Should Hoboken taxpayers get some of city’s $20 million budget surplus back?

HOBOKEN — This past week, council members gave differing opinions on how much of a suprlus Hoboken has in its coffers, and whether some of it should go to the city’s taxpayers who suffered from a major tax hike two years ago.
Councilman Michael Lenz said at Wednesday’s council meeting that there were “incorrect, inaccurate reports going around on the web regarding the Hoboken surplus.”
He added, “The surplus, according to the financial statement, is approaching $20 million total, of which about $12 million is unrestricted.”
He said that the state requires the city to set aside a certain amount because of budget problems in past years, so only “unrestricted” money can be spent. This amount of cash surplus, Lenz acknowledges, is $11.8 million — still a significant amount.
So should some of this money be used to bring down taxes?
“If you keep surplus, you save money so you don’t have to borrow during the year,” Lenz said Thursday. “You also lower costs because when you bond, and we do a substantial amount, your interest rates are dramatically lower.”
In other words, Lenz would rather hold on to the money for emergencies and to keep down costs related to borrowing money.
But Councilwoman Beth Mason, a frequent critic of the Zimmer administration, begged to differ. She said that the suffering taxpayers should at least get some of it back.
Friday, she sent out an email to her constitutents saying, “Recently the city of Hoboken filed its year-end financial statement with the Department of Local Government Services, which revealed a budget surplus of almost $20 million. This surplus belongs to you, the taxpayers. I am calling on Mayor Zimmer to return this money to you immediately in property tax relief.
“The surplus was created as a result of the crushing 47% tax increase. This increase resulted in you overpaying thousands of dollars in property taxes. Your money should be returned immediately.”
The 47 tax percent increase was implemented two years ago when the state-appointed fiscal monitor, Judy Tripodi, said the city budgets had been underfunded and she wanted to present a “true” budget. But now that there is extra money, Mason believes the taxpayers are entitled to some of it.
Who’s right? Mason, Lenz, or is the answer somewhere in between? Comment below!
And read a story about this issue in this weekend’s Hoboken Reporter, either in print or up on www.hudsonreporter.com this Sunday.