The Hoboken City Council approved amendments to the now $147,468,841.87 million budget with a 4.6 percent tax increase during a special virtual meeting last night.
By Daniel Ulloa/Hudson County View
The preliminary $144,253,164.85 spending plan was voted down in April and the amended budget was not introduced until after department hearings were held.
“The administration has kind of met with Council President [Jen] Giattino and Council Vice President [Jim] Doyle to work through … compromised budget amendments,” began Business Administrator Jason Freeman.
He said they would adopt the final budget at their regularly scheduled July 10th meeting.
“We are anticipating taking in an additional $500,000 in revenue from the water utility. We received a public health grant … of just over $300,000,” Freeman noted.
He also said they received several other grants, including the funds to perform a Hudson-Bergen Light Rail station study in the northwest part of the city. They also received a $848,000 payment from the NJ Infrastructure Bank.
In addition, Freeman explained they cut the personnel budget of the mayor’s office, the city clerk’s office, the business administrator’s office, and the finance director’s office.
Additionally,, Freeman said they are allocating more to the recreation department for new workers to handle a youth program, as well as $100,000 increase for the Division of Housing for salary and wage increases.
“We got this stuff on Saturday at 12 o’clock. Some of the media didn’t have a clue there was a meeting tonight. I’d like to make a motion we table this for a week,” stated 1st Ward Councilman Paul Presinzano.
The motion to table failed 5-4, with Giattino, Doyle, 5th Ward Councilman Phil Cohen, Councilwoman-at-Large Emily Jabbour, and Councilman-at-Large Joe Quintero voting against no.
In contrast, Presinzano, 2nd Ward Councilwoman Tiffanie Fisher, 3rd Ward Councilman mike Russo, and 4th Ward Councilman Ruben Ramos voted yes.
“I would have voted yes had it been the actual vote,” Giattino said.
Hany Ahmed, a developer who has two pending lawsuits against the city, noted he attended budget workshop meetings.
“Out of those meetings … what changes, if any, were made based on their comments?” he asked.
Freeman couldn’t say where they came from, prompting Ahmed to say their budget was short-sighted.
“Even the mayor’s salary, if you’re going to get a raise, raise it now,” he argued.
“The rent control litigation, does that fall under housing division or corporation counsel?” Cheryl Fallick asked, to which Giattino eventually said it’s the salary for a new employee.
Freeman added that the budget for litigation is under special counsel and the housing division received more than was in the initial budget.
“As a property taxpayer, how much are our taxes gonna go up by?” Dini Ajmani, who was briefly a part of Mayor Ravi Bhalla’s council slate in 2021, asked.
Freeman noted library, open space, school, county, and city taxes could be lumped together.
“You’re looking at a total tax increase of between 8 and 9 percent,” he explained.
“This seems high,” Ajmani said.
“I would agree,” Giattino replied.
Jabbour replied that Hoboken had the lowest tax increase in Hudson County, which Freeman said was accurate.
“Correct,” Freeman said.
Ajmani noted the fixed costs of pension, healthcare, and debt service were serious issues causing the increases, to which Giattino again agreed.
“Our residents are tightening their belts while we spend, spend, spend,” Presinzano argued.
“I think the landlords are just going to pass it on to renters. In the private sector, people are held accountable. In the public sector, it seems accountability doesn’t exist.”
Presinzano also expressed that it was nonsensical that they want to eliminate cars in the city since they’re a source of revenue.
“Eight and a half to 9 percent tax raise is just unacceptable in my opinion,” Russo declared.
He noted every year, they have a “rainy-day” surplus that could be used.
“When’s the rainy day? To me, we’re at the rainy day,” he exclaimed.
Fisher also expressed dismay about the process and the tax increase.
“There’s no transparency with the public and no transparency with half the council, which has been super frustrating. We had the opportunity to bring this budget down,” she argued.
“We should find more cuts. We should start the budget process in September,” Giattino said, something Presinzano suggested months ago.
“Inflation is not even that high. I feel like we’re out of touch,” he declared.
“We have no control over the county or the school board,” Giattino argued.
“It’s convenient you lump us in with the school and the county. They’re ahead of us,” Doyle argued.
He called Presinzano naïve for thinking they could cut taxes.
“The cost of living, it goes up every year. Therefore, we should have a negative levy?” Doyle asked.
“We have not been deluged with a lot of specificity of how we can solve this problem.”
He also argued they have made progress in lowering the increase, which was initially 5.9 percent.
“We should all be focused on being more efficient,” Fisher asserted.
She said comparing their budget to the school board’s tax increase to soften the overall increase was a good idea.
“It’s still too much. We need to continue to cut,” Russo doubled down.
Giattino said she didn’t get much feedback on the budget initially and that she felt the amendments in front of them were the best they could do right now.
The council eventually approved the amendments 5-4, with Cohen, Doyle, Jabbour, Quintero, and Giattino voting yes, while Fisher, Presinzano, Ramos, and Russo voted no.
“No one likes tax increases. When we say yes to every park, I’m going to point to tonight,” resident Cheryl Fallick declared, though she applauded the housing division getting more funding.
However, she liked the fact that the Housing Division got an increase in funding. Fallick agreed property tax increases are often pushed onto renters.
Wonder what deal Giattino made for her vote?? Maybe Bhalla asked her to be the spoiler in a mayoral run, but she will come in last again.
Saying that Hoboken’s increases are the lowest in Hudson County is akin to saying, as a character on the TV show MASH once did, that you are “the finest hockey player in all of Ecuador…” The best way to fix this is to vote them out.
An 8 to 9% tax increase.
Making living in Hoboken even more difficult and expensive for all but the subsidized class.
Mayor Ravinder Singh is the best mayor ever. He is 110% devoted to the win-win for Hoboken and everything he says is 147% true! Like my friends Satish Poondi and Ajay Patil he has been subject to most thorough criminal investigation like rowdy skeeters would be doing for the 2017 fliers that we obviously did not do. And although Edison people think it was timepass, uncle Kenneth Ferrante did the needful and is now who is keeping his pension and also Hoboken safe while working remotely as the most high Head of Public safety. So Ravi is the best mayor and while taxes will increase again, we should be doing thanking of him. He is the most hardest working and brightest mayors is all of the New Jersey! Rest is fine.
Again Bhalla’s policy of Don’t Ask We Won’t Tell