Fending off a last-minute attempt to make spending cuts in the $346 million budget that would have guaranteed a surplus next year, the Hudson County Freeholders – by a five to four margin – passed it unchanged from its introduction in June.
During the marathon six-hour meeting on Aug. 8, freeholders clashed over philosophies that would spread out revenues in order to reserve some budget surplus for lean times.
Freeholder Brian Stack, who also serves as mayor of Union City, said experiences in his municipality showed the need to think ahead. He said lack of foresight by a previous administration had forced the town to seek one-time revenues in order to meet budgeting gaps in revenue.
“Union City has no area of growth,” he said. “I think we need to leave some money set aside for the next few years.”
Chairman Sal Vega joined freeholders Barry Dugan and Tom Leggio in supporting Stack’s position, saying the county has been living in plush times over the last few years and could ill-afford to use its entire $20 million surplus this year in order to keep from raising taxes.
“While I admit we used $19 million in last year’s budget,” he said, “I feel that we should not use all our surplus this year.”
He said this year’s budget had included $2.8 million of between $5.5 and $6 million for the sale of land to the New Jersey Turnpike. Vega proposed cutting this to $2 million, leaving the rest for possible surplus next year and perhaps the year after. He also looked to cut $800,000 from various spending accounts. These cuts would leave a hedge fund of about $5 million to handle any possible unforeseen economic negatives next year.
Freeholder Maurice Fitzgibbons, in voting against the changes, said residents in his district of Hoboken and Jersey City Heights shouldered a large portion of taxes without getting services equal to that payment.
“Taxpayers have to pay county taxes even though we do not get the services we should,” Fitzgibbons said, pointing to the inequity of county jobs between Hoboken and other towns like Secaucus.
“For two years I’ve watched county workmen go to other municipalities to make repairs on parks there,” he said. “But for two years, the playground in Columbus Park [in Hoboken] has been closed.”
Fitzgibbons admitted that Hoboken has developed its waterfront, but he said that unlike other communities, these developments did not get tax abatements. He said he feared that developing communities such as Union City would offer abatements to development, keeping those properties from paying their fair share of the county tax burden.
“These proposed cuts are being made on the backs of taxpayers in Hoboken and Jersey City Heights,” he said. Stack countered that even if Union City abated all its property, it could not equal the amount of abatements already existing elsewhere in the county.
Stack also argued that the impact of the cuts would be spread out among all the municipalities but would assure against problems next year.
Vega noted that while the county has had surpluses in the past due partly to increasing ratable base, he felt the existing surplus might not be available next year, especially after the negative effects on the economy of Sept. 11, 2001.
“This $5 million would give us a little cushion,” Vega said.
Freeholder William Braker of Jersey City said his constituents could not afford the increase in taxes.
Freeholder Bill O’Dea, also of Jersey City, called Vega’s logic “flawed” and said that if the freeholders really wanted to cut the budget, they would do away with existing professional service contracts and use or hire county workers to do the work.
“We spend millions on outside firms,” O’Dea said.
He also said the county has been unwise in its real estate dealings, pointing to Pollak Hospital, Margaret Hague Hospital and Murdock Hall as examples. He said instead of selling Margaret Hague Hospital when it still had value, the county closed it and kept it vacant. Vandals soon stripped the buildings of pipes and other salable commodities.
“Now we have Pollak Hospital closed and we have to keep guards there to prevent that hospital from being vandalized, too,” O’Dea said.
He criticized the policy that had sold Pollak in the past to the Hudson County Improvement Authority, which allowed for a temporary boost to past budgets, but was essentially little more than the county selling itself the building. He believed the sale of these buildings could net the county as much as $10 million, and if the county put restrictions on the sale prohibiting tax abatements, these buildings would generate additional tax revenues over time.
Freeholder Nidia Davila-Colon agreed that the county should re-examine its policy on professional service contracts and on the sale of buildings.
While Dugan said he agreed with Vega and Stack about the need for a hedge, he said he has already moved ahead in discussions with the HCIA about the possible sale of buildings. Dugan said drastic cuts to the county budget were not possible for this year because much of the money has already been spent. This budget which runs from January to Dec 2002, is already eight months through.
