Nearly 1.7 million New Jersey residents should start checking their mailboxes and bank accounts by the end of May for what Gov. Phil Murphy calls “historic property tax relief.”

“Property taxes, for most New Jerseyans because of this program, will go down dramatically,” Murphy said.

The funds come in the form of the $2 billion ANCHOR property tax relief program going out to homeowners and renters.

“We're finally doing something about property taxes to make this great state more affordable for our hard-working families,” Murphy said Wednesday. “By any measure this is real relief.”

The governor says that the 1.7 million who signed up for the ANCHOR relief represent 4.4-5 million people who live under those roofs.

“When you think about it, one half of the population being able to be affected by this, one way or another - that makes it an extraordinary program,” says state Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin.

Some Republican lawmakers criticized the program.

“Next governor comes in, we could be out of this gimmick and they won't even remember what ANCHOR is. I mean, that was a weird name anyway,” says state Assembly Member Hal Wirths.

Some Republican lawmakers say ANCHOR is an election year stunt to help Democratic lawmakers months before the full state Senate and Assembly are up for reelection in November.

“The Democrats decided to go with gimmicks and pass on real reform,” Wirths says.

Democrats defended the governor’s program.

“Other people will jump up and down and cry and say we're not doing enough, for the residents of New Jersey as far as tax relief is concerned, but no one has ever proposed billions of dollars in direct tax relief,” says state Sen. Joe Lagana.

The governor proposed $2 billion for another year of ANCHOR during his budget address on Tuesday.