Council Meeting Wrap-Up: April 3, 2024
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Good morning, Hoboken and welcome back from a very wet spring break for those of you with kids in the Hoboken Public School District. While last week was rainy, we did manage to get a council meeting in, with the two biggest items being the budget introduction and a new garbage pick-up contract. We also confirmed two appointees to the Hoboken Housing Authority and approved a contract for the final design of Phase I of Maritime Park (amongst other things). Let’s get to it.
Introduction? of the 2024 Budget
Here’s how it’s supposed to go. The Administration communicates its proposed budget to the City Council. They then go over it at a high level during a Council meeting to discuss in broad strokes what’s included and the rationale behind the proposed spending. The Council then asks questions and votes on whether to introduce the budget. Introduction of the budget kicks off a process which by law cannot be less than 28 days. Within that time we typically hold budget presentations and workshops, we look for potential savings and additional items to include that were missing. After the 28 days the City Council can then vote on whether to approve the budget or not; however, if there are more details to work out, the process can take longer. Ultimately, the goal is to agree on a budget to run the City for the year.
Here’s how it went down. The Administration communicated its proposed budget to the City Council on Wednesday morning. The City’s Business Administrator provided a high-level overview during the Council meeting. Some questions were asked. Then the Council proceeded to vote down the introduction of the budget by a 5-4 margin.
Why? The prevailing argument was that the Council did not have sufficient time to review. Which I might agree with if this was the end of the process, but as I noted above, the goal of this exercise was to kick-off a month-long budget process. I voted Yes because moving forward towards a final budget is one of our most important responsibilities as a Council. Without a budget the City simply cannot run. During his overview of the proposed budget, the Business Administrator noted a number of salient points – yes there is a proposed 6% tax increase from last year, but that is due almost exclusively to costs out of our control, for example increases state-mandated payments to pension funds like the Public Employees’ Retirement System and the Police and Firemen’s Retirement System of NJ (note: they really should call it the Firefighter’s Retirement System, but that’s for another day). Other variable costs within the City’s control remained flat, including a reduction in certain staff salaries due to a re-organization late last year. The net result was a proposal which would have kept Hoboken’s municipal tax rate the lowest in Hudson County and with increases well below the level of inflation.
So, where do we go from here? The budget will be re-introduced during a special session on April 15, before the first of nine budget workshops occurring over three Zoom sessions during the subsequent two weeks. If we vote to approve its introduction, the earliest we can vote on a final version would be the May 15 Council meeting (unless we hold a special session to vote on just the budget). This is a delay, yes, but a minor one and I’m not only confident my colleagues will join me in voting to introduce the budget, but that we’ll work collaboratively over the next month or so to finalize a reasonable budget for our City.
Waste Collection Contract
You know what they say about garbage collection? It’s a dirty business. Yes, it’s a bad joke, but I couldn’t help myself… and no, not a single person has yet to laugh at it, so you are not alone. Anyway, before we get into the contract we approved, let’s take a moment to understand the level of service Hoboken provides with respect to waste collection. Hoboken provides more frequent waste collection than every municipality in Hudson County except for two. Specifically, City-wide there is garbage or recycling collection every day of the week except for Tuesday and Saturday. In Limited Business Areas, there is waste collection everyday except for Saturday (with Washington Street serviced twice per evening). While this may seem like a lot, this is a critical function to keep our City clean, and one we all agree shouldn’t be reduced especially as we continue to fight our rodent battle in town. Which is why approving the new contract with Cali Carting on Wednesday was difficult, but necessary.
Citing increases in costs of qualified personnel (specifically following the pandemic), equipment, insurance, and fuel – Cali Carting, our sole bidder for waste collection services, submitted a contract for about $7.5 million for the next two years of service. That amount is a 73% increase from the previous contract and is painful, but necessary and consistent with what we are seeing in other municipalities. A survey by the Administration of other seven other municipalities saw accepted increases ranging from 33% to 160%, with service levels generally below what Hoboken offers. One municipality received a bid with a 300% increase and therefore opted out completely, forcing its residents to contract privately for waste collection (note: we will never do that in Hoboken). So, this price increase stinks, but we must do it.
Phase 1 of Maritime Park
The process for building out Maritime Park (the old Union Dry Dock) is about to begin following a final concept approved by the City Council in February. Next steps include preparing final design documents for Phase 1 of the project (Phase 2 will come with the expiration of the NY Waterways lease). On Wednesday we approve a contract with Colliers Engineering & Design for about $2.2 million to execute this process, which will include: preparing final design plans, technical specifications, schedules, permit applications, and community engagement. This is an early, but critical step in making Maritime Park a reality, and I’m excited to see where we go from here.
Two Appointees to the Hoboken Housing Authority Board
There were two vacancies on the Hoboken Housing Authority Board that were filled on Wednesday, one to fill the vacancy due to Aaron Lewit’s unfortunate passing and the other to fill a vacancy coming up in May. David Ewards was confirmed to fill the first vacancy, with Jean Rodriguez confirmed to fill the latter. Congratulations to you both.
