Council Urges Gov. Christie to Veto Changes to Shore Protection Fund

On behalf of the Township Council of the Township of Toms River, I respectfully but strongly urge you to veto A3874/S2620, which revises the criteria for shore protection funding. If enacted, these amendments will qualify for financing out of the Shore Protection Fund projects geographically and categorically far removed from the Fund’s stated purpose: to support initiatives “associated with the protection, stabilization, restoration or maintenance” of New Jersey’s shoreline along the Atlantic Ocean. The effect will be to divert northward and inland funds meant to protect New Jersey’s most ecologically and economically vital resource, the Jersey Shore.

This is both ill-advised and unacceptable. In the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, Toms River and New Jersey’s other coastal communities are working tirelessly to rebuild and fortify the shore against future devastation. The Shore Protection Fund is an important lifeline in those efforts. Siphoning off these limited but vital revenues to serve other interests, unrelated to shore protection, exacerbates the financial strain of the post-Sandy reconstruction and disserves the very communities the Fund was established to protect. The Shore Protection Fund is needed perhaps more now than at any time since its inception over two decades ago. It should not be tampered with.

While we do not discount Superstorm Sandy’s impact in other areas of the state, those needs should be addressed in some other way. The Shore Protection Fund was created for the Jersey Shore, and that is where the funds should stay.

Thank you for your continued support.

Respectfully yours,

George Wittmann
Council President
Township of Toms River