State Debt Rose by More Than $40 Billion

njspotlightnews.org

New Jersey’s recent string of positive fiscal news was interrupted several weeks ago by a new audit that indicated overall debt rose across the board during the last fiscal year.

But the audit also revealed a big increase on the “non-bonded” side of New Jersey’s debt ledger during the 2021 fiscal year. That category includes the state’s long-term public-worker pension obligations, as well as other, often overlooked, retirement benefits that can add up to a significant liability for the state and, ultimately, its taxpayers.