Jersey City Ward E Councilman James Solomon is rolling out his plan to cut waste and stabilize property taxes, stating that he’s honing in on “financial mismanagement.”
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
“Jersey City needs change – and that includes fixing our financial management. We must end irresponsible budgeting practices that lead to long-term tax hikes and instead implement the strongest financial controls by appointing experienced leaders in our Finance Department,” Solomon said in a statement.
“By rooting out waste and establishing New Jersey’s first independent municipal Inspector General, we will hold the City accountable and ensure fair contracting practices. Furthermore, I’ll fight for a fair share of state school funding and implement reforms that ensure developers pay what they owe, allowing us to bring down debt and maximize funding for our schools.”
The downtown councilman continued that in the last five years, the average property tax bill in Jersey City has increased by over 50 percent, which is more than $10,000 per household, with a significant additional increase anticipated for this year.
Solomon reiterated that residents pay “a huge corruption tax” since developers receive long-term tax breaks in exchange for campaign contributions, similar to how unqualified contractors win bids after making donations.
When he rolled out his citywide anti-corruption plan in February, he said this culture could end through initiatives including a municipal inspector general with subpoena power, as HCV first reported.
To that end, Solomon noted that he has voted against every budget proposed by the Mayor Steven Fulop administration due to heavy borrowing and “gimmicks,” as well as exposing “boat payments” that were largely improper at the board of education, municipal utilities authority, and Hudson County Schools of Technology.
Furthermore, Solomon says that if elected mayor, he will curtail practices such as borrowing money to cover short-term spending, plugging budget holes with one-time land sales – such as selling land south of the Jersey City Medical Center for $35 million.
He also pledges to “clean house” in the city’s Department of Finance, auditing the MUA and Jersey City Redevelopment Agency, implementing performance-based contracts, reducing reliance on consultants, and creating an online city contract database.
Additionally, the mayoral hopeful vows to fight to restore Jersey City’s fair share of school aid from the state, strengthening compliance with the payroll tax, and ensuring that revenues payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) are shared with the public schools.
Finally, Solomon vows to conduct annual forensic audits of all tax abatements, bring in a team of financial experts to evaluate and restructure the city’s debt, ensure the municipal court is recovering adequate fees for safety violations, and strengthening the city’s grant writing team.
The non-partisan Jersey City mayoral race is on November 4th and the other candidates include former Gov. Jim McGreevey, ex-Board of Education President Mussab Ali, Hudson County Commissioner Bill O’Dea (D-2), Council President Joyce Watterman, and Police Officer Christina Freeman.
Does he realize he has been apart from of the administration that committed irresponsible budget practices for the past 2 terms and 8 years?
I can’t take you seriously. We deserved better, Hard pass