The Jersey City Independent "

Wednesday’s city council meeting, the last of the summer, was a tame affair compared to the sturm und drang of the July 29 meeting. Clocking in at a mere 90 minutes, the meeting addressed six first-read ordinances, four second reads, and 52 resolutions.

Council president Mariano Vega* was absent from the meeting. Reached by phone afterwards, he told JCI that he had a meeting with his attorney on Wednesday morning but planned to attend all meetings going forward. Recently appointed council president pro tem Peter Brennan, who is to chair the meetings while legal proceedings against Vega* are pending, was recovering from surgery today and unable to attend. Ward D councilman Bill Gaughan was appointed acting council president for the purposes of Wednesday’s meeting.

Pay-to-Play Reform

The only issue on Wednesday’s agenda to draw significant comment from the council was a first-read ordinance introduced by Ward E councilman Steven Fulop seeking to strengthen the city’s pay-to-play ban. This ordinance would expand the city’s current pay-to-play law to include redevelopers, barring them from making campaign donations to municipal officials while negotiating to be named the designated builder for a redevelopment or rehabilitation project in the city.

The ordinance targets redevelopers specifically because their actions can be regulated by contractual obligation; a pay-to-play ban applying to all developers or builders in the city would include even property owners seeking to make simple improvements to their homes. Because much of the land in Jersey City is defined as in need of redevelopment or rehabilitation, the ordinance would cover the activities of most of the city’s developers. Furthermore, developers working on projects in areas not defined as in need of redevelopment or rehabilitation are required to go through conventional zoning channels, and are not eligible for municipal tax abatements, thus making their projects less vulnerable to pay-to-play corruption.

The prohibition laid out in the ordinance is wide-ranging, including contributions, pledged contributions and in-kind donations to campaigns, the county party and certain political action committees (PACs) within 12 months prior to contract negotiations. It includes contributions made by developers themselves, as well as any consultants or lobbyists they employ, as well as their spouses and any adult children living with them.

The ordinance is similar to one that was defeated by the council in 2007. Good-government activist Dan Levin, who was involved in developing both ordinances, remarked before today’s council meeting that he sees the current ordinance as an improvement over the last one, because it includes a provision for “the right of citizen action.” If this provision is included in the final ordinance, any citizen of Jersey City or an entity representing a group of citizens will have the right to bring suit against those they believe are violating the law.

The ordinance was introduced by a unanimous vote, but it is by no means certain that it will pass on second read next month. Gaughan has expressed doubts about the proposal, saying at Monday’s council caucus that he is concerned about its implications for the ability of candidates of lesser means to raise campaign funds. On Wednesday, Ward A councilman Michael Sottolano said he was worried about the possibility of “going in the direction of public financing” of election campaigns.

Mayor Healy announced earlier this week that the city will retain a law firm to conduct an independent audit of the city’s development process. The council adopted a resolution to that effect on Wednesday, as well as a resolution authorizing a cooperation agreement with the Jersey City Redevelopment Agency to “review and improve the development process.”

As Corporation Counsel Bill Matsikoudis explained during the meeting, the Law Department will meet weekly with councilmen Fulop and Gaughan and the mayor’s office, as well as representatives from advocacy groups such as Civic JC and Citizens’ Campaign to revise the ordinance with the goal of creating a measure that will pass the council. Speaking to JCI after the first such meeting on Wednesday afternoon, Citizens’ Campaign communications director Heather Taylor said that she was “encouraged” by the unanimous vote on the ordinance and was “look[ing] forward to working with the … council” on this “long-overdue measure.”

Responding to the concern that some candidates would be shut out of future elections because of a lack of access to redeveloper funds, she pointed out that in other cities that have introduced strict pay-to-play measures, such as Hoboken and Philadelphia, “we still see competitive races.”

Other First Reads

In addition to the pay-to-play ordinance, five other first-read ordinances were introduced on Wednesday morning. All passed 7-0 with minimal comment from the council members. The first removes two lots from the Tidewater Basin Redevelopment Plan; the second extends the period of an artist’s certification to live in designated artist housing from five to ten years; the third cancels a cost-of-living salary increase for certain high-level city employees for fiscal year 2010; the fourth authorizes the installation of traffic lights at numerous intersections along Greene Street and one at the intersection of Washington Street and Columbus Drive; and the last provides for an $8.7 million bond issuance towards the acquisition of a portion of the PJP landfill site that is being redeveloped by the city.

