Dear Editor:
At nearly every City Council meeting, residents come to the podium to say they are on the verge of being pushed out of Jersey City by sky-high taxes. Often they are lifelong residents, and it is heartbreaking to hear them speak of being forced to leave the city they know and love. These people understand that the city needs to pay its bills. They also understand, however, that a primary reason their taxes keep rising is their government’s refusal to deviate from the status quo of patronage, lack of transparency, and lack of accountability. They know that doing business the Jersey City way is expensive—and that they pay for it.
Starting at the next council meeting, and into the summer months, I will be pushing my colleagues to accept a long-term plan for streamlining government. Earlier this year I advocated for the Jersey City Incinerator Authority to be moved into the Department of Public Works, a change that will produce $10 million in annual savings. That change is still under consideration—which is to say, the entrenched interests are fighting it.
This summer I will be advocating for more streamlining. I need your help to urge some of the old-time politicians to put the city’s interest in front of their own.
At the next council meeting, I will suggest formal notification to start the process of rolling the Jersey City Cultural Affairs Department into the Hudson County government. Of course the city needs to plan for parades, events, awards, and the like. But there is an identical department at the county level. Jersey City represents 50 percent of the population of Hudson County, and to have two government agencies doing the same thing means residents of Jersey City are taxed twice. Lets streamline the process and still deliver the service.
Next, Councilwoman Lopez and I will recommend eliminating the Jersey City Economic Development Corporation and placing its small loan program and other services under county control. Once again, the county has a redundant service, and with the Governor’s elimination of Urban Enterprise Zone funding, the consolidation of economic development functions makes all the sense in the world
Finally, later in the summer, my office will propose an ordinance that eliminates the Jersey City Parking Authority and rolls it back into the city, where it belongs. There is no reason for the taxpayers to support a top-heavy autonomous agency that has zero accountability. This agency does not answer to you—but it has used your money to settle numerous sexual harassment lawsuits, and its leaders have long been used to personal cars and other perks. It is time to bring the Parking Authority back into the city government to increase accountability and performance.
The city politicos will attack me for these proposals. I urge you to observe the facts and consider the merits of the argument. It is time to get the city to work for the residents and not the other way around.
Sincerely
Steven Fulop