a rockus group of activists made sure their concerns were known at the first public hearing on Governor Murphy's proposed fiscal year 2025 budget calling on the governor to restore a full corporate business tax search charge that expired at the end of the year and accusing the administration of balancing the budget on the backs of hardworking residents senior correspondent Joanna Gagis was there keep CBT keep CBT hoping their voices would inside these advocacy groups rallied on the campus of NJIT this morning just outside of the room where the Senate budget committee was holding a public hearing on the governor's proposed fiscal year 25 budget to the Walmarts the Amazon and the wos it's time to pay your fair share they're calling on Governor Murphy and the legislature to fully restore the corporate business tax sech charge that expired in December saying the governor's newly proposed corporate Transit fee doesn't go far enough to tax wealthy businesses given the proposed increase to NJ Transit fairs bu fairs are still going up and the senior pass is still going to be cut I really don't know how I'm going to pay for the increased prices the budget cannot be balanced on the backs of black and brown New Jersey communities inside the hearing members of the business Community pushed back on the governor's corporate Transit fee saying he's trying to close NJ Transit budget holes on the back TA of businesses the corporate Transit fee is just another name as we know for the corporate business tax that just Sunset it just Sunset 11 weeks ago those companies were banking on getting that money back to commit into their Workforce their facilities and their communities they're not the only ones asking for funding to be restored education's a big one we heard today with school districts asking for their funds to be restored and community colleges asking for their cuts to be reversed for many Community College is the only affordable way to attain a quality undergraduate education and this budget hinders that vital opportunity I'm here today to ask you to restore the 12% cut in funding in the proposed budget and further build upon last year's historic pledge with an increase in funding losing that 20 million is a hard hard hit across our system and that would be a very devastating hit to our colleges and frankly to our students as well we see advocacy groups calling on the governor to restore the corporate business tax do you support that as a way to to kind of claw some of this money back for County colleges we don't think that's necessary we think that there is already money there um without putting new taxes you know we really go hand inand with business um we are training their future employees we rely on them as well um they are too one of those life Bloods of New Jersey so we believe the money is there there's not a need for greater Taxation and school districts that lost millions in this Final Phase in of the S2 funding formula pleaded for a plan and to restore their cuts the S2 reduction this year was supposed to be $337,000 so you can imagine our shock and our horror when that $337,000 turned into $4.69 million South Brunswick as of right now is operating 6 years later with $30 million less money going forward please we need and I say this bipartisan we this is not a partisan kids are not partisan kids are not red and blue we're seeing districts lose 15% 16% of their state aid uh when they were expecting a much smaller number um we've got to look at some short-term supports but we also do need to look at some longer term supports so we're also asking them to put $2 million towards a task force that can really look at the formula education funding seemed to stir support from legislators on both sides of the aisle who at least today voiced their support for restoring both County College funding and coming up with temporary funding relief for districts before this budget season ends in Newark I'm Joanna Gagis NJ Spotlight News NJ Spotlight News