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Wednesday’s City Council meeting seems to have marked the beginning of the mellower summer council season. Clocking in at a mere 70 minutes, the proceedings saw little comment on the seven first reading ordinances, two second reads and 27 resolutions considered. All council members were present and about 20 community members were on hand to witness the meeting and address the council.

Steamed Over Fire Department Promotions

After the promotions of five Fire Department employees to the level of Battalion Chief this week raised the hackles of Ward E councilman Steven Fulop, one might have expected the issue to come up at the council meeting — even though no legislation pertaining to the promotions appeared on the agenda. And with the presence of Local 1066 Firefighters Union president Joseph Krajnik, known for his fiery outbursts, one might have expected the issue to get heated. And, yes indeed, the otherwise quiet meeting was marked by a shouting match between Fulop and Krajnik over the promotions.

Downtown resident and council gadfly Yvonne Balcer chided the administration for the promotions during the public hearing portion of the meeting. In her remarks, Balcer claimed that the promotions were a way for the administration to “pad the payroll.”

Council President Peter Brennan gave Balcer the administration’s rebuttal, pointing out that the promotions “saved the city over $100,000″ in overtime costs, while Fulop shook his head vigorously.

“We cannot afford these games,” Balcer shouted. “We’re not saving money; down the road it’s gonna cost us.” Balcer also suggested that Jersey City might benefit from switching to a volunteer fire department or contracting fire services out to neighboring towns such as Hoboken, Bayonne and Union City.

Krajnik, also addressing the council during the public hearing, was clearly ruffled by Balcer’s statements. With all of his usual passion, he applauded the promotions and called attention to the overtime savings they make possible.

In response to Krajnik, the Downtown councilman picked up where Balcer left off. In a statement released Monday, Fulop had called the promotions a “bait and switch,” saying that despite any overtime savings the department is taking on future salary and pension costs. Fulop went on to claim on Wednesday that the city’s fire department is “amongst the most top-heavy … in the country,” with 40 percent of its employees at a supervisory level or above.

“No private organization would operate this way,” Fulop said. “We need to reassess.”

Krajnik railed back at Fulop, yelling from his seat in the rear of council chambers.

“That’s bullshit and you know it,” he bellowed.

Speaking over Krajnik’s histrionics, Fulop further charged that the promotions were the fruits of political patronage.

“These fire promotions that happened this week [were] nothing about efficiency; it’s about cronyism,” Fulop said, garnering applause from a handful of the community members present.

“You’re lying to the people and they’re clapping!,” Krajnik called out in response. Several of those present tried to shout him down, and order was soon restored as Krajnik returned to his seat. He remained quiet for the remainder of the meeting.

Human Rights Commission May Be Saved

The only agenda item to draw significant comment was a second reading ordinance that sought to dissolve four appointed commissions that the administration considers to be of no further use to the city: the Ellis Island Commission, the Human Rights Commission (HRC), the Municipal Drug & Alcohol Abuse Alliance and the Tourist Commission. The ordinance claims these boards “no longer serve important government functions and have been left unfilled for a number of years.”

Although city clerk Robert Byrne noted at the May 10 caucus that all of the boards to be eliminated by this ordinance “have been absorbed by other functions at the city and county level,” At-Large councilman Mariano Vega* apparently did not agree. Voting against introduction at the last council meeting, Vega* argued that “it’s a mistake to eliminate the Human Rights Commission and the Tourist Commission.” The bill was introduced over the At-Large councilman’s objections, but it was not adopted at its second reading on Wednesday.

While Ward B councilman David Donnelly supported the bill by noting that the commissions in question “have not met for a long, long time,” others who spoke on the ordinance did not see that as a reason to eliminate them.

Fouad Shafik, who identified himself as a board member of the HRC, delivered a lengthy plea to the council asking them not to dissolve the group. What’s more, Shafik contradicted the claim that the HRC has not been meeting, saying that the commission met just weeks ago, on May 10. Residents Riaz Wahid and Catherine Grimm also urged the council not to abolish the HRC.

According to Byrne, the HRC was created in the 1980s as a response to a series of crimes motivated by ethnic bias against Indians and Indian-Americans carried out by a group calling themselves the “Dotbusters.” Byrne stated that since there are now state laws addressing bias crimes, the HRC is no longer necessary. Furthermore, assistant city attorney Joanne Monahan reported Wednesday that the HRC and the other three commissions to be eliminated by this ordinance were of questionable legal status, since they were created by the City Council. Only the mayor has the authority to institute standing commissions such as those named in the bill, Monahan said.

Despite these explanations, Vega* reiterated his opposition to dissolving the HRC, noting that “with immigration reform going on right now there’s probably gonna be some attacks on Hispanics.” He also expressed doubts that the HRC had not been created properly, asking Monahan to double-check its originating legislation and report to the council.

After further discussion, the council agreed to defeat the ordinance and address the question of whether to abolish each of the four commissions in four separate ordinances. Monahan told the council she would have the information requested and four new draft ordinances to present “by the next council meeting.”

