The Jersey City Council held a hearing on their proposed municipal budget of $724,219,250.40 with a 1.9 percent tax hike at last night’s meeting.
By Daniel Ulloa/Hudson County View
City Clerk Sean Gallagher explained the budget was introduced on May 8th and this was a public hearing where people could ask questions.
Charlene Burke said she couldn’t find the budget document online before posing specific inquiries.
“How much will the Jersey City Municipal Utility Authority (JCMUA) be contributing to the city this year?” she asked.
Burke was also curious about how much revenue the taxes for open space, the arts, and the library would be bringing in.
“Does Jersey City continue to contract with a grant writing consultant? How much is that contract for? Has any department exceeded 50 percent of their budget line? We had some budget departments that were exceeding their budgets by far and it created a fiscal crisis.”
She also recalled Ward F Councilman Frank “Educational” Gilmore stating that the Jersey City MUA was giving the city $50 million as part of a new 40-year franchise fee deal at last month’s meeting where seven percent water and sewer rates were approved.
“Are you holding all these departments to the line. The police and fire couldn’t manage their overtime last year,” Burke continued.
“The MUA franchise agreement is for $53 million. There are other minor reimbursements,” Deputy Director of Finance Kyle Greaves noted.
He also explained that the library revenue and appropriation is $16.9 million, while the municipal open space trust fund and cultural and arts trust fund are part of the annual budget. They raised $1.1 million each, according to Greaves.
He didn’t have specific numbers on the open space and arts trust funds but said it didn’t impact the municipal budget. He further stated that the council approved a contract for a grant consultant at $150,000 a year at their prior meeting.
“Are all the departments holding their line? Are they all at 50 percent or below?” Burke asked.
“We monitor all expenditures. The budget is for the year. Every department is in line with their spending plan,” Greaves replied as Burke’s time expired.
She said she had more questions, but Gallagher said everyone had to play by the same rules.
“What’s allotted in the budget for mental health? Crisis intervention?” Denise Davis asked.
“I can get you those details. They are applying for grants as it relates to mental health,” Finance Director Carmen Gandulla said about the Health and Human Services Department.
“Does that include the Seabrooks-Washington grant?” Davis asked, referring to the funding linked to the Community Crisis Advisory Council approved by the New Jersey Senate earlier this year.
“The dollars we allocated last for the mental health we could utilize are still in the reserve,” Business Administrator John Metro said.
Hemalee Govind asked how much the city was collecting in tax abatement and/or payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) revenue.
Greaves said they will collect $90 million in abatement revenue, though nothing new has been awarded in years.
“What is the tax rate for ordinary residents in the city? Is it 2.247 [percent]?” Govind asked, to which Greaves said that it is.
“Yeah,” Greaves said.
“According to the Oakman Condominium Association, anybody there is paying tax at a rate of 0.89. Clearly, they are one of the beneficiaries of the tax abatement program. I would like to know what the city is doing for ordinary residents like myself. Are there any programs to support us with our taxes?” Govind asked.
“On the state level but not here,” Council President Joyce Watterman said.
Ward D Councilman Yousef Saleh said the state’s ANCHOR program could help, but Govind said the income limitations exclude a lot of residents.
Portside Towers activist Jessica Brann asked had the city planned to pay off their $627 million in debt.
“Debt service is made in annual appropriations year over year. There is a long amortization schedule, usually goes out beyond 10 years for pay downs,” Greaves said.
Brann asked if he knew the interest level, to which Greaves said it varies, and Brann pressed on asking what the max would be.
Metro said the interest rate on the money they secure ranges based on the market and the city’s credit.
“We’ve never received any price gouging,” he declared.
Metro said they sometimes get a better interest rate when they refinance them and pay them off over a longer period of time.
“We don’t have the money, in other words? We’re adding to the debt,” Brann said.
“It would be to the city’s benefit … if we would begin fining landlords for not enforcing rent control,” Portside Towers East Tenant Association President Kevin Weller.
Watterman asked him to stay on topic of the budget, to which Weller said his point was that the city could get millions of dollars from fining bad landlords.
The hearing ended after his remarks, with a final budget vote anticipated for a yet to be determined date in July.
