Healy to give State of City Address tonight; Fulop questions tax impact

JERSEY CITY – In his first such speech in two years, Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy will tonight deliver his State of the City Address.
Healy is expected to discuss the upcoming municipal budget, public safety, and accomplishments of his administration.
Although the mayor has hinted that municipal taxes will be stable under the next municipal budget, Ward E City Councilman Steve Fulop yesterday questioned this assertion. In a statement released yesterday regarding Mayor Healy’s budget, Fulop said, “You are making the claim that this budget is delivering ‘stable taxes,’ which is one factor that families in this city use to budget for their households. Misrepresenting this is dangerous. The budget you presented shows that proposed taxes for 2011 will increase more than 13 percent over the previous full-year budget. Regardless of when you choose to do it, taxes will have to increase significantly at some point in 2011 to raise the revenue you’ve budgeted. There is nothing ‘stable’ about that.”
The councilman added that he hopes Healy will “clarify” the likelihood of a tax increase in tonight’s State of the City Address.
The address, which is open to the public, will begin at 6 p.m. and will take place at City Hall, located at 280 Grove St. – E. Assata Wright