Ward F councilwoman Viola Richardson and council gadfly Yvonne Balcer both expressed concerns about the large bond issuance, prompting city business administrator Brian O’Reilly to respond. He noted that the city hopes to issue less bonds than are authorized by the ordinance, given that it will receive a $4 million grant from the Port Authority and expects to receive additional grant funds for the project over the next three years.

Odds and Ends

* All of the second-read ordinances passed unanimously with minimal comment from the council members. You can read more about these ordinances here.

* With the exception of one, all 52 resolutions on the agenda passed unanimously with no comment. Without stating a reason, Richardson abstained from voting on a resolution to authorize a contract with Holt Morgan Russell Architects for work on the Van Wagenen Apple Tree House.

* A public hearing was held on the budget for the Historic Downtown Special Improvement District (SID). Yvonne Balcer asked the council to consider the “crunch on local parking” in the dense Downtown area and suggested that there be a requirement for new businesses there to provide for off-street parking for their customers. The assessment roll and the budget were later adopted by resolution without comment from the council members.

* The Morris Canal Redevelopment Area Community Development Corporation (CDC) was certified by the council as a community housing development organization, making it eligible for federal HOME grants distributed by the city.

* The city will receive a grant for nearly $500,000 from the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority to improve safety conditions along Martin Luther King Drive.

* The following street closures were approved: Exchange Place for the Greek Festival and for a memorial service commemorating the Katyn Massacre; part of Hancock Avenue for a festival at St. Paul of the Cross church; Town Square Place for the Newport Neighborhood Assn. festival.

* A month-to-month extension of up to four months, in the amount of $225,000, was authorized on the contract with Bowles Corporate Services for security guard services.

* A nearly $113,000 contract with Starlite Electric for sports lighting and scoreboard maintenance at ball fields throughout the city was increased by $90,000 due to additional unforeseen work required of the company.

* The council authorized the city to begin a competitive bidding process for vendors to provide credit card processing services for the municipal tax collector.

* The city was authorized to execute a mortgage subordination agreement for Orlando Bru, the owner of 1995 Kennedy Boulevard.

* Over $340,000 in emergency appropriations were approved for the fiscal year 2010 municipal budget to increase various line items.

* Nearly $470,000 was transferred out of various budget line items, mostly into health benefits.

* The council settled tax appeals to the tune of nearly $600,000 and cancelled real estate taxes worth about $6,000.

What else are we buying?
The council approved the following purchases on Wednesday:

* Two contracts, each in the amount of nearly $300,000 (to be increased to nearly $800,000 upon the receipt of additional state funds), to Alliance Construction Group and Santomauro General Contracting for the acquisition and rehabilitation of foreclosed or abandoned properties as part of the city’s Neighborhood Stabilization Program.

* Just over $769,000 to Crimson Fire for a rear mount aerial truck.

* Four contracts totaling more than $710,000 to Gold Type Business Machines for maintenance of police equipment and software licensing. $161,000 of that will come from the 2010 temporary budget, with the balance to be paid when the budget for the current fiscal year is finally approved.

* $388,500 to Network Management Solutions for computer infrastructure for the police and fire departments. $100,000 of that will come from the 2010 temporary budget.

* Two contracts totaling $335,000 to Verizon to complete payment on a three-year contract to provide voice and data communication services. $94,000 of that will come from the 2010 temporary budget.

* Over $237,000 to Metropolitan Foods DBA/Driscoll Foods for the provision of meals for the Department of Health and Human Services’ Summer Food Service Program.

* About $128,000 to Fords National Automart for six vans for the Department of Public Works (DPW).

* Up to $75,000 to Duncan Hardware for small tools and hardware supplies for the DPW. $5,000 of that will come from the 2010 temporary budget.

* Up to $49,230 to Holt Morgan Russell Architects for consulting on the Van Wagenen Apple Tree House restoration.

* Up to $35,000 to Cooney Bovasso Realty Advisors for appraisal services in connection with property tax appeal services. $5,000 of that will come from the 2010 temporary budget.

* $31,600 to Lawman Supply for police ammunition.

* Up to $30,000 to General Plumbing Supply for plumbing supplies for the DPW. $3,000 of that will come from the 2010 temporary budget.

* $28,000 to Novacoast for support and maintenance of some of the police department’s software systems. $15,000 of that will come from the 2010 temporary budget.

* Up to $25,000 to Sherwin Williams for paint for the DPW. $5,000 of that will come from the 2010 temporary budget.

* A bit over $10,000 to the Jersey City Redevelopment Agency for engineering services performed by Hatch Mott McDonald in connection with street improvements in the Hudson Exchange Redevelopment Area.

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