The Hoboken City Council approved a $108.4 million budget with no city tax rate increase for the 2015 calendar year at its Wednesday, May 20 meeting. The total budget is down almost 2 percent from last year’s $110.5 million sum.
At the behest of City Council members, the administration of Mayor Dawn Zimmer made minor cuts and used $9 million of its surplus in order to keep the municipal property tax rate flat.
The amount to be collected by the city from residents via taxes – or the municipal tax levy – rose slightly, from $51.79 million to $52.38 million. But thanks to a $198 million boost in the city’s total property value over the last year, the tax rate will stay the same or potentially decrease.
Property owners pay an overall tax amount made up of city taxes, school taxes, and county taxes, with small fractions for the public library and an open space trust fund. The municipal portion of Hoboken’s property tax rate – the only part affected by the city budget — will remain at $4.69 per $1,000 of assessed value, or $2,430 per year for the average Hoboken residential property of $518,000.
Hoboken homeowners will most likely still pay more in property taxes overall this year, thanks to a 4 percent increase in the public school tax levy and a projected 11 percent increase in the county tax levy, which has yet to be introduced but is usually approved in June.
Besides property taxes, Hoboken’s budget is funded through state and federal aid and grants, license and permit fees, tax abatements, rents on city property, and other revenue streams. Fines and court costs assessed for violations of the municipal code alone rendered nearly $5 million to the city last year.
After $9 million was diverted to help keep Hoboken’s municipal tax rate flat, the city has $12.4 million remaining in surplus. $4.1 million in surplus generated by the Hoboken Parking Utility (HPU) was also funneled into the general city budget. The HPU maintains a separate annual budget funded entirely by the proceeds from Hoboken’s parking meters, parking permits, parking tickets, parking lot fees, parking boot releases, and taxi licenses.
“We’re probably the most compact municipality in the county, yet we’re not seeing much of anything come back to us.” — Dave Mello
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At past meetings, Hoboken Finance Director Linda Landolfi cautioned that drawing too much from the city’s surplus could lead to a lowering of the credit rating for Hoboken’s bonds.
County taxes could rise again
In her budget presentation to City Council this past Wednesday, Landolfi emphasized that overall property taxes were being driven up by forces outside of the city’s control.
If Hudson County’s proposed 2015 tax levy of $67.3 million for Hoboken, a sum provided to Landolfi earlier this year, is approved by the county freeholders, it will increase taxes on the average Hoboken residential property by $285 per year.
According to Landolfi, while Hoboken’s 2015 municipal tax levy is only $3.5 million higher than it was in 2009, the tax levy drawn from Hoboken by Hudson County will increase by $30.3 million over the same period if its proposed levy is approved.
Several council members slammed Hudson County for what they said was an unacceptable burdening of Hoboken taxpayers. In 2009, 30 percent of residents’ overall property taxes went to the county, and if the $67 million levy is approved, 40 percent will.
“I don’t think we’re getting anywhere near enough services from the county to be ever increasing the percentage of the county budget that we in Hoboken are funding,” said Councilman Dave Mello. “We’re probably the most compact municipality in the county; yet we’re not seeing much of anything come back to us.”
Council members encouraged Hoboken taxpayers to attend a hearing on the county budget in the Council Chambers at City Hall at 6 p.m. on Thursday, June 4. All nine members of the Hudson County Board of Chosen Freeholders are expected to be in attendance.
What lies beneath?
The beginning of construction on the Southwest Park will be delayed for at least three months after the state mandated that Hoboken search for Indian ruins, colonial artifacts, and signs of early man beneath the parking lot slated to become the city’s newest recreation area, according to Assistant Business Administrator Stephen Marks.
As a condition of receiving a $4.7 million low-interest state loan to fund the park’s build out, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has required that Hoboken undertake a level 2 environmental review of the property, which includes an archeological survey.
“It’s definitely not something we would do on our own,” said Marks. “We appealed it, but per the letter of the regulation…they have the right to ask for this and we either have to comply or we don’t move forward.”
The loan from the New Jersey Environmental Infrastructure Trust (NJEIT) has not been officially granted yet, but Marks said he could not foresee a circumstance in which it wouldn’t be.
The changes push back the city’s expected date for breaking ground on the park to October 2015, but Marks said much of the construction work should be able to continue through the winter. With the exception of final planting and landscaping, said Marks, “the only thing you really can’t do during the colder weather months is asphalt.”
In order to conduct the archeological excavation and other unforeseen services, landscape architecture firm Starr Whitehouse, the city’s contractor for the pre-construction work on the Southwest Park, requested an increase of $90,751 on its contract with Hoboken, bringing its total value to $504,302. The City Council approved the increase Wednesday with eight affirmative votes and Councilwoman Theresa Castellano voting present.
Starr Whitehouse’s request had been $3,040 higher, but the firm agreed to come down on the costs cited for its investigation of installing a large-scale rainwater recycling system in the park, according to Councilman Tim Occhipinti. The City Council decided not to pursue such a system in April, but the park will still include a 200,000-gallon stormwater retention chamber.
Through various amendments, Starr Whitehouse’s contract for the planning of the Southwest Park has increased by $145,751 since it was first awarded last September. $250,000 of the contract is covered by a U.S. Department of the Interior grant.
The Southwest Park, which the city hopes to expand in the future, will occupy most of a trapezoidal lot inscribed by Harrison Street, Observer Highway, Paterson Avenue, and Jackson Street.
At another site Mayor Zimmer hopes will someday become a centerpiece park for northwest Hoboken, the state DEP has also mandated a level 2 environmental review. The city must complete the examination in order to receive an $11.99 million NJEIT loan slated to fund the purchase the undeveloped property.
Last November, Hoboken offered chemical giant BASF $9.7 million for the 6.1 acre swath between Madison and Adams streets. It is prepared to enter eminent domain proceedings for the land if its bid is not accepted.
The environmental review demanded by DEP for the BASF site does not include archeological sampling, as Hoboken does not yet own the site, but it does require that the city look through 115 years of title and deed documents for the property in search of “cultural value,” according to Marks.
In order to conduct this review, the City Council approved a $19,830 contract with Excel Environmental this past Wednesday to serve as the licensed site remediation professional (LSRP) for the BASF site. The contract was approved unanimously.
Hoboken veterans honored
Many of the City Council members arrived at Wednesday’s meeting fresh from Hoboken’s 117th Annual Memorial Day Parade, which stretched along Washington Street between First and Tenth streets. The veneration of America’s armed forces continued into the meeting itself, with the Council taking time out to recognize one of Hoboken’s most decorated veterans, Master Sergeant John J. Mullins.
Though Mullins died in 2003, his niece and nephew-in-law Linda and Kim Corea were on hand to remember their beloved uncle and his service to the country. Just this past week, Corea accepted a posthumous New Jersey Distinguished Service Medal and New Jersey Korean Service Medal for Mullins at a ceremony led by Brigadier General Steven Ferrari of the New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs.
Over a 25-year Army career that stretched through World War II and the Korean War, Mullins received many honors, including the Purple Heart, a Silver Star, two Bronze Stars, five Battle Stars and a United Nations Medal. Upon returning home, he went on to serve as an activist for wounded veterans.
“That was his life,” said Corea. “That’s what he wanted to do since he’s 17 years old. He could have been a police officer, he could have been a fireman, he could have been any of those things but that’s what he chose to be.”
“I have never proud than I am today standing before you for my uncle,” said Corea. “Thanks to all the people in uniform that for our freedom every day and I hope no one takes that for granted.”
Carlo Davis may be reached at cdavis@hudsonreporter.com.