The Jersey City Independent"

All photos: Steve Gold

Anger, disbelief and high drama were in the air at Wednesday’s City Council meeting, which lasted a bit less than four hours and provided a forum for hundreds of community members to raise a hue and cry over the proposed municipal budget that was introduced at the Jan. 13 council meeting — a budget that includes a 25 percent property tax increase. The council considered a total of three first-read ordinances, six second reads and 33 resolutions. At-Large councilman Mariano Vega* was not present; he told JCI on Tuesday that he would be “out of town on business.”

Talk of holding a protest in front of City Hall before the meeting proved to be mostly just talk. A handful of folks gathered in the mid-30s temperatures to hold signs and commiserate about the proposed tax increase, but most went indoors as soon as they arrived. Among those outside just before the meeting was Anne Barry, a Jersey City resident who said she is concerned that the administration has “no long-range plan for reducing the deficit,” and that the city must rely on “stopgap measures, quick fixes and borrowing” to close budget gaps.

Also among the group, good-government advocate and 2009 mayoral candidate Dan Levin echoed Barry’s statements.

“The city has got to now stop procrastinating and look at immediate long-term solutions,” he said.

Repeating a theme he campaigned on, Levin said that the city needs to develop a five-year financial master plan, rather than continue the practice of introducing a budget well into the fiscal year. The 2010 fiscal year began in July 2009, and as of Wednesday the city has authorized a total of nearly $429 million in emergency temporary appropriations, which are made in the absence of a final budget. (Once again at this week’s meeting, Ward E councilman Steven Fulop voted against the temporary appropriations.)

The crowd may have been sparse outside City Hall, but inside council chambers it was a different scene entirely. Upwards of 300 residents jammed the room, with dozens standing and sitting along the back and side walls despite the additional seating provided for the expected crowd. The assembled residents raised their voices repeatedly to shout down council members they didn’t agree with and applaud those they did. On more than one occasion, Council President Peter Brennan raised his gavel against the crowd and warned them that they if they couldn’t “behave” themselves they would “be removed” from the chambers. Undaunted, the crowd responded to such threats with louder jeers and whistles.

Budget Brouhaha

Although only one measure on Wednesday’s agenda directly related to the proposed municipal budget for the 2010 fiscal year, the budget was the star of the evening’s show. More than 20 residents addressed the council during the public hearing portions of the meeting, and almost all of them took the opportunity to berate the council and administration for proposing increased property taxes.

The highlight of the public hearing portion was provided by Esther Wintner, who exceeded her five-minute time limit with an impassioned prepared speech that concluded with the audience on its feet chanting, “no new taxes.” Calling the council a “rogue’s gallery of corruptocrats,” Wintner accused the members and the administration of “handing out abatements like Halloween candy to any Dwek that comes knocking,” referring to the famed federal informant who posed as a crooked developer to ensnare a number of Jersey City pols and officials.

“I am not your ATM,” Wintner exclaimed to the council, to thunderous applause and cheers from the crowd. She promised that if a tax increase goes through, residents would “mobilize mass tax appeals.”

Other speakers included Sangeeta Ranade, a first-time homeowner who told the council she and her husband are “on the brink of negative equity” because of declining home values, a situation that she says would worsen with the imposition of higher property taxes. “I think I represent a lot of middle class Jersey City residents,” she said.

In a statement released Wednesday, Mayor Healy pointed to a mandatory furlough plan for city workers and a “workforce reduction plan” in the offing as examples of how the administration has been making budget cuts. “The administration is working to create a long-term fiscal plan that will shape the size of government and the way government functions,” he added, before acknowledging these “drastic measures” cannot prevent “a tax increase due to increased costs and a decline in revenue.”

Contentious Second Reads

Of the seven second-read ordinances appearing on Wednesday’s agenda, three proved to be contentious.

Fulop’s bill to eliminate a controversial parking policy of booting on the first offense, among other policy changes, was tabled. JCI reported on the full details of this development on Thursday.

