It’s a budget address – actually, the second one of the year.

While this is a routine act of government, Phil Murphy apparently hopes his speech at 10 a.m. tomorrow will be a bit out of the ordinary.

“We will start a new chapter in our state’s long and storied history,” the governor said today in anticipation of an address that will take place in the Rutgers University football stadium.

Of course, this whole year has been a bit extraordinary, so one supposes the budget address may be as well.

It is certainly going to be unusual.

Those who follow such things will recall that Murphy introduced his $40.8 billion budget in late winter. That was pre-COVID-19.

The budget normally takes effect July 1, but with the pandemic overshadowing the normal functions of state government, the introduced budget largely became irrelevant and the current budget was extended through Sept. 30. So, the budget the governor plans to unveil tomorrow will run for only nine months through June 30, 2021.

It’s no secret state finances have taken quite a hit. In short, the state has needed to spend more while taking in less tax revenue. That’s not exactly a rosy picture.

Murphy was asked at today’s briefing if he would give a budget preview; he declined.

But he did identify four areas to be discussed.

One will be spending cuts, which is something Democrats don’t like to do.

On the other end of things, the governor has said the state needs more revenue, which could mean higher taxes – at least in some form. However, it’s worth mentioning that the latest revenue figures were pretty good – especially in a pandemic.

Still, you have to wonder if Murphy will take another stab at increasing income taxes on those earning more than a million dollars a year. He’s tried – and failed – to do that the last two years.

The other two parts of this equation are borrowing and help from the feds. The state Supreme Court has sanctioned Murphy’s plan to borrow nearly $10 billion, but help from Washington remains uncertain.

So, you can expect the governor to reserve some time tomorrow to take a few shots at Senate Leader Mitch McConnell.

No matter what else he says, it’s clear the governor will stress the fact we truly are in uncertain times. He said anyone who thinks one can just flip a light switch and fix everything is not paying attention.

Still, Murphy also said that New Jersey metrics continue to be encouraging. The state’s virus positivity rate is now less than 2 percent and the rate of transmission is less than 1.

He said that means we may get soon to indoor dining and reopening gyms.

But not by tomorrow

By the way, you can expect Republicans, who unsuccessfully sued to stop the planned borrowing, to condemn whatever Murphy says tomorrow.

In fact, criticism is already coming from Sen. Joe Pennacchio, a Morris County Republican.

He lambasted the governor for the football stadium location as “nothing more than campaign-style theater.”

In truth, it is a bid odd, and you have to question if a large stadium setting is really necessary.

The governor himself doesn’t seem all that keen on the idea, noting that he will likely deliver his address drenched in sweat.

“Down on that artificial turf, it’s about 4,000 degrees,” he said.