At the standing room-only ceremony held on July 1, six Hoboken City Council members were sworn in for four-year terms. The day marked the return of former Mayor Anthony Russo (3rd Ward) to the local political limelight, and he will likely be a stern critic of Mayor David Roberts’ administration.
Also sworn in were incumbents Theresa Castellano (1st Ward), who ran as an independent, and Hoboken Mayor David Roberts’ candidates: Richard Del Boccio (2nd Ward), Christopher Campos (4th Ward), Michael Cricco (5th Ward) and A. Nino Giacchi (6th Ward).
"We’ve just gone through a campaign season full of debate and rancor," said Roberts during the ceremony. He said it’s time for opposing sides to work together to create new policy. "We are the city that every other New Jersey city models itself against, but there is still much work that needs to get done."
But even with the mayor’s words of conciliation, this is still a deeply divided council that disagrees on a varied array of issues ranging from the budget to council officers, contracts, and appointments on city boards.
Voting for the president
During the first meeting of the new council, which immediately followed the swearing-in ceremony, they voted on officers. Council President Ruben Ramos Jr. was reappointed by a 5-4 vote, and council veteran Del Boccio was selected as vice-president by 7-2 vote.
There was a push by Castellano and Russo to nominate Michael Cricco as the next president. The thinking was that Cricco, who just won re-election on Roberts’ Hoboken United Ticket but at one time ran on Russo’s ticket, might be more sensitive to their agenda than Ramos, who is a Roberts supporter. But Cricco politely declined the offer.
Council members Carol Marsh and Tony Soares joined Russo and Castellano in voting against Ramos’s presidency.
Ramos said Thursday that he is appreciative that he was selected to serve a second term as president.
"I’m honored that [the council] voted for me to serve as president for another year," he said, "and I’m hopeful that we will successfully meet the challenges of the next year."
Council veteran Richard Del Boccio was voted in as the council vice-president. Only Soares and Marsh voted against Del Boccio’s selection. Del Boccio and Russo have been friends for some time.
The looming budget
An issue that is quickly beginning to permeate council discussion is the state of the city’s 2003-2004 budget. The 2003-2004 fiscal year began July 1, and in the coming months the administration will present its budget for the council to vote on.
Last year’s budget spiked to nearly $65 million.
Just before the swearing-in ceremony July 1, Roberts pledged a "slight tax decrease" which he said will be accomplished with "belt-tightening and overall austerity."
City Business Administrator Robert Drasheff said Wednesday that he anticipates that the mayor will present the 2003-2004 budget to the City Council toward the end of August. He added that is "too early to tell" exactly what the final budget will look like, but that he was "confident" that it will be equal or less than last year’s budget.
Even if spending isn’t cut, there could be a lower tax rate because more taxable property is slated to begin paying in the next year.
One idea that Drasheff said the city is looking into is refinancing the city’s bonds. Currently the city has $40 million in bonds that were last refinanced in 1994. With the currently low interest rates, he said, the city could use refinancing as an additional revenue source.
While Roberts is promising lower taxes, the opposition alleges that Roberts hasn’t been forthcoming over the past two years when it comes to the budget.
They claim that the administration will use up valuable capital reserves in the Parking Utility for the second consecutive year to balance the budget. Last year, after the city took over the Hoboken Parking Authority, it grabbed $8 million from the Parking Utility’s cash reserve to balance the budget.
"He’s going to have to do quite a bit to back up his claim," said an unconvinced Soares about the mayor’s pledge of lower taxes. "The only way he can do it is by spending more money [from the Parking Utility] reserve."
Russo also said that he is also uncertain as to whether the mayor can deliver a reduced budget. "I’m skeptical," said the former mayor. He pointed to the fact that the current budget is almost $10 million more than Russo’s own last budget in 2001.
"He hasn’t proven to me based on his past performance that he is capable of lowering in the budget," Russo said.
Who will get the lucrative contracts?
One interesting omission from the reorganization meeting’s agenda was the lack of any professional service contracts. Usually at the first meeting of the fiscal year, there are a number of contracts for lawyers and auditors.
Soares grilled Drasheff and city attorney Joseph Sherman as to why there were not contracts before the council, especially since the contracts for special counsel and the city’s auditor expired on July 1.
Soares asked if the city was covered if it were to be sued between July 1 and the next City Council meeting on July 16. Sherman responded, "The firms have an ethical responsibility represent the city if something did come up." In that statement he was referring to the law firm that held the contract that just recently expired. He also explained that he, as the city’s attorney, could handle litigation if it were to arise.
Drasheff added that "there are no pressing matters" that need litigation between July 1 and July 16, so he said that it was not necessary to immediately award contracts.
Soares said that he thinks the administration wants to give out contracts to politically-connected firms when there are fewer people at the meeting.
"They want these contracts to be handed out at a meeting where people are paying less attention," said Soares.
Drasheff said Wednesday that Soares’ allegation has no merit.
"This is Hoboken," said Drasheff with a wry smile. "Every [City Council] meeting is scrutinized by the press and the public. [The July 16] meeting will be no different. The reality of the situation is that there is no rush, and these contracts can wait for the next meeting."
So will political supporters be rewarded? The answer will emerge at this Wednesday’s council meeting at 7 p.m. at City Hall.
Campos replaces Marsh on board
Even with the mayor’s conciliatory tone, one move by the administration rubbed several of the opposition council members the wrong way. The council appointed the mayor’s close ally, Councilman Christopher Campos, to the Planning Board as the council’s designee.
Campos replaces Marsh, who for years has been attending Planning Board meetings, and was one of the biggest advocates of the revision on the city’s Master Plan, a process that has gotten good reviews from most people.
Campos, on the other hand, has attended only a handful of Planning Board meetings.
Marsh said Thursday that she was "disappointed" by the council’s decision.
"I took my job very seriously and did the best I could to be an advocate for the public," said Marsh. She said the move was obviously political. "They need to put someone there who would be an advocate for the people that contributed to their campaigns," she said.
Soares, who founded the Hoboken Alliance with Marsh, said Tuesday that the decision to remove Marsh is nothing more than sour grapes after a contentious election season.
"It’s ridiculous what they are doing to Carol," said Soares. "They weren’t in a rush to hire the lawyers that protect the city, but they sure were in a hurry to kick Carol off the Planning Board. You have to wonder where their priorities really are."
Council President Ramos said that Campos was the best candidate for the position because many of the development projects slated to come before the board in the next year are in the western part of town, the section of town that Campos represents.
"Chris [Campos] lobbied for me for the position," said Ramos, "and I agreed with him when he said that there are going to be many projects that are going to come before the [Planning Board] that are going to affect his ward. He is just as qualified as any other council member to be on the board."