Mayor News
Despite legacy costs and retroactive salary payments going back to 2007, the City Council adopted a budget tonight with a $900,000 reduction in the municipal tax levy and a 3.6% cash surplus level. The municipal tax levy has been reduced by approximately $6 million since 2010.
“Thank you to Council President Bhalla, Finance Chair Cunningham, and Council members Marsh, Mello, and Giattino for their support as well as my directors and the finance department for working so hard to create this strong, responsible budget,” said Mayor Dawn Zimmer. “I am proud that our teamwork enabled the budget to be adopted in the shortest timeframe in over a decade and will continue working to provide city services as effectively and efficiently as possible.”
Pearson will maintain a New Jersey workforce of 1,750 with the completion of the 500,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art, sustainable office and retail building
Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno, Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer, and other dignitaries today joined Pearson’s Rich Glicini, Senior Vice President for People and Social Responsibility, and SJP Properties’ CEO Steven J. Pozycki, to announce a lease agreement to relocate New Jersey employees from the world’s leading learning company to a new, state-of-the-art office building on Hoboken’s waterfront.
Pearson signed a lease for more than 200,000 square feet at SJP Properties’ 500,000-square-foot Waterfront Corporate Center III, the final site within Hoboken’s 26-acre waterfront, mixed-use master plan, and the last phase of SJP’s 1.5-million-square-foot, three-building office and retail complex.
“Pearson’s decision to stay is just one of many examples where we’ve successfully intervened to keep and create jobs in New Jersey,” said Lