Bayonne teachers receive retroactive checks
A little more than three months after their contract settlement, Bayonne teachers received their retroactive check payments late last week, according to a published report.
The payments were the result of the five-year pact agreed to by the Bayonne Teachers Association and Bayonne Board of Education on Sept. 2. The Board of Education approved the contract on Sept. 18.
The contract covers the 2014-15 school year, and the previous four years, when the teachers were working without a new contract.
Teachers were issued half of their retro money last Wednesday and the other half on Friday, a local daily newspaper reported.
Mayor James Davis had said earlier in the month that teachers would receive their money during the second week of the month.
Port Authority announces bridge closures and holds
The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey released the schedule for closures and 20-minute traffic holds for the Bayonne Bridge.
The remaining closures for the week will be: Wednesday Dec. 17 – 9 p.m. to 5 a.m., Thursday Dec.18 – 9 p.m. to 5 a.m., and Friday Dec. 19 – 11:59 p.m. to 8 a.m.
The Dec. 19 bridge closure will be the final one, overnight or weekend, for 2014, the authority further announced.
To facilitate pier segment delivery and construction at worksites in Bayonne and Staten Island, 20-minute traffic holds are scheduled for Dec. 17 and 18. The traffic holds will occur at the top of each hour, and may occur between those hours, from 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., according to the authority.
Bill to reinvest tax money into urban communities advances
A bill that would end the practice of using Urban Enterprise Zone dollars to fill gaps in the state budget was approved Dec. 15 by the New Jersey Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee.
Among the bill’s three sponsors is Sen. Nicholas Sacco, D-Hudson and Bergen.
“The urban enterprise program is about providing investments into our state’s economically depressed areas, improving opportunities for businesses to grow and thrive, and to put members of the local community to work,” Sacco said.
S-2642 would reform the UEZ program by requiring that 30 percent of all reduced-rate sales tax revenues collected by businesses within Urban Enterprise Zones be deposited into accounts earmarked for each respective municipality for economic development projects. The remaining 70 percent of the funds would go to the state’s general and property tax relief funds.
For the past four years, the statutes governing UEZs have been suspended and the state has diverted all UEZ tax revenue for state-budget purposes.
The bill now heads to the full Senate for consideration.
Community Museum to be site of art exhibit
“Nicholas A. Maccia’s Art Exhibit: Exposed” will be held at the Bayonne Community Museum, 229 Broadway, on Friday, Dec. 19 from 7 to 10 p.m. and Saturday, Dec. 20 from noon to 5 p.m.
Live music and refreshments will be part of the event.
For more information, visit Macchiaart.com.