Hudson County Commissioner Bill O’Dea (D-2) declared that some of Jersey City’s prior financial decisions “were borderline on criminal” at an otherwise fairly standard budget Town Hall in Ward C last night, clarifying who his remarks were directed at this evening.
By Daniel Ulloa/Hudson County View
“We all knew there was a budget problem. But nobody knew it was this bad. Some of the actions taken by the former administration were, quite frankly, borderline on criminal,” O’Dea said about a half hour into the roughly 90-minute meeting.
“Bonding for operating expenses with capital money? Some would argue that borderlines on being criminal. But now we have a mayor and a City Council that are here to tackle it. It’s not gonna be easy, not everyone’s always gonna be happy, but we have to work together.”
O’Dea was one of roughly a dozen elected officials who stood with Solomon at a February 4th press conference where he announced an over quarter billion dollar budget deficit, laying the blame solely at the feet of his predecessor, Steven Fulop.
Also a former Ward B councilman, O’Dea was the third place finisher in the November 4th election to succeed Fulop, with Solomon and former Gov. Jim McGreevey making the runoff.
Fulop did not endorse anyone in the race, while O’Dea backed Solomon in the December 2nd runoff that he won handily. O’Dea was also in the unique position of being the only person who served in a pivotal role on the transition teams of both Fulop and Solomon.
O’Dea said Tuesday evening that he was not talking about Fulop, but rather “financial professionals with licenses that should guide them not to do certain activities, such as bonding for operating expenses and failing to pay statutorily mandated costs.”
He also emphasized that he did not think that any of those activities would result in a criminal investigation, “though individuals that held or hold licenses like a CFO, could have that license called in question based on some of those practices.”
“We can’t get through this without state aid. It’s still going to mean service cuts and changes … We know that,” Solomon said at the Hudson County Community College (HCCC) STEM building at 263 Academy Ave. last night.
He reiterated what he noted at last week’s Ward B meeting, that a tax hike is coming regardless of what the state does.
“Jersey City has been an economic engine for the state. And the state has benefited significantly more from our economic growth than we have here in Jersey City,” Solomon explained.
Ward C Councilman Tom Zuppa praised Solomon’s efforts thus far on transparency, difficult winter weather, and the budget deficit.
“Obviously, you’re seeing a lot of development in Journal Square proper, and there’s more of that. Our priority is to make sure it’s affordable for residents to move into,” he said.
Zuppa added that he is continuing to fight to open Courthouse Park, build more affordable housing, fix streets, and enhance traffic enforcement.
“We’re going to have transparency so you know what’s going on. We want to make sure we have a budget that serves the people of Jersey City,” added Councilman at-Large Rolando Lavarro.
He further stated that the KRE Group’s tower, which broke ground in June 2022, opened without city officials since they did not like how the project turned out.
Additionally, Business Administrator Peter Horton explained that Jersey City only gets 36 percent of property tax revenue, while the board of education (BOE) gets 43 percent and Hudson County gets 17 percent.
During a question and answer session with the audience, an inquiry was posed about what is being done to develop faster on underutilized land.
“If somebody has a project that’s as of right … we want to make sure that speeds through,” Solomon said.
“So, we are working on permitting for that … We’re working broadly on reforming our inspections so you get the CO (certificate Of occupancy) quicker. Any time there’s a big project, we’re gonna make sure the community is aware … it’s a new proposal”
He also said they city is looking to increase vacant lot fees before another audience member complained about taxes going up.
“The last thing we want to do is raise property taxes. So we’re going to do everything we can before that. We’re looking to see where we can cut salaries … and combine positions, find efficiencies to save resources. We’re also looking at new revenue sources,” the mayor explained.
Solomon also noted that they are going to enforce violations against bad landlords and collect the fines in an expeditious fashion, as well as audit tax breaks for developers.
Danielle D’Adamo wanted cannabis tax revenue to be earmarked for city funds, to which Solomon said he welcomed new ideas.
“We collect a two percent tax on cannabis … It’s like in the $2-4 million range. So helpful, but not massive …. The state has actually collected much more in cannabis revenue, and we’re seeing if we can get more of that cannabis tax revenue to us,” he noted.
At the tail end of the meeting, someone asked what is being done to get rid of the waste and inefficiencies at City Hall.
“We are not moving forward with projects we simply cannot afford. So, the Pompidou wasn’t working for us. There was no way for us to fund that. But the administration was about to put another $40 million in the budget for that. We stopped that. It can go to different things,” Solomon responded.
Editor’s note: This story was updated with an additional comments from Hudson County Commissioner Bill O’Dea on Tuesday evening.
These guys cover for one another. You want us to go by “ if you see something , say something” . Yet, you guys had the obligation of oversight and did not exercise that obligation?! You were all gaining from the malfeasance!
Ask the ag, or fbi, to open an investigation, if you’re serious. You don’t care because it’s the public’s tax dollars.
I’m so glad I moved out of Jersey City 51 + years ago and into a well run Republican town. I can’t imagine how much money the Dem Party scum would have stolen, wasted or mismanaged over those years. These problems the clowns above are talking about were normal in the 50’s and 60’s. So the same party that runs Jersey City ( for many decades ) has the same problems and the low IQ people keep electing them. Please stay in Jersey City, don’t move to Morris County, we don’t need Dems here.
Jersey City is also glad you moved. We don’t want pedophile protectors here.