An ordinance vacating a paper street extending east from the intersection of Dudley and Greene Streets in Paulus Hook required clarification from the Planning Department before the council voted. At the caucus before the Jan. 13 meeting, city planning director Bob Cotter told the council that the property comprising this street would be turned over to the state as part of the Hudson River Waterfront Walkway, also known as the Governor’s Walkway project. Some residents of the condo building Clermont Cove, located at 1 Greene Street, have objected to the project in the past, citing construction plans that would partially block their waterfront views. Andrew Hubsch, a resident of Clermont Cove, asked the council on Wednesday to consider the “1.5 million dollars in real estate taxes” that the condo building contributes annually to the city’s coffers before voting to take this step. However, city planner Maryann Bucci-Carter assured the council after Hubsch finished speaking that although the ordinance relates to the Governor’s Walkway, the parcel of land in question was not adjacent to Clermont Cove; she pointed out that on the map accompanying the ordinance it can be seen that it is located instead behind Colgate Park. She also urged the council to approve the measure without delay, saying that the funds for the project were time-sensitive. The council did so, voting unanimously in favor of the ordinance.

A second-read ordinance that authorizes the administration to exceed state-defined limits on municipal spending became an object of scrutiny and debate as a result of the focus on budget issues. It was introduced unanimously at the last council meeting, but it passed only by a vote of 5-3 on Wednesday. Fulop, Ward C councilwoman Nidia Rivera Lopez and Ward F councilwoman Viola Richardson voted against the measure after a number of residents registered their disapproval during the public hearing on the ordinance. Resident Amy Ertel’s contention that the council should “put fiscal constraints on the budget office” was typical of the remarks made by those speaking against the measure. The assembled residents shouted over attempts by Ward A councilman Michael Sottolano and others to explain to the crowd the purpose of the ordinance, which has become a matter of routine in recent years. Failure to pass the measure would prevent the city from making nearly $4 million in appropriations currently included in the draft budget.

The other four second-reads passed unanimously with little comment. You can read more about all of the second reads here.

First Reads

Two of the three first-read ordinances on the agenda were passed unanimously without comment, and one passed by a vote of 6-1-1.

• Ord. 10-009 grants permission to One LLC, the owner of a building at 3438 Kennedy Boulevard — which sits at the corner of Bowers Street and houses a Dunkin’ Donuts — to install a wheelchair ramp and landing within the public right-of-way on Bowers Street. It was passed unanimously by the council.
• Ord. 10-010 reduces the distance required between two establishments granted a license to sell or serve liquor. Currently set at 750 feet, the proposed law would change that distance to 520 feet within redevelopment zones. Ward F councilwoman Viola Richardson stated at Monday’s caucus that she did not approve of the change, saying that her ward is “inundated” with liquor stores and she did not wish to see any more pop up. City planning director Bob Cotter and assistant city attorney Raymond Reddington assured Richardson at Monday’s caucus that no new licenses were being issued by the city and that the new law would not have an appreciable impact in her ward, but Richardson was apparently not convinced, as she voted against the ordinance on Wednesday. Council President Peter Brennan abstained from the vote without stating a reason.
• Ord. 10-011 designates additional parking spots reserved for disabled drivers at 24 Eastern Parkway, 361 Liberty Avenue, 82 Poplar Street, 77 Prospect Street, 300 Stegman Parkway, 332 Webster Avenue, 224-222 Wilkinson Avenue. It also amends the reserved spaces at 7 Apollo Street and 103 Poplar Street and repeals the reserved spaces at 11 Apollo Street, 222 Wilkinson Avenue and 228 Wilkinson Avenue. The ordinance was introduced by a unanimous vote.

Odds and Ends

Downtown pizzeria owner and 2009 city council candidate Frank Scalcione approached the podium during the public hearing portion of the meeting to inform the council about dangerous driving conditions on Baldwin Avenue between Magnolia and High Streets and other blocks elsewhere in the city. “Being that many residents don’t see where the tax money is being spent, make it visible,” he advised the council, before calling them “nothing but parasites” and returning to his seat.

