2012 $469.3 million city budget introduced
The City Council formally introduced Jersey City’s 2012 municipal budget, a $469.3 million spending plan that Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy says includes no tax increase. Healy gave a preliminary overview of the 2012 spending plan to the City Council at the governing body’s Tuesday evening caucus meeting. But in a heated exchange with Healy, Ward E City Councilman and 2013 mayoral candidate Steven Fulop challenged several of Healy’s assertions about the budget.
“This is the second year in a row that the administration has developed a budget with no municipal tax increase,” Healy told the council members Tuesday.
The mayor said taxes in the proposed budget were held steady due to several factors. The city’s pension costs are down this year by $6 million because municipal workers are now required to contribute more money to their retirement plans. Salary costs are down $1 million compared to last year due to layoffs in 2011. Health care costs are also down. Budgets for most autonomous city agencies have not been increased in the proposed budget. And the city expects to receive the same level of aid from the state as it did in 2011.
Municipal spending will also be held down this year through an aggressive consolidation plan, Healy added.
“Last year we began the process of streamlining government and we continue with that difficult, but necessary, task this year,” said Healy. “Over the next several weeks my administration will unveil a consolidation plan that will streamline services and move offices and functions within and across departments. The first two elements of the consolidation plan are to combine the Department of Public Works and the Jersey City Incinerator Authority, and to create a Department of Public Safety, which is to be comprised of the Fire Department, Police Department, the Office of Emergency Management, the enforcement functions of the Parking Authority, and public safety telecommunications.”
Fulop challenged Healy’s assertion that the administration has kept taxes steady over the last two years.
“If you say something a million times it doesn’t mean it’s necessarily true,” Fulop told the mayor at Tuesday’s caucus. “If you look at the budget, year over year, there has been a substantial tax increase when you look at the amount [of money] to be raised in taxes.”
Fulop, a frequent critic of the administration, is currently opposing Healy for mayor. Healy recently announced his intention to seek a third mayoral term.
A public hearing on the budget is currently scheduled for the City Council meeting of Wednesday, March 28 at 6 p.m.
Charges against former assemblyman and JC mayoral candidate Lou Manzo tossed
On Feb. 17, a federal judge dismissed charges against former Assemblyman and Jersey City mayoral candidate Lou Manzo.
Manzo, one of 46 public officials and religious leaders arrested in the summer of 2009 as part of the massive Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) sting known as Operation Bid Rig, had been charged with accepting a $20,000 bribe from Solomon Dwek, a government informant who posed as a developer. Dwek attempted to have phony real estate deals expedited by public officials in exchange for cash.
Several public officials who were ensnared in the scandal pleaded guilty and went to jail, including former Jersey City Council President Mariano Vega and ex-Hoboken Mayor Peter Cammarano, while a handful of others went to trial, with mixed results. Former assemblyman and Jersey City Councilman L. Harvey Smith and Anthony Suarez, the former mayor of Ridgefield, were acquitted in 2010 of taking bribes from Dwek. But former Secaucus Mayor Dennis Elwell and Leona Beldini, a former Jersey City deputy mayor, were tried and convicted.
Manzo has long argued that Operation Bid Rig was politically motivated to help the 2009 gubernatorial campaign of Christopher Christie. Christie was the U.S. Attorney for New Jersey when the sting operation was set in motion and most of those arrested in connection with it were Democrats.
U.S. District Court Judge Jose L. Linares may have been persuaded by this argument. In a ruling announced Feb. 17, Linares dismissed two charges that Manzo crossed state lines to commit a crime and two charges that he failed to report the crimes (bribery) of others to authorities. Last year, Linares tossed two extortion charges against Manzo.
Hartz wants to bring 1,000 luxury housing units to 99 Hudson St.
Hartz Mountain Industries and Roseland Property Company said Tuesday that they will build a 1,000-unit residential complex at 99 Hudson St. in Jersey City, adding another luxury housing address to the city’s waterfront – but the project is subject to the revival of a state tax credit program.
