When New Jersey received more than $6.2 billion in pandemic relief funding from the federal government three years ago, major projects like eviction and homelessness prevention programs and small business grants were at topped the list of programs to receive benefits.
But not everything that is expected to receive money is so clearly connected to the COVID-19 pandemic.
All of that money has been allocated, or earmarked, for specific projects — which New Jersey’s state government was obliged to do by the end of this year — and more than $1.8 billion has already been spent. The deadline to spend the funds, though, is not until December 2026 and any unused funds must be returned to the U.S. Treasury.
But which projects were chosen and how they were picked is a little less clear.
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Marc Pfieffer, assistant director of the Bloustein Local Government Research Center at Rutgers University, said that it was expected that the projects were longer term and some of the ones that are set to receive funding might not have been in as obvious need at the start of the pandemic.
“I think the administration did a reasonably good job of not spending all the money at once on issues and kind of kept their powder dry to deal with some things down the road that weren’t necessarily apparent right up front,” he said.
In order to be considered, projects were proposed through a legislative process based on the combined priorities of the administration and the Legislature.
The eligibility and process requirements were established through the budget and U.S. Treasury State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund rules. Programs or projects had to apply through the Governor’s Disaster Recovery Office and the Department of Community Affairs Division of Disaster Recovery and Mitigation, according to the Murphy administration.
Those applications had to specify exactly what the project would need the money for as well as provide timelines for funding and details on expected administrative costs. The applications were vetted based on the proposed uses established by the federal government.
The options were broadly focused on addressing public health needs, responding to the negative economic impacts of the pandemic, providing premium pay to essential workers, investing in water, sewer or broadband infrastructure and any service traditionally provided by a government, including related administrative costs. Applicants that were approved entered a grant agreement to receive the funding.
The money could not be used for tax breaks, pension payments, payments to rainy-day funds or to pay legal settlements/judgments.
“The governor’s and Legislature’s decisions are designed to invest in one-time programs to return people to work, stimulate economic growth, improve New Jersey’s health system, provide vital government services and bolster public safety,” said Jennifer Sciortino, a spokesperson from the governor’s office. “This includes housing support for those struggling with pandemic-related housing issues, targeted economic recovery programs, job training and incentives, investments in critical government services and projects, and transformative investments in local health and our healthcare system, just to name a few.”
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Attractions — like Revolutionary War sites and MetLife Stadium — will benefit
Pfieffer also said that while some of the money may have been spent on projects that don’t seem as significant, a large portion was spent on “really important stuff.”
There have been hundreds of millions of dollars dedicated to hospital infrastructure and preparedness plans, millions have been earmarked for child care facilities and tens of millions will upgrade the technology for state services like unemployment and the Motor Vehicle Commission.
There has been $25 million set to be used to upgrade various Revolutionary War sites throughout the state and $30 million has already made its way to the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority to help secure the final for the 2026 FIFA World Cup at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford.
These projects qualify for the federal aid because they are classified as attractions that will generate tourism and boost the state’s economy but there are dozens of projects that made the cut and seem more like budget season “pork” than in need of federal financial aid.
There will be about $2 million sent to each Jersey City for their parks and recreation department and Hopewell Township for their senior center. Library projects in both Roselle and Paramus will receive funding and Union City will receive $5 million for “budget support.” The city’s mayor is longtime state Sen. Brian Stack.
Pfieffer did say that the political needs of legislators might have also been taken into consideration as well.
“They also had the ability in the Legislature to use the money in districts to support district activities,” he said. “Legislators wind up needing to balance different needs and those are hard decisions for them, or which seem like hard decisions for us, but may be easy decision for them because they’re elected officials. Does favoring one group over another when it comes to Democrats getting money and Republican districts not getting money? For Democrats that maybe an easy choice to make.”
State Sen. Declan O’Scanlon, who serves as the budget officer for the Republicans, said the issue with the way the money was spent can be seen in the process — or lack thereof — used to determine which projects to fund.
“There was no formal, unbiased, transparent process. It was legislators carving up the pork. There’s just no mistaking that,” he said. “There’s no way to deny it … There’s no question the process was blatantly political.”
He went on to say that the decisions were made behind closed doors with no room for public discussion or disclosure of the merits of one project over another.
O’Scanlon said that there should have been “absolute disclosure of how each project would work, who advocated for it and the merits of it.”
State Sen. Paul Sarlo, chair of the upper chamber’s budget committee, said that the committee will need a proper account of how much money is left to ensure that all the funding is spent.
He went on to say that any money coming through the budget process will go through the Joint Budget Oversight Committee.
Katie Sobko covers the New Jersey Statehouse. Email: [email protected]
