Governor bemoans South Jersey Port spending
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said Friday he was exercising his veto authority to guard against wasteful spending practices by rejecting the minutes of the April 26 meeting of the South Jersey Port Corp.
Christie said he was refusing to approve the minutes because they had approved $3,036 in expenses, including more than half of it for 'wining and dining.'
'These are not expenses that the taxpayers of New Jersey should be expected to bear,' Christie wrote in his veto letter to SJPC Executive Director Joseph A. Balzano. 'It is incumbent upon SJPC to create innovative ways of attracting business to the SJPC without incurring unnecessary expenditures inappropriate for the public sector.'
The expenses included two restaurant expenditures each in excess of $800 and including alcohol.
The veto letter noted that a review by the governor's authorities unit of previously submitted expense reports approved by the SJPC board for business development also 'shows other excessive restaurant bills including alcohol.'
