Like most municipal agencies, the Department of Housing, Economic Development & Commerce learned at its budget hearing last week that it will not receive all the money it requested from the mayor’s office.
Coming $600,000 short of the $5.2 million requested, HEDC Director Mark Munley told the City Council Wednesday night that the department’s greatest need was expanding the planning staff and the number of construction code officers.
Construction code officers are responsible for determining the safety of existing structures as well as new ones being built throughout the city. With $2 billion in construction currently underway, the city will gain 4.5 million square feet of office space and 2,500 residential units, Munley said.
The budget hearings, a chance for departments to plead their financial concerns before the City Council, took place throughout last week. As department heads discuss their needs, the hearings also give the City Council a chance to question figures in each department’s budget, drawing comparisons to last year’s fiscal numbers.
The $4.6 million allotted to the HEDC – which oversees the city’s architectural and private business infrastructure – is $600,000 more than the department charged last year.
HEDC officials said the 27-member construction code division is not adequately staffed to monitor the new buildings.
"We’re a reactionary force now," said Michael Regan, director of the construction code division. "If a council person calls, it’s primarily after the fact." According to Regan, the state Department of Community Affairs has issued a letter recommending that the city increase its staff of construction code officers in a few areas. To meet these requirements, Regan said, the construction code division would have to hire three more building inspectors, two more fire inspectors, and one more electric code inspector.
Receiving $1.3 million out of the $1.8 million requested by the division, Regan said that hiring the additional officers were a top priority for his division as well as Jersey City. "I beseech you to allow us to hire the necessary people we need," Regan said.
Pleas for additional staff also came from the city planning division, which oversees the designing, landscaping and aesthetic properties of projects entering the city. Citing the period in the early 1990s when the city planning staff reached 25 people, City Planning Director Bob Cotter repeatedly said that years of attrition had reduced his staff to eight people.
According to Cotter, the city planning division needs a transportation planner, an historical preservation planner and two interns. Pointing to the absence of a transportation planner, Cotter said that the position responsible for landscaping traffic flow throughout the city is essential as new office buildings and residential units naturally create more congestion.
As for a historical preservation planner, Cotter noted that Claire Davis, an employee of the city planning division, has been serving a dual role as the historical preservation planner and a zoning board of adjustment officer.
Receiving $531,000 out of the requested $690,000, the city planning division intended to use the bulk of the missing funds to hire the necessary planners.
In addition, Cotter said that there was also a need to expand the number of regular city planners. But instead of asking the City Council to find these funds, Cotter zoned in on untapped money in escrow accounts. Guaranteeing the Council that these interest-bearing accounts required to be set up by developers could yield $300,000 to $500,000 for the city, Cotter recommended that members of his staff be extended overtime pay to encourage them to come in on the weekends and follow the procedures necessary to obtain this money.
The money, which is only allowed to be used for professional review services, could be used to hire new planners or a licensed planning consulting firm. "It would take one or two days on the weekends to catch up," Cotter said.
In yet another circumstance of needing additional staff, the Division of Economic Development expressed a need for two more project managers at an additional cost of approximately $125,000. While the Economic Development Corporation, a department outside the HEDC, reels in business interests, the Division of Economic Development addresses their needs for space once they decide to come to Jersey City.
With all budget hearings, the City Council jots down the requests of each department and takes them into consideration before making the final revisions. Because of financial constraints, any additional money granted to one department must be detracted from another department.
The City Council has tentatively scheduled a public hearing on the budget for Monday, Dec. 10, allowing Jersey City taxpayers to voice their own concerns about how the city’s funds should be spent. There was some talk at the end of last week of pushing back that date, though. Taxpayers can call (201) 547-5150 to find out if the hearing is on.
The overall city budget for the 2002 fiscal year is $348 million, nearly a $4 million increase from the money spent last year. Designated a "distressed city," Jersey City must have its entire budget approved by the DCA. Although the City Council is approaching the budget as it is now printed, the mayor’s office has designed it with the anticipation of receiving $16 million in Distressed Cities Aid from the state. Receiving less than $16 million will force the council to make further reductions in the budget, as the Mayor Glenn Cunningham has decided not to raise property taxes.
Jersey City received $4.1 million in Distressed Cities Aid last year.