Assemblyman Avi Schnall pressed Department of Community Affairs Commissioner Jacquelyn Suarez during a recent budget committee hearing over the proposed elimination of $8 million in municipal aid for Lakewood, money that accounts for 62 percent of the township’s state funding.

Schnall used the hearing to lay out Lakewood’s standing among New Jersey’s 550 municipalities, noting that despite being the state’s fourth largest and fastest growing township, with a median age in the teens and one in four families living below the federal poverty line, Lakewood ranks 548th in per-capita municipal aid.

By comparison, Paterson receives roughly $63 million in municipal aid, Elizabeth $30 million, and towns such as Edison, Woodbridge, and Hamilton each receive between $17 million and $23 million. Lakewood receives $5 million.

For the past two budget cycles under former Governor Phil Murphy, Lakewood had received additional aid of $7 million and $8 million respectively, money baked directly into the governor’s budget. The current proposed budget eliminates the full $8 million.

Schnall pushed back on any suggestion that Lakewood has room to absorb the loss. Most New Jersey towns of comparable size employ between 700 and 1,300 full-time municipal workers. Trenton has 1,153. Elizabeth has 1,300. Edison has 700. Lakewood operates with 500. The disparity extends to public safety: Paterson fields 422 police officers, Elizabeth 357, Hamilton 227, and Trenton 236. Lakewood has 170.

Schnall told the committee he is not seeking preferential treatment for Lakewood, only an end to what he described as dramatic underfunding relative to every comparable municipality in the state.

The full exchange between Assemblyman Schnall and Commissioner Suarez can be viewed below.