Instead, that power will be put in the Delaware River Port Authority, a quasi-governmental agency that oversees bridges between Philadelphia and New Jersey but whose role has been expanded to fund economic development projects on both sides of the river. The authority will also have control over Camden's tax delinquent properties. It is the third time in the past year that the state has tried to take control of Camden. An earlier bill proposed by former Gov. Christie Whitman died before it could be formally introduced. The state already has financial oversight over the city.
Supervision is the highest degree of oversight permitted by law without special legislation.
It gives the state the power to hire and fire cabinet-level employees, approve contracts and spending, limit debt and have the final say on collective bargaining agreements. Once a booming industrial center that was the birthplace of the phonograph and home to Campbell Soup, Camden has suffered in the past 40 years with a dramatic loss of jobs as crime and poverty have taken over. City officials have long objected to the state's oversight and say takeover of the city is not needed. Faison, who replaced former Mayor Milton Milan, now awaiting sentencing for corruption and accepting mob payoffs, urged legislators to include local government in the process. State Sen. Wayne Bryant, D-Camden, who opposed earlier proposals, worked with state officials to craft the bill.