“Whatever we look at will have to be for next year,” he said.
Braker agreed that the freeholders should look ahead to next year’s budget and recommended setting a 10 percent cut in every department.
Leggio cautioned the freeholders about deep cuts, noting that spending cuts can also cut into revenues.
Davila-Colon said the freeholders should look at every professional contract as it comes up for renewal with the eye of giving the work to county workers where possible.
“If we go department by department, we could save millions,” she said. “But we have to act on this. We have to be serious about these contracts.”
Freeholder Al Cifelli became the deciding vote when he said voters in his district could use the tax relief in the current budget. He said that while three of the four towns he represented had positive budgets, these successes were marginal and none could handle a tax increase from the county.
“While I’m not saying the future should take care of itself,” he said, “I think the future is now, and we have to take care of our taxpayers this year.”
The 2002 county budget, which covers spending from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, will rise by $17 million. Much of the increase in the $346 million budget has to do with negotiated salary increases and increases in medical coverage costs. Of the total budget, $189.4 million will be raised from taxes. The total increase in the amount to be raised by taxes is about $3.5 million. Taxpayers in Hudson County pay overall tax bills that include county, city and school taxes. The new budget affects only the county portion.
Excluding payments resulting from grants, county spending rose by 3.5 percent over the 2001 budget. The impact of this increased spending, however, was offset by the fact that ratables – the total taxable property in the county – rose by 14.1 percent or $3.3 billion, the largest increase in Hudson County history. Total taxable property in the county is now at $27.4 billion.
This will cause the tax rate to drop by 84 cents per $1,000 in equalized property value or 10.68 percent. The rate – in this budget – will drop from $7.84 in 2001 to $7 per $1000 in 2002. SIDEBAR
Do you know where your street signs are?
Hudson County moved to spend up to $600,000 of state grant money to locate up to 20,000 street signs.
These signs haven’t run away from home or gone off to the local pub for a pint of beer between shifts, but they may not be posted where they are supposed to be.
This, officials said, could pose trouble for law enforcement agencies in their effort to issue tickets for violations, and for everyone else traveling around Hudson County who’d like to be assured the signs they are following actually lead to the places they say.
Freeholders voted to award the $581,667 professional consulting service contract to GPI-Greenman-Pedersen, Inc of Lebanon, N.J. The company would develop a sign management system and data base and sign management program, giving county officials a report that would locate – within three feet – where each sign is located, said County Engineer Bob Jasek.
While the signs might not be strolling up Kennedy Boulevard, Jasek said, the county really had no firm knowledge if signs were actually placed properly.
“We sometimes do not know the condition of the signs or if they are placed properly,” Jasek said.
With filing cabinets overflowing with resolutions establishing sign location over the decades, Jasek said county officials often could not easily determine if a sign was put where it was supposed to be.
The money – which is actually derived from federal sources – will be issued to the county through the New Jersey Transportation Planning Authority.
Freeholder Bill O’Dea said the bid process alarmed him because it seemed to lack safeguards against prejudiced bids.
As with a proposal issued earlier this year on another project, the county sign proposal fell under federal regulations which prohibit the county from looking at how much each vendor bid, and to make the decision based upon expertise.
A panel of four people, three employed by the county and one by the state, evaluated the expertise of each firm, but could not look at how much each firm charged. Even after this panel decided upon a firm, the panel was required under federal regulations not to look at the cost of firms not selected.
O’Dea, whose objections to the process earlier this year forced the county to seek new proposals on the other project, called the process ludicrous, and said having three county employees voting on a proposal risks improper manipulation.
“Three county employees could vote for a particular firm and no one could do anything about it,” he said.
O’Dea previously suggested pre-qualifying firms for various projects.
“Then we would know they could all do the job,” he said. “Then we could make the choice by the lowest cost.”
Of 14 firms to which proposal requests were sent, only two firms responded. The panel, Jasek said, found that GPI was particularly equipped for the job, with specialized equipment. The firm also agreed to update the database for five years. – Al Sullivan