The council agenda listed 34 resolutions, of which one was withdrawn and the rest were passed.

• Three resolutions related to the boards of the Municipal Utilities Authority (MUA) and the Jersey City Incinerator Authority (JCIA) were considered by the council on Wednesday. One directs the removal of indicted political consultant Joseph Cardwell from the board of the MUA and was passed unanimously. Two others made reappointments to the MUA and JCIA and were passed 5-1-2. We reported the full details of these three resolutions early Thursday morning.
• A resolution authorizing a $160,000 contract with Midtown Occupational Medicine for medical exams for city employees and applicants was withdrawn by Chief Financial Officer Donna Mauer because the funds are unavailable for this purpose.
• The city will receive nearly $2 million from the Jersey City Public Schools to provide police security at city high schools and police services for school anti-truancy and anti-gang initiatives.
• A tax appeal negotiation between the city and the owners of 19 properties in the Newport section — including undeveloped land and some underwater property — resulted in the city refunding over $636,000 to the property owners.
• A similar tax appeal made by property owners in the Liberty Harbor development resulted in refunds totaling over $70,000.
• A total of $7,000 in senior citizen tax deductions and $4,000 in veteran deductions were approved for the 2009 tax year.
• The council approved a grant of over $4.3 million from the state Department of Transportation for the Newark Avenue Roadway Improvement project, as well as a similar grant for almost $209,000 for the resurfacing of Sip Avenue between Kennedy Boulevard and Bergen Avenue.
• Another grant in the amount of $20,000 was accepted from the state Department of Community Affairs to provide summer recreational opportunities for special-needs children. The city is required to provide a 20 percent match on the grant, or $4,000.
• The city will apply for a grant from the state Department of Law and Public Safety to pay for police overtime expenses related to a comprehensive traffic safety program targeting pedestrian safety, aggressive driving, seatbelt enforcement and driving while intoxicated.
• The city accepted two settlements of $20,000 each for claims it filed against Lincoln Insurance and American Home Assurance for excess policies issued to the city in the late 1970s.
• The tax collector was authorized to cancel erroneous taxes on the properties at 475 Claremont Avenue and 47 Mallory Avenue, which were acquired by the city in 2007.
• The city was authorized to extend its license agreement with the Jersey City Redevelopment Agency (JCRA) regarding the Berry Lane Park Project. The council also authorized an increase in the city funds available to the JCRA for this project from $5 million to $7.4 million; the extra funding will come from the county Open Space grant and the city’s capital budget.
• The council authorized jurisdictional agreements between the city and the state Department of Transportation to establish and apportion maintenance and control over portions of certain city streets.
• Jeana Abuan was reappointed as the city’s Public Agency Compliance Officer.
• The council eulogized Lincoln High School gym teacher and basketball coach Barbara Keith, who died in June 2009.
• Three individuals were honored on the occasion of their retirement: assistant city attorney Steven Maslo; police captain Gary Lallo; and Jersey City Medical Center Senior Vice President John Doyle.
• A bid in the amount of $1,000 was accepted from the Hope Center Tabernacle in the tax sale of 110 Cambridge Street, which is owned by the Calvary Assembly of God.
• The council authorized the sale of “surplus personal property” in the Police Department Property Room at an online auction site.
• The city was authorized to issue a proof of insurance letter to various agencies and locations where the city will train police officers.

What Are We Buying?

The council approved the following purchases on Wednesday:

• Over $143,000 to PSE&G for the purchase and installation of decorative street lights along Christopher Columbus Drive.
• Just under $110,000 to AAA Emergency Supply for terror response equipment for the Fire Department.
• Up to $50,000 to accounting firm Lerch, Vinci & Higgins for litigation support related to collective bargaining and arbitration with the city’s public safety unions.
• $25,000 to Granite Telecommunications for voice telephone lines for the remainder of the fiscal year.

Tags: city budget, City Council, Esther Wintner, Nidia Rivera Lopez, Steven Fulop, Viola Richardson

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