In an editorial, Hoboken mayoral candidate Dini Ajmani explains why she believes fiscal mismanagement at all leaves have led to budgetary crisis in the Mile Square City.
At the council meeting on May 7, Hoboken’s own Business Administrator, Jason Freeman, exposed eight years of fiscal irresponsibility and dishonest budget practices.
For years, the Mayor has used—and the City Council has approved—gimmicks to hide undisclosed structural deficits in the ballooning budget. Apparently, they have now run out of creative ways to conceal the mismanagement.
Mr. Freeman believes the only remaining option is significantly higher taxes than what we pay today. Not one current City Council member stood up to say, “This is unacceptable.”
Are we not taxed enough?
Last year, our property taxes went up 8.5%. They are heading toward a similar increase this year. When is it enough?
How did we get here? Eight years of unchecked spending on an expanding government, generous labor contracts, borrowing for pet projects, and tax breaks for developers—the list is long.
Just the cost of pensions, healthcare, and borrowing has grown by 133% since 2017. This Council must own its role in creating this crisis.
It approved labor contracts with high salaries and pensions. It approved contracts with generous health benefits. It approved incessant borrowing. This City Council’s fiscal irresponsibility and dishonest management of our budget created this crisis.
Mr. Freeman suggests City should be collecting at least $82 million. Currently, our city is collecting $66 million. This would be a 25 percent increase in taxes. TWENTY FIVE PERCENT.
Mayor Bhalla’s office proposes to increase Hobokenites taxes by 6.9% and then use one shot and budget gimmicks to try to balance the budget. Here’s the reality: without drastic reduction in spending, we are about to be crushed under the tax burden.
Given the gravity of the financial situation laid out by Mr. Freeman, I hoped to hear real solutions from the City Council on how to fix this impending crisis.
What became clear during the discussion is that the Council does not understand the fiscal implications of its past votes.
The Mayor and his Council have pushed us over a fiscal cliff—and what is so nefarious is that it was hidden from the public. All the while, many of them were pursuing higher office, either in the city or across New Jersey.
This City Council has been complicit every step of the way.
Hoboken has lived through this before. Tax levy went up 73% in 2008. Many long-term residents had to leave the city they loved. Young families were priced out. The same thing is about to happen again—unless we stop letting the same people control our budget.
Hobokenites deserve a year-by-year accounting of the structural deficit. After all, this is your money, Hoboken. This is your city.