The Hoboken City Council was still not ready to vote on the second and final reading of a $151.2 million budget with a 6.9 percent tax hike, but they did hear a $2.94 million budget presentation from the Hoboken Business Alliance at last night’s meeting.
By Daniel Ulloa/Hudson County View
Hoboken Council President Jim Doyle suggested a special Zoom budget meeting next week to finally get a final vote on their annually spending plan, which was approved on first reading unanimously (8-0) last month, as HCV first reported.
“I’m intrigued by whether we have a reason to meet. It would be nice to think there would be something to vote on,” he said.
3rd Ward Councilman Mike Russo said he wanted a subcommittee meeting to be held tomorrow before making any further decisions.
“I’ll have a little bit more clarity as to where we are. I don’t know if it makes sense to discuss when we should have that meeting. We do plan on having discussions about potential amendments,” he noted.
“We as a subcommittee should have that conversation before we move it to just vote for the budget.”
The Council debated when to hold the meeting, with 2nd Ward Councilwoman Tiffanie Fisher noting that they have to vote before the end of June, citing state statute.
“If we don’t have a budget to vote on, noticing it and calling a meeting doesn’t seem to work,” Doyle noted, indicating that they may have to vote on first reading again, depending on any potential amendments.
Councilwoman-at-Large Emily Jabbour noted the subcommittee meeting could resolve that.
“So it would be multiple special meetings,” Doyle stated.
1st Ward Councilman Paul Presinzano said he would prefer to have just one meeting, pointing out that sending out public notices for meetings aren’t free.
Doyle said Business Administrator Caleb Stratton sent the council a memo on budget amendments, to which Presinzano said he has been speaking to Stratton. However, he felt there has been miscommunication.
“I was told to give the summaries, so that’s what I presented … Evidently, they want line items. Now that’s the reverse of what (former) Director Freeman requested,” he stated.
“There has been a lot of transparency, which I do want to recognize … A lot of data was put together for the Council. This has actually been a very positive experience. I’m pleased so far.”
Ultimately, they are aiming for a final budget meeting to take place on June 24th.
The City Council then reviewed the Hoboken Business Alliance (HBA) budget, with Board of Trustees President James Runkle giving a presentation.
Runkle said they had 21 million visitors come to town last year, explaining that their budget is going up due to the cost of living expenses – with healthcare cost increases being at the top of the list. He also said they do a lot to promote local businesses.
“All the public-facing things we’re talking about is either staying stagnant or going down?But the administration of everything is going up,” Russo questioned.
“If we’re doing less for the community, why are we increasing our costs for all these other things?”
Runkle noted that healthcare costs and other similar administrative costs, which totals $231,639, were the issues.
Russo did not appreciate that response and argued that his constituents had not benefitted much from the HBA’s efforts.
“Year over year, I get the same generic answer. Everything rises, tide rises all ships,Do you have numbers specific to the increase of business in the city of Hoboken?” he pressed on, to which Runkle said he did not have such data handy.
Presinzano took umbrage with a slide that said the HBA made great progress on cleaning streets and dog way stations.
“The tree pots looks like garbage. We have everybody in town complaining about dog waste all over the place. I know the stations are empty,” he exclaimed.
“We have an outcry from the community … Any time I look near a dog station, the things are empty … The problem has gotten worse. World Cup … What are we doing? Jersey City already has their thing set up and ready to rock, and we’re having conversations.”
Presinzano also asserted that many local businesses are unaware of what the HBA is doing and said there could be some redundancies with city services as well.
5th Ward Councilman Phil Cohen, who has served on the HBA board, said they work hard not to have redundancies within the city.
4th Ward Councilman Ruben Ramos suggested preparing a guide to help new businesses open in town.
“We could do a much better job on that this year, A lot of businesses close up early,” Ramos added.
He said residents are fined for nearby business garbage and thought they could give them different colored bags, and also said the HBA should be hosting an annual signature event to attract visitors, echoing Presinzano’s earlier point about capitalizing on the World Cup.
“I think we are way behind as far as preparation,” Ramos said, to which Fisher said there should be a World Cup committee for such a task.
During the public comment, Rose Marie Markle criticized the HBA for taxing her as a landlord, claiming she receives no benefits from them.
“I feel like I’m supporting two City Halls! … I’m sure I’m standing here just blowing air into their win because you’re all going to say no,” Markle declared, also declaring that their operation was bad for affordable housing efforts.
The council voted 6-2 in favor of the budget, with Russo and Presinzano voting no.
