut for those in the middle.

Moreover, he proposes tax incentives to lure both residents and businesses to New Jersey. And he wants to aggressively go after tax cheats.

Businesses would get credits for every job they create and relocating families would be allowed to pay – temporarily at least – the presumably lower property taxes they paid in the state they are leaving.

“Property tax neutral” is the phrase he used.

More generally, Gottheimer began his presentation talking about how residents are fleeing New Jersey.

This, candidly, is what one often hears from Republicans.

In fact, Phil Murphy, who has the job Gottheimer wants, likes to push back on this notion. Just recently, he happily quoted Census data that says the state’s population has risen by about 2 percent since the 2020 count  and is now at 9.5 million.

Those are the raw facts, but Gottheimer says there’s no doubt many residents find the state too expensive. He said:

“That has to change, it’s time for a reboot.”