The he said/he said continues.
Mayor James Davis spoke during the public portion of the city council meeting on Jan. 21, addressing an ongoing battle between his administration and that of the Bayonne Board of Education over what he said is unreimbursed school construction funding.
Davis said that in a fall meeting between his administration and the New Jersey Department of Education’s School Development Authority, he learned two things.
One was that the state had given the BOE $7.4 million in funding for completed Bayonne school projects which had not been reimbursed to the city, which had to bond for the projects.
The other was that the SDA owes an additional $4.4 million to Bayonne, but could not send the payments for those projects because the school board had not met the SDA’s requirements to provide the necessary paperwork to close those projects out.
The mayor pledged to stop the game of “kick the can” on projects like these.
“It’s time for the Board of Education to get its financial house in order,” the mayor said.
School Business Administrator Leo Smith, Jr., reached on Jan. 22, said the payments referred to by Davis have been made to the city by the school board, including one for $6 million.
“We’ve paid them everything that we’ve owed them,” Smith said. “That’s our position.”
Davis contends that the $6 million referred to by Smith was not for the projects he’s addressing, from 2012 on. Davis also charges that the alleged non-reimbursement problem has existed for two decades.
“They’re looking to be paid twice for the same things.” – Leo Smith, Jr.
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But Smith said payments were made to the previous administrations of mayors Richard Rutkowski, Len Kiczek, Joseph Doria, Terrence Malloy, and Mark Smith.
To explain what the Davis administration is now asking for, Smith used the analogy of a bank changing its name and then asking a homeowner to pay a mortgage a second time.
“They’re looking to be paid twice for the same things,” Smith said.
Smith said the board of education’s books are always open, and invited city officials to come look at them.
Davis said he would write a letter to the state’s education commissioner regarding the matter, and did, later in the week.
Joseph Passantino may be reached at JoePass@hudsonreporter.com.
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