The Hoboken City Council approved the second reading of an ordinance to allocate the payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) revenues from the Western Edge project to the city’s four public schools at yesterday’s meeting.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
“Council president, council, can members of the public understand the reimbursement to the schools? When it says here ‘the interest by two percent on January 1st,’ is that the January 1st, 2026 that’s going into the school fund now or is [the] January 1st for 2027?” asked Manny Rivera Soler.
“And once again, I will leave most of the questions for the school board, but is that amount that is being presented here, is that the amount, again … for this January or next January.”
Council President Ruben Ramos said that while the building isn’t built yet, it will allocate $250,000 a year, with a two percent increase each year. The PILOT agreement is currently for 30 years.
According to the ordinance, that will go into the city’s payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) Education Trust Accounts for the board of education (BOE) and three charter schools.
The measure was approved 8-0(1) without any further discussion, with 2nd Ward Councilwoman Tiffanie Fisher abstaining by voting “present.”
The development, which includes a 298-unit mixed-use inclusionary residential development, on-site parking, and stormwater infrastructure, has been in litigation since October 2021 when Pegasus Partners sued the city.
Partial settlements were approved by the council in September 2024, with the related redevelopment plan amended the following month due to new litigation where Union City and related entities suing Hoboken, all as HCV first reported.
Additionally, the Hoboken Planning Board and city council both voted to “re-endorse” the Western Edge plan back in April.
Fisher told HCV this afternoon that she “has declined to vote on any item relating to the Western Edge due to the questionable circumstances concerning the settlement.”
How many times is Councilwoman Fisher going to vote “PRESENT”? She certainly has the guts to write her opinion in a newsletter/on X but refuses to put an actual opinion on her voting record. Another two years of her intellectual dishonesty… can we finally vote her out? Hoboken deserves better.
Considering her track record against poor and middle class is anyone surprised?
Present means you have no guts.
Present assumes voters are stupid
Present means your representative in Ward 2 was NOT PRESENT FOR YOU!
how many times is the city council going to give away money from the city’s budget to the schools. this isn’t going to do anything but raise people’s taxes
There She and her anti public school supporters go again…
So funding schools has historically been paid how?
Tsk, tsk…Tiff tiff
PILOTS are payments In Lieu Of Taxes. Paid by Owners and renters in PILOT’d buildings.
Prior to this, Schools got Nothing. THIS ALLOWS PILOTS to help fund schools
This is forcing exempt buildings to now pay towards ALL schools, LOWERING fulling TAXED properties obligations and spreading the burden equitably.
Fisher, want to gut our public schools since they dont use them
Some in Hoboken remember that when money is concerned the Hoboken School Board can not be trusted.
How much will school taxes go up this year?
The BOE won’t tell.
There is ZERO CHANCE school taxes will be lowered for anyone..