In July 2005, RPA released a study entitled "Putting the Trust Back in the New Jersey Transportation Trust Fund," that brought to the public's attention the severity of the transportation funding shortage for both capital and operating expenses. In November 2005, RPA released a follow-up report, "Reform, Revenue, Results: How to Save New Jersey's Transportation System," identifying an action plan to avert an impending transportation catastrophe in New Jersey, including specific revenue sources that should be utilized to raise the billions of dollars needed to support the transportation network each year. These two reports were products of a collaboration with the AAA Clubs of New Jersey, Tri-State Transportation Campaign, the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy and the Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Center at Rutgers University. RPA has also helped frame the debate around property tax reform in New Jersey, producing three reports since October 2005. The first challenged gubernatorial and legislative candidates during the election season to address the implications of tax reform on land use and its related issues of congestion, open space protection, housing production and economic development. The second described a series of criteria to assess property tax reform proposals and ranked some of the leading ideas of the day. The third recommends a package of property tax reforms that will have the maximum benefit for land use, housing affordability, equity and fiscal discipline in the years to come.
RPA publications and more information about our work in New Jersey are available at www.rpa.org.