Gov. Chris Christie's administration has drained the entire $3 million budget of a conservation trust for the Meadowlands, officials say.
The Meadowlands Conservation Trust says it was shocked to learn its budget was diverted to the state general fund in August.
The Record reports the Legislature formed the trust in 1999 to preserve land in the Meadowlands.
State Treasury spokesman Willem Rijksen says the department told the Legislature in March the $3 million appropriation had been set up to be automatically terminated. He says the money was sent to the general fund after the Legislature approved the state budget.
Trust Chairman Bill Sheenan calls the diversion "theft."
The trust still has $2 million in an operating account, according to Sheenan, The Record reported.
