Capital City Aid Passes Committee Following Gusciora’s Testimony

TRENTON, N.J. – Trenton Mayor Reed Gusciora spoke before the New Jersey Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee on Monday to advocate for Senate Bill 3587, which reinstates the Capital City Aid Program. The bill passed the committee by a vote of 8-3.

The line item is critical to the financial stabilization of Trenton but was eliminated under Governor Chris Christie, forcing the City into the Transitional Aid Program, which was then dramatically reduced to a fraction of what Trenton once received.

“The State of New Jersey holds the title for more than one third of the City’s land,” said Gusciora. “If not for the State’s tax-exempt status, Trenton would receive about $45 million in tax revenue, compared to only $9 million it received in transitional aid in 2018. It is Trenton’s property taxpayers that pay for the police, fire, sanitation, and public infrastructure used by the state and the 20,000 state employees and visitors who enter Trenton on a daily basis.”

The chart below details the history of non-formula local aid to Trenton. The restoration of a dedicated and statutorily required Capital City Aid Program will be another step in the City/State partnership and create the conditions for economic prosperity and security in Trenton, which residents of the City deserve.

Gusciora will continue to work with Trenton’s legislative delegation to move the bill out of the Senate and General Assembly and to the Governor for his consideration.

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