The council euthanized the ordinance with a 0-9 vote.

First Reads

The council considered seven first reading ordinances, all of which passed unanimously without comment. You can see the full text of the first reads here.

• Ord. 10-071 would name the path that runs between the Babe Ruth and Cal Ripken baseball fields at Pershing Field for Charlie Straub, a local baseball, basketball and football coach.
• Ord. 10-072 would transfer two divisions — Architecture and Engineering, Traffic and Transportation — from the Department of Administration to the Department of Public Works (DPW). In a memo from DPW director Rodney Hadley to Council President Brennan, Hadley noted that both of these divisions were previously part of the DPW, and that staff of the two divisions “work very closely with DPW on a daily basis.” Hadley also pointed out that in light of likely layoffs of city personnel, the switch “will result in the consolidation of services and personnel.”
• Ord. 10-073 would amend an existing tax abatement for a 109-unit senior affordable housing project at 591 Montgomery Street. The current 30-year abatement, which will expire this year, calls for a payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) of 6.28 percent of annual gross revenue. The proposed amendment would extend the term for an additional 20 years and raise the PILOT contribution to 8 percent.
• Ord. 10-074 would amend the zoning ordinance to eliminate the required distance between cellphone antennas, as well as “location priorities and other design requirements that are now obsolete.” According to city planner Jeffrey Wenger, who spoke to the council on the ordinance at Monday’s caucus, this change “will stop triggering variances for cell towers,” which have proliferated in numbers not anticipated in the 2000 ordinance that established the current rules.
• Ord. 10-075 would amend the provisions of the Paulus Hook Historic District Development ordinance to allow for medical offices on the ground floor of buildings located on the west side of Washington Street between Morris and York Streets and the block of Washington between Sussex and Morris Streets.
• Ord. 10-076 would add two provisions to the HUB subdistrict of the Martin Luther King Drive Redevelopment Plan that will exempt a proposed McDonald’s restaurant from any future changes to the Redevelopment Plan that might prohibit the McDonald’s from operating. Although amendments to a redevelopment plan typically do not adversely affect pre-existing uses, Wenger told the council on Monday that provisions like these are “standard practice for McDonald’s corporate.”
• Ord. 10-077, which would have created the position of confidential secretary to be filled by Jo Anne Eichenbaum, was withdrawn before the council meeting.
• Ord. 10-078 would make changes to the code governing certain regulations and benefits for city staff whose employment is governed by the council. Employees in this category include the mayor, council members and aides, department directors and other positions that the city is required by statute to staff. The ordinance introduced on Wednesday would set a minimum of 20 vacation days to be granted annually to employees in this category. Jack Kelly, Jersey City’s new business administrator, is a new hire to the city and therefore has not accrued vacation time up to this point, as longtime city staffer Brian O’Reilly had done before being promoted to the BA position. The bill would also eliminate a requirement that staff occupying these positions “establish a bona fide domicile” in Jersey City within six months of their hire; Kelly is a resident of Long Hill Township in Morris County.

Odds and Ends

• In addition to the ordinance concerning the four appointed commissions to be dissolved, the council considered one other second reading ordinance, which was adopted unanimously without comment. You can read about this ordinance here.
• All 27 resolutions considered by the council passed unanimously without comment.
• An appropriation in the amount of $22,574 was authorized for insertion into the 2010 budget for police body armor replacement. A separate resolution authorized the city to apply for a grant from the state Division of Criminal Justice’s Body Armor Replacement fund.
• The city was authorized to enter into 23 contracts funded by the federal Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) program. The initial grant funds approved by this resolution total over $725,000. Another resolution authorized the city to accept the CSBG grants.
• The council authorized a transfer of a little over $1 million from several line items in the 2010 budget to others.
• The city cancelled real estate taxes worth over $7,800 on a property on Caven Point Road owned by the state Department of Environmental Protection.
• Christine Goodman was reappointed as a member of the Cultural Arts Commission.
• Herbert Silvestri of the city Zoning Office and Doris Fleming, a teacher at P.S. #16, were honored by the council on the occasion of their respective retirements.
• A resolution that would have approved a mortgage subordination agreement on 417-419 Pacific Avenue was withdrawn after Ward A councilman Michael Sottolano questioned the details of the agreement at Monday’s caucus. Sottolano pointed out that when the initial mortgage was granted in 1993, it was worth $52,000; the second mortgage being sought by the owner at this time is worth over $103,000 — nearly twice that amount. Assistant city attorney Joanne Monahan told the council she would get more information about the agreement before bringing the resolution back to the council.

What Are We Buying?

The council approved the following purchases on Wednesday:

• A bit less than $105,000 to Gold Type Business Machines of East Rutherford for an audio-visual system for the new Public Safety Communications Center.
• Over $24,700 to Public Service Electric & Gas (PSEG) for 15 decorative lamps at the new Lafayette Pool Complex on Van Horne Street.


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