Fiscal Emergency Is Option For NJ's Gov-elect

ANGELA DELLI SANTI

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Declaring a fiscal emergency in New Jersey is one option open to Gov.-elect Chris Christie as he searches for a way out of the state's deep financial deficit, the head of his transition team said.

Jeff Chiesa, executive director of Christie's transition team, said an emergency declaration like the one Gov. Jon Corzine used after budget talks with the Legislature collapsed in 2006 is one of many ideas raised during a recent meeting.

"It would be premature to suggest it is anything more at this point in time," Chiesa said Tuesday in an e-mail.

Christie, who defeated Gov. Jon Corzine last week to become New Jersey's first Republican governor in a dozen years, faces a projected $8 billion budget deficit when he takes office in January. He must deliver a budget proposal for fiscal 2011 in March.

A report by the Statehouse bureau of The Star-Ledger and The Record, attributed to unnamed advisers and published Tuesday, said Christie is "examining the possibility of declaring a financial emergency."