Christie: NJ won’t bail out Atlantic City again

As Atlantic City continues to endure major fiscal problems, Gov. Chris Christie said that if the struggling resort city's government continues to resist the state's efforts to step in, AC is going to run out of money.

"Atlantic City government is a mess. Atlantic City itself is not a mess, you're seeing lots of good things happening in Atlantic City, but the good things are not gonna continue to happen if the government is a mess," Christie told host Eric Scott during Monday night's Ask The Governor program on NJ 101.5.

In January, NJ Senate President Steve Sweeney said he was introducing legislation that would allow the state to take over operations of the city’s finances. The measure would allow state officials to sell off city assets, including the former Bader Field airport site, in an effort to raise badly needed cash.

City officials have resisted the concept, however. Atlantic County Freeholder Ernest Coursey told the Associated Press last month that the city should not adopt “a plantation mentality, and “it will be a cold day in hell before we stand idly by” for a hostile takeover.

Christie said Monday that if government officials in AC are going to continue to continued to "act in this manner" the city won't be able to pay its bills.

"Atlantic City is either gonna have the money to pay their bills or they're not. And if they want to act in this manner, then I suspect there won't be a solution and then their bills are gonna come due and they're not gonna have the money to pay them," Christie said. "These guys are gonna run out of money in a month."

The governor said he and Sweeney "are on the same page," but the legislation is still in the hands of the NJ Assembly.

"I've said what I'm willing to do. It's either gonna happen or it's not," Christie said. "The state of New Jersey is not bailing them out again. It's not gonna happen. Not on my watch."

The governor said the people who will really suffer if the problems persist are the residents of the resort town.

"The people who are being taken advantage of down there are the taxpayers of Atlantic City," he said. "I have worked incredibly hard over the last six years to try to do everything I can to help Atlantic City."

Ultimately, if the legislation passes, the New Jersey government will be responsible for Atlantic City's financial future.

"If they sign the legislation the Senate president put forward, the burden is on the executive branch then to run Atlantic City....I take the responsibility then for running Atlantic City," Christie said on Ask The Governor. "I don't need anything else but I'll do it for the people of Atlantic City, but I'm not gonna do it with one hand tied behind my back."

Toniann Antonelli is the digital managing editor for news at NJ 101.5. Reach her at toniann.antonelli@townsquaremedia.com, or on Twitter @ToniRadio1015.