Corzine: Property tax reform should include consolidation

TRENTON - New Jersey’s governor says consolidating services among local governments and school districts should be the immediate focus of efforts to lower the state’s highest-in-the-nation property taxes. Gov. Jon S. Corzine told The Record of Bergen County that financial incentives could serve as a carrot to get them to consolidate their services, presently supported with $20 billion a year from property owners. Incentives may come out of the $600 million earmarked for property tax relief in the recently passed state budget. Corzine is expected to address the Legislature this Friday, the start of a special session on property tax reform. And he has warned that it could take years to change the overall system. ``I think we can do something in the short run, but the real work is about changing the long-term structure,’’ Corzine told the newspaper for Saturday’s editions. The average property tax in New Jersey is twice the national average, with poll after poll showing its the top concern of New Jersey residents. The average Garden State property owner pays about $6,000 per year in property taxes, with the amount rising 6 percent a year. Besides more regionalization and shared government services, Corzine said property tax reform might also include changes to civil service, especially in the area of benefits for new state workers. However, he cautioned that reforms are not likely to result in immediate changes to tax bills. ``The short term has got to be 18 months,’’ Corzine said, adding that more changes and savings will take time and could come ``within a decade.’’ The upcoming property tax session comes after three months of fighting among Democrats, who control both the governor’s office and the Legislature. They recently ended dispute over the state budget caused a weeklong government shutdown and was so severe that many wonder if the upcoming effort on property taxes will prove successful. Corzine, however, said he’s an ``optimistic soul.’’ ``I feel like there is real goodwill about going at this issue from almost everybody’s perspective,’’ Corzine said.