The $450 million rental housing project would create more than, 2,000 construction jobs, they said in a release.
Hartz has already developed office buildings at 70 Hudson St. and 90 Hudson St., collectively known as the Colgate Center. Nearby, the Goldman Sachs tower and a luxury condo development, which were not developed by Hartz, already sit at 77 Hudson.
Roseland Property Company, which manages Hartz Mountain’s residential projects and is a partner in four of Hartz’s residential developments, envisions the 99 Hudson development to support retail and entertainment.
“The waterfront in Jersey City features many compelling pieces, but it lacks a center,” said Carl Goldberg, a Roseland Property Company partner. “We see 99 Hudson providing the components that would turn an interesting area into a classic neighborhood.”
The project will be developed subject to revival of the NJ Economic Development Agency’s Urban Hub Tax Credit program, which was suspended after depleting its $250 million allocation.
“We submitted an application several months ago that fully qualified for the tax credit program,” said Emanuel Stern, president and COO of Hartz Mountain Industries. “As we have seen through the history of the program, the economic climate – especially as it pertains to financing – will not permit a project like this to proceed without assistance. Our application to New Jersey Economic Development Authority for the Urban Hub Tax Credit program delivers instant economic impact and smart growth benefits that will last for decades, so we are hopeful this necessary program is quickly revived so we can commence construction.”
It was not immediately clear whether Hartz will also see a tax abatement from Jersey City.
Controversial dental plan option approved by council
The City Council has approved controversial contracts with Horizon Dental Healthcare Services and Horizon Dental Choice. The contracts awarded to these two providers replace contracts the city had with Delta Dental covering city employees. The city’s contracts with Delta Dental expired on Dec. 31, 2011.
In January the council refused to approve the switch to Horizon after the local police and fire unions objected, arguing that Horizon did not offer comparable benefits.
The city proposed the switch from Delta Dental to Horizon Dental Choice for in-network coverage and Horizon Dental Healthcare Services of New Jersey for out-of-network coverage. The change, which required the approval of the council, will cost the city $1.1 million and $2.7 million, respectively, over a two-year period for the two plans. Still, this represents a savings of millions of dollars.
Within the last few weeks, a representative for the unions compared the two plans and stated that Horizon’s coverage was comparable to Delta’s. Some rank and file members of the police and fire departments, however, still say this is not the case.
The council approved the contract with Horizon by a vote of 7-2. Councilwomen Nidia Lopez and Viola Richardson voted against the Horizon contracts.
Still no updates in Ian Burnet case
As of last week there were still no updates in the case of missing college student Ian Burnet, according to Jersey City resident and activist Althea Bernheim, who is a relative of Burnet’s.
The 22-year-old Virginia Commonwealth University student, who has cousins in Jersey City, has been missing since Dec 30.
“Sadly there has been no word and no change in the investigation,” Bernheim said last week. “The police departments both in Virginia and New York City continue to follow up on all leads that come into them and none of them have panned out. It’s been emotionally crushing on the family.”
Burnet left Virginia on Dec. 26 and boarded a bus bound for New York City, where he had planned to spend New Year’s with friends. His parents received a text from their son the next day, on Dec. 27, and he had some type of communication with a roommate on Dec. 30. Burnet is known to have had a meal at a fast food restaurant on Dec. 30 as well. But his movements after Dec. 30 are unclear.
The family has set up a Facebook page, through which updates are given regarding Burnet’s case. The Facebook page can be accessed at http://www.facebook.com/groups/185598631539107/?notif_t=group_r2j.
In addition, an official “missing person” flier can be downloaded from http://www.fileswap.com/dl/7Q888KAvbC/Ian_Burnet.pdf.html.
On the flier Burnet is described as 5’ 10” with brown hair and green eyes. A photo that accompanies the flier shows Burnet with curly hair.
Anyone who thinks they may have seen Burnet is encouraged to contact Det. Sanchez, Det. Davis, or Sgt. Greene in the New York Police Department’s 30 Precinct at 451 West 151th St. New York Police Department investigators can also be reached at (212) 690-8842.