Immigrant advocates have renewed their calls for the Hudson County budget to include $2 million for families impacted by U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) during last week’s board of commissioners meeting.
By Dan Israel/Hudson County View
West New York resident Mark Bloomberg reiterated the immigrant advocates’ recent ask for $2 million in the over $769 million county budget this year, with half intended for rental assistance and the other half for legal assistance for those impacted by ICE.
He began by asking what would be happening at each of the upcoming budget hearings. Board Clerk Carol Jean Doyle said that she would get him the schedule after the meeting, though Board Chair Anthony Romano (D-5) confirmed residents could only observe.
“Mr. Administrator, since you and I and Commissioner Cedeno and the county exec had conversations, I would expect that within the discussion next week of different departments there will be discussion by us as to where,” began Commissioner Bill O’Dea (D-2).
” … We’ll let you figure it first … before we do it on our own, where you have identified some of the dollars that some of us may be looking to transfer or move within the budget to address issues of temporary rental assistance, additional legal services, as well as some support for some of the on-the-ground entities that are there.”
County Administrator Abe Antun said he was in discussion with Hudson County Executive Craig Guy’s Office on this matter and other budget-related requests.
Commissioner Al Cifelli (D-9) explained that Bloomberg is not going to see any items on the agenda during budget hearings because they go line-by-line.
“My understanding is, that based on discussions and, as Commissioner O’Dea just said, suggestions that the administration will have as far as potential items that can be freed up that are already line items, we’ll try to cobble together enough money to put together that $2 million,” Cifelli said.
“But I don’t want you to be misled … It’s going to be a composition of a correlation of all those proposed savings from those different departments that will give us a fund to fund the $2 million. So you’re not going to see on thing on that agenda.”
Romano said they are not cutting anything supporting veterans or the homeless.
However, Antun said it’s not up to him to make those promises and he’s not announced anything yet.
“Let’s not promise the public things that we don’t know yet. “I don’t think laying out a number is being fair for this,” Romano added.
According to O’Dea, there will be tough decisions made in regards to funds in the budget, but he feels the $2 million can easily be funded by not filling vacancies.
“At the end of the day, there will be some things of value. Department directors will come here and they have vacant positions,” he noted.
“And I’m going to ask every one of them how much if we fill none of those vacant positions for this year is there, and I’m going to keep a calculation of that. And I bet you, I get to $2 million. Simple as that.”
Officials confirmed to Bloomberg that the public can attend, but not comment, at the hearings until the regular commissioners meeting on June 9th, where there will be a public hearing prior to the board’s final adoption of the budget.
“There’s three things we can do on the 9th: We can adopt a budget, we can amend a budget with an amendment that does not require another public hearing. We can take no action on it and just wait because we may be wanting for stuff from the state,” explained O’Dea.
“Or we propose an amendment to the budget and that amendment to the budget will require a public hearing, just on the amendment that impacts what percentage or amount you can change certain line items to.”
Jersey City resident Courtney Walker thanked to board for listening to her and others budget concerns and requests at the last meeting.
“I appreciate how now is a tough time for governments everywhere in terms of funding and programmatic costs,” Walker said.
“But I truly believe these additional dollars asked for are an investment into our communities and can ease some of the pressure that we’re feeling.”
Walker applauded O’Dea and Cedeno for consistently showing up to committee meetings and engaging with the community, calling them invaluable support.
She also reexplained how activists arrived at the multi-million-dollar figure by assessing gaps in existing programs based on the need.
“As a reminder, the ask the advocates had is for $2 million in the county budget to strengthen legal defense and emergency assistance programs for Hudson County families,” Walker said.
“The existing programs that we were looking at specifically include the Detention Deportation Defense Initiative or DDDI, kids in need of defense or KIND, and emergency rental assistance funding. It was based on identified gaps in state legal defense funding as well as anticipated increases in demand for rental assistance as more families require support.”
Walker said that advocates were requesting a total of $20 million for DDDI cases, which Gov. Mikie Sherrill (D) has since obliged.
