HOBOKEN – The Hoboken City Council will vote to introduce its 2014 municipal budget at a Wednesday night meeting. It will hold a public hearing and final vote on a different day.
The $107.6 million budget includes a $2.8 million increase from the 2013 budget, as well as a $950,000 million tax levy increase. Taxes are expected to rise less than two percent, but Mayor Dawn Zimmer argued on Tuesday night the increase is necessary to cope with rising salaries, healthcare costs, and legal bills.
Still, Zimmer insinuated that the budget might have shown more of an increase had her administration not taken steps to upgrade its credit rating and instill new fiscally-disciplined financial practices. Last year’s budget, at $104.7 million, showed a $7 million overall reduction since Zimmer took office in 2009 and included a two percent tax decrease. In her time as mayor, Zimmer has decreased taxes about 12 percent overall, she said Tuesday.
“It is a fiscally disciplined, honest budget that stabilizes taxes with less than a two percent increase and responsible surplus while making a down payment on repaving our worst roads and making our most dangerous intersections safer for pedestrians,” she said, noting capital projects for Washington Street and Willow Avenue.
Hoboken residents can speak on the introduced budget at Wednesday night’s council meeting, which will take place at 7 p.m. in City Hall. A copy of the introduced budget is available on the city’s website. – Dean DeChiaro
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