In an attempt to change public perception about the recent Hoboken property tax hike, Mayor David Roberts said last week that the increase wasn’t the widely reported 47 percent, but approximately half of that. He said that the tax increase was really 23 percent for fiscal year 2007-2008 and 21 percent for fiscal year 2008-2009.
The fiscal schedule in Hoboken is confusing, since the tax bills are sent out by calendar year, while the budget is struck according to a fiscal year that runs from July 1 to June 30.
Roberts and state appointed Fiscal Monitor Judy Tripodi said they weren’t sure where the 47 percent calculation came from, but alluded to the city’s former financial consultants as possible sources.
“I’m not going to assign blame,” Roberts said, adding that he wasn’t touting the 23 percent increase in a “satisfied” way.
Roberts’ term ends this summer, and he is not running for re-election during the May 12 mayoral race.
Press conference
At a press conference last week, Roberts presented certification from the Hudson County tax administrator, as well as other officials, to support his math.
Nonetheless, this leaves many in town wondering why the city’s financial officials reported a 47 percent increase in the first place, and it also leaves residents complaining because their tax bills still seemed to double from one quarter to the next.
One city official last week tried to interpret the 47 percent increase by saying it was not from year to year, but from quarterly bill to quarterly bill. Another compared the tax levy from 2007-2008 to 2008-2009 to arrive at a similar number.
“They were looking at a snapshot in time.” – Judy Tripodi
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“They were looking at a snapshot in time,” Tripodi said.
Where 47 percent came from
Last year, the City Council failed to adopt a budget until the very last day of the 2008 fiscal year – June 30, 2008.
While the council spent months debating Roberts’ budget numbers, it was uncovered that the spending plan had a $11.7 million shortfall. City Business Administrator Richard England resigned. And city financial experts from the since-dismissed consulting firm of Donohue, Gironda, and Doria told the Reporter that there would likely be a 50 percent tax increase from the previous taxpayer bill to the next.
By October, the city had come under state financial supervision. Tripodi was still dealing with the $11.7 million over-expenditure.
Hoboken Chief Financial Officer George DeStefano told the Reporter at that time that city tax bills – not including county and school taxes – would jump from $2,657 the previous year to $4,890 this year on a property assessed at $250,000, or more than 80 percent. Overall tax bills, including county and school taxes, would rise 47 percent.
Since then, adjustments have been made to the 2007-2008 budget, but the tax increase that many residents received was more than 40 percent from one bill to the next. The large increase ignited numerous protests from taxpayers, including a number of rallies on the steps of City Hall.
The tax increase, whether 47 or 23 percent, came about because Tripodi was forced to increase the budget to $121 million this year in order to close a recurring municipal budget gap and make up for deferred spending.
She also spread the $11.7 million over-expenditure over the next seven years with the approval of the state, thus avoiding an even larger tax hike to fill that gap.
Because costs in this year’s budget directly related to the debacle in 2008 will not recur, Roberts said last week the city budget should shrink back to roughly $90 million next year.
Timothy J. Carroll may be reached at tcarroll@hudsonreporter.com.