The City vs. The State

A few days ago Trenton learned that the STATE would not be giving us regular large contributions. Several Trentonians I heard from were all upset with the usual, "This is the capitol city; we should get host benefits, etc., etc." The usual bitch and moan chorus. If we want regular, reliable sums (and I believe we should get such), we, Trenton, must do a few things before we can really cry poor. First (and this is the most important) do an accurate inventory of just how much property the state actually OWNS. And I don't mean rents, I mean, "OWNS." Over the years, I've heard the state owns anywhere from 25% to over 50% of the property here in Trenton. Just driving around Trenton, I suspect the city owns more than the state does. Like that beautiful big park in the West Ward - you could put the entire statehouse complex in that park. After doing an inventory, the next step an accurate valuation (again, I mean ACCURATE) of all the property. It's all very well and good to say the value of the state-owned property is ten million dollars; yeah, but who's going to pay ten mill for it? That's what I mean by, "accurate." Once this information is available, city government can sit down with our legislators and governor and work something out. It would also be nice if the folks at 319 East State stopped insulting the folks down the street on West State. But lastly, a political truth. We, Tretonians, did nothing for Chris Christie; he's going to worry about the folks who VOTED for him. That is what elected officials do. For years, Trenton spent money it did not have; nobody tried to stop it. Now the bill comes due. Perhaps we would get more out of the state if we, Trenton, admitted our fault and presented a plan, a realistic plan, to solve the problem. The Honorable Mayor and the current council ain't doin that. Later.