Jersey City Mayor James Solomon is proposing allocating 10 percent of the city’s payment in lieu of taxes revenues to the local board of education for the first time via a new municipal ordinance.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
“When used responsibly, PILOTs can deliver affordable housing and benefits for the entire Jersey City community, including our schools,” he said in a statement.
“But our city has seen what happens when PILOTs are corrupted, tax breaks were given out in return for luxury-only developments and promised benefits to the community that never broke ground. We are going to fundamentally rewrite how PILOTs are used as we aggressively pursue our agenda of ‘Building for Working Families.’”
Solomon often voted against tax breaks for luxury developments during his tenure as the Ward E councilman, signing an executive order in January to audit them all, but is now making it clear he is open to utilizing them under certain circumstances.
Yesterday, the mayor backed a concept for a 508-unit project, known as Canal Crossing in Bergen-Lafayette, that comes with 20 percent affordable housing – units with $1,000 rents – and a nearby park, all built with union labor.
The Jersey City Council will vote on the first reading of an ordinance presenting the financial agreement for the potential new construction at Wednesday’s meeting.
Continuing with his Building for Working Families agenda, today Solomon is pushing another ordinance that would establish a new Education Infrastructure Capital Fund for Jersey City BOE capital projects.
This would be funded by 10 percent of the annual service charge payments from all residential PILOTs approved in the last five years that have not started payment and all that follow.
Eligible uses are school-related capital projects with a useful life of five years or more, as defined under New Jersey School Bond Law.
The trust fund would be jointly governed by a committee composed of the mayor’s designee and a senior municipal official appointed by the mayor, a BOE representative and the superintendent or designee, a resident appoint by the mayor, and a non-voting City Council liaison.
Recommendations from the committee will then go back to the City Council for approval.
The Canal Crossing PILOT alone contribute over $7 million to the Education Infrastructure Capital Fund over the life of the agreement. Under current law, schools would receive zero dollars from that same agreement, the mayor’s office said today.
“PILOT agreements are Jersey City’s most powerful tool for making affordable housing financially feasible and for generating revenue the city needs to address its fiscal challenges,” wrote Jersey City spokesman Nathaniel Styer.
” … Used honestly, PILOTs generate revenue for city services, catalyze affordable housing construction, and fund community investments. Under the Solomon Administration, every PILOT application will be subject to a rigorous, independent fiscal analysis with no predetermined outcomes.”
The Solomon administration will seek City Council approval for both the school funding ordinance at the same time as the Canal Crossing PILOT project, June 10th, which, if approved, will be up for second reading on June 24th.
