The fiscal year is already half over and the third and fourth quarter tax bills have already been mailed out and were due Feb. 15.
Down to the wire
Hoboken is six months into the 2004-2005 fiscal year. Last December, Mayor David Roberts presented a preliminary $69.9 million budget, but the state found there were errors in the administration's work which forced the council to rescind the amendments at a Jan. 5 council meeting.
Now proposed budget is up to around $71 million. An unresolved issue in Roberts' budget is that the administration anticipated around $7.9 million from the possible sale of the municipal garage to go toward budget relief. But it looks like that sale will not be going through any time in the near future, especially considering that it needs a two-thirds council majority to pass (see sidebar).
So now a bitterly divided council, in the middle of an election cycle, must figure how to come up with $7.9 million in the next six months. According city Business Administrator Richard England, options include making drastic cuts to the municipal workforce or raising the municipal portion of the tax levy by over one third, all of which could be burdensome considering there are only about four months left in the fiscal year.
But the bills are already out...
But considering that it's the election season, timing is everything. About a month, ago the city's tax collector sent out "final" tax bills to every Hoboken property owner. Since that day, the City Council minority has cried foul. They said that the tax collector should not have sent out the final bills without a budget.
The minority of council members, Carol Marsh, Tony Soares, Michael Russo and Theresa Castellano, have said the bills should be voided.
Both Marsh and Russo plan to run against Roberts for mayor in May.
If the council doesn't have a change of heart for the garage sale and can't make cuts or find new revenues, then there is going to be a sizable increase in the new fourth quarter tax bills.
The council minority has said that majority is dragging its feet in fixing the problem. A large increase in the fourth quarter tax bill would be problematic for Roberts' re-election aspirations.
According to city's attorney Joseph Sherman, the city should have only sent out an estimated third quarter bill and should not have sent out a fourth quarter without an approved budget.
The council minority has threatened to take the issue to court, which still might happen, but for now, the minority does have one viable threat.
On Wednesday they voted down the city's temporary budget, which also requires a two-thirds vote. Because there isn't a budget in place, the city is living on a month to month temporary budget.
According to England, the city could pay its bills and salaries until March 2, but after that date, the city would shut down.
"Until the tax bills are fixed, I will not approve another [temporary budget]," said Soares.
At Wednesday's meeting, Russo presented a written resolution that would void the tax bills that have already been sent out.
Even though the council majority wasn't prepared to approve Russo's resolution, likely because of political reasons, they are starting to show signs that they realize that something needs to be done with the tax bills. "If this is what we need to do, then our corporation council should prepare a resolution and have it ready by the March 2 meeting," said Councilman A. Nino Giacchi, who normally supports the administration.
The blame game
Roberts and the members of the council that support him are trying to place the blame for the shortfall on the backs of the council minority. They've said that the City Council has had the budget for months now. Roberts said that if they pass the sale of the garage, a balanced budget could be approved - without a tax increase for the 11th consecutive year.
"It's really in their laps," Roberts said. He added that his opposition has been quick to criticize, but has come up with few revenue-generating or cost-cutting ideas. If they don't pass the sale of the garage, he said, it's up to them to find $7.9 million.
Minority's response
Not so, responded that council minority, claiming they have come up with many ideas to save or raise money but have been shut out of the discussion by Roberts and the administration.
According to Marsh, some of the ideas they proposed but were rejected, include rolling back hires that have been made since a hiring freeze was enacted last year, lowering the salaries for the city's directors, City Council, and the mayor, freezing non-essential professional services contracts, and ending "unnecessary" city advertising. Incidentally, while some towns fear cutting jobs because of the political ramifications, over in Bayonne, the City Council's Budget Committee recently made numerous specific suggestions for cuts to their budget. For more, see www.bayonnecommunitynews.com.
On Wednesday, Michael Russo made a verbal resolution for the City Council to not take any more pay until the end of the fiscal year, and to cut the salaries of all of the city's directors.
The resolution was voted down 5-4, and the vote fell along Roberts/anti-Roberts lines.
The council minority said that they are no longer going to write a check for the mayor's "out-of-control" spending.
"It's absurd to spend money that you don't have and then challenge the opponents to pay the bill," said Marsh.
Post a Comment