Efforts to make real reforms to public employee benefits have been ongoing since at least five years ago, when then-Gov. Jon Corzine formed the Special Joint Legislative Committee on Public Employee Benefits Reform, whose recommendations he later unilaterally dismissed.

Today, Gov. Chris Christie and state Senate President Stephen Sweeney (who has been fighting to reform public employee benefits for several years) each have proposals on the table to restructure public employee health and pension benefits. Another year cannot go by without passage of reform by the Legislature.

Our chamber has been a long-time and consistent advocate for the need to scale back public employee benefits, dating back to our budget testimony in 2003 when we pointed out that the growing costs of pension and health benefits for state employees were driving the need to increase taxes.

That year, the state budget contained $357 million in increased taxes, fees and surcharges on the business community, which came on the heels of the $1 billion business tax increase the year before. In our testimony before the Senate and Assembly budget committees, we pointed out that the cost of these benefits was unsustainable, and urged our lawmakers to bring them more in line with benefits received by private sector workers.

We then produced a report in 2006 that demonstrated just how out of sync state employee benefits were compared to those received in the private sector. The report was a reality check on the overall compensation package provided to state employees, including salaries, paid time off, health insurance and retirement benefits. In the time since we issued our report, legislation has been passed that made some incremental and sensible changes to public employee benefits. But, much more needs to be done and quickly.

The numbers speak for themselves. Benefits for state employees alone cost up to $3.5 billion annually and are funded through business, sales and income taxes. Benefits for local and county government employees cost additional taxpayer dollars which are funded by property taxes.

The current model of pension benefits, health insurance coverage and other employee related expenses for public sector workers at all levels of government can no longer be maintained.

The state Legislature owes it to New Jersey taxpayers -- those who fund these benefits -- to pass legislation that will bring public employee benefits more in line with those of the private sector. The time for reform is now!

The writer is the executive vice president and chief operating officer of the Chamber of Commerce of Southern New Jersey.

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