TRENTON, NJ – A report in the Star-Ledger today reports that renovations at the office of Governor Phil Murphy in the statehouse in Trenton is anything but fair and equitable. Let’s give Phil Murphy a quick break first. The funding for the $500,000 renovation was approved by former Governor Chris Christie.
That was part of a $283 million renovation project on the aging Statehouse, but let’s face it, some of the upgrades are over the top. In fact, Murphy’s new public office is probably more posh and lavish than his old office at Goldman Sachs.
According to the report, “It includes $217,420 for three rugs, nearly $66,700 for curtains, $24,400 on sofas, more than $31,100 for two antique desks and $10,600 for a pair of chairs to go with them, along with $8,550 on lamps, according to records obtained by NJ Advance Media under the state’s Open Public Records Act.”
For Murphy, it’s the first time his administration is operating out of the newly renovated Statehouse since he took office.
The project is an example of how Trenton has become out of touch with the people it serves.
An OPRA request by NJ Advance Media shows taxpayers spent nearly $500,000 on the governor’s new digs, $80,000 more than the average home price in New Jersey.
A rug in Murphy’s executive office for example cost over $100,000. The OPRA request also shows the chairs used by Phil and his wife Tammy cost over $5,000 each.
Again, let’s not completely blame Murphy for the outrageous expenses, but we also don’t hear him complaining of the overindulgence in his own office.
Just a few blocks away from the Statehouse, panhandlers beg for money along some of the main routes in and out of the capital district in Trenton showing the contrast between the least fortunate in New Jersey and the most fortunate who work within Murphy’s administration.