Amid some controversy, the City Council passed a resolution at a special meeting last week dividing more than $11 million in federal funds among various city programs. Beneficiaries included the non-profit agency Let’s Celebrate, some charter schools, and various community development projects. But several council members abstained from the 5-0-4 vote because they did not agree with some of the programs being funded this year. “Many of the projects that are funded by the city are extremely needed by the city, and therefore should get our support,” Ward B Councilwoman Mary Donnelly said. “However, there are certain projects that, philosophically, I cannot vote for.” “To challenge certain projects, you wind up hurting other projects,” Ward A Councilman Robert Cavanaugh said. Among the programs in question are the charter schools and the Lincoln Center Holy Ghost Tabernacle Ministries, which caused nearly half of the council to abstain from the vote. “There are dozens of projects in this document, most of which I agree with,” Cavanaugh said. “They’re good projects. There are some projects in here that I have a problem with.” Rev. Tyrone Chess, a mayoral aide, runs the Lincoln Center program, which will receive more than $500,000 in federal aid this year. Council members questioned whether there is a conflict of interest for the administration. The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded Jersey City approximately $8,565,000 in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds. In addition, the city received $2,864,000 in HOME Investment Partnership (HOME) funds, $2,272,000 in Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOWPA) funds and $308,000 in Emergency Shelter Grant (ESG) funds for the 2000 fiscal year. The bulk of the federal funds come out of the CDBG, which funds economic development, community revitalization and public facilities projects designed to benefit people of low- to moderate-incomes. The grants also address local needs for which there is “no other source of funding,” according to the state. The HOME program helps to carry out multi-year housing strategies through a full range of programs to increase the supply and quality of affordable housing. Funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, HOME assists low- and moderate-income families and helps them to preserve their homes and neighborhoods. Emergency Shelter Grants are used to construct, renovate and improve homeless shelters and transitional housing facilities. The program also funds certain social services and operating costs, limited only to local government and nonprofit organizations. The city uses as its guide a Five-Year Consolidated Plan that directs how the city spends housing and urban development money. Updated every five years, the plan is put together as a result of a series of community meetings and surveys, according to city officials. The results of the meetings and surveys are then prioritized by the city, and proposals for all programs being considered for municipal funding are fielded. Within the proposals are recommended funding for each program. To qualify for funding, applicants must show that what they are doing is consistent with the plan to improve the city. Within the passed document, there were few changes from the original budget put before the council. On Wednesday, the council both introduced their amendments and heard public speakers on the issue of this public funding. The biggest adjustment amended the Jersey City Division of Community Development’s HORP program, which aids the improvement and acquisition of affordable homes. HORP had its funding increased by $50,000. In order to make room in the budget for the increase that brought HORP funding up to $928,550, the council took $20,000 from the Jersey City Redevelopment Agency Medical Center’s $200,000. In addition, $10,000 was taken from the Learning Center Charter School, the Lincoln Center program, and the Soaring Heights Charter School. The Jersey City Museum gained an additional $5,000 of funding from the Urban League of Hudson County. The museum is now slated to receive $22,450, and the Urban League $45,000. A final amendment changed the wording under the Martin Luther King rehabilitation project to include the project costs related to HUB shopping center management. This week CitiMarkets, the anchor store of the HUB, opened, which has that section of the city hopeful for continued rehabilitation efforts. Many of the 150 residents in attendance for Wednesday’s special meeting were representing the city’s charter schools, specifically the Learning Community Charter School, which has a partnership with the Boys and Girls Club. In the resolution that was passed, the Learning Center school is slated to receive $290,000. Ward E Councilman Mariano Vega commended the many children in attendance, some of who spoke in front of the council during the public speaking portion. The children, students at both the Soaring Heights and Learning Center charter schools, called for the necessary funding needed by the schools to expand and erect new buildings. Vega said that it was admirable that the parents, students and teachers from the schools used the meeting as a civic lesson for the children. “It gives me great pleasure that I vote for both of these [resolutions],” Vega said.
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