The trouble with Gov. Corzine is you never know which of his two faces is talking.

He came into office saying he would end one-time budget stunts. Page 66 of his new budget lists $301 million in diversions from dedicated funds. But if you throw in the $672 million they're grabbing from the surplus and $668 million in sales tax money they put in reserve that won't exist next year, the grand total of one-shot sources comes to more than $1.6 billion.

Corzine said we desperately needed a one-cent hike in the sales tax last year. Half was put into reserve — and then he allowed the Legislature to blow half of the other part on last-minute items added to the budget. U.S. Attorney Chris Christie is handing out subpoenas to find out who benefited. As a result, the rumor mill is abuzz that the FBI wired a legislator, and as many as 15 "public servants" may go down.

You hear a lot about monetizing state assets — that's like selling or leasing the Turnpike for quick cash. The idea's not going over well, so emphasis shifted to securitizing. That's like using Turnpike tolls as collateral to borrow a boatload of money. That's exactly what got this state into a mess, borrowing massive amounts. That's what Corzine promised to end.

The big ol' property tax rebates are an election-year gimmick to make you think long enough that they've reformed things so you'll re-elect the Legislature, or at least what's left after Christie does his thing. But wait till next year when there are no one-shot fixes. Big-time hurt.

Corzine promised an open, transparent administration in which appointees were vetted and squeaky clean and all would follow a high standard of ethics. Apparently, the rules don't apply to Corzine himself or selected appointees, mostly leftovers from the McGreevey era.

Two audits show the BPU is in sad shape. Corzine looks the other way.

Lobby this: Corzine hired a New York-based lobbyist, Eric Shuffler, for a few of his major speeches. What other U.S. governor would have someone lobbying state government on behalf of private interests serve as his speech writer? The conflict is obvious to all but Corzine.

Transparent? When questioned about the budget speech, Press Secretary Anthony Coley was more oblique than transparent. He said the governor wrote it.