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Legislative leaders discuss agenda, take flak

ATLANTIC CITY - New Jersey's Democratic and Republican legislative leaders came together over a topic they agree on: They are not standing in Gov. Christie's shadow.

ATLANTIC CITY - New Jersey's Democratic and Republican legislative leaders came together over a topic they agree on: They are not standing in Gov. Christie's shadow.

That, at least, was declared in the title of a discussion Wednesday at the 99th annual New Jersey State League of Municipalities convention in Atlantic City.

But Christie was far from the focus.

Christie has been a magnet for national attention as he weighs a run for the White House and as head of the Republican Governors Association. New Jersey's governor is also among the most powerful in the country, with a line-item veto.

But during a discussion called "The Four Tops: They Are Not Standing in the Shadow of the Governor," Democratic Senate President Stephen Sweeney, Democratic Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto, Senate Republican Leader Thomas H. Kean Jr., and Assembly Republican Leader Jon Bramnick instead debated high-profile items on the legislative agenda, including the Transportation Trust Fund, the public pension system, revitalization of Atlantic City, and taxes.

Prieto said the state's public pension system needs to be funded. Bramnick and Kean called for lower taxes overall.

All the leaders recognized the need to shore up the Transportation Trust Fund, which is expected to run out of money for new projects next year. There was no agreement on how to do that, though.

The leaders also got an earful from frustrated mayors attending the event. The mayors criticized the flow of taxes taken at the local level for use in other parts of the state.

"Organized crime doesn't skim as well as you do," Point Pleasant Beach Mayor Vincent Barrella said.

John Carpenter, mayor of Bernards Township, got an ovation and cheers from the crowd when he delivered the most stinging rebuke of the afternoon.

"If we ran our towns the way you run the state, we would have been tarred and feathered a long time ago," Carpenter said.

Added Carpenter: "My observation finally is that through all this talk of tax and rules and intrusive government and regulation, I never heard anybody discuss anything about controlling spending or reducing spending."

In response, Prieto (D., Hudson), who served as budget committee chairman before becoming speaker, said that the budget went from $34 billion before last year to under $32 billion now.

"We have [cut spending] to the best of our ability because we have had to because the revenues have not come in," he said. "I do understand it. It's a lot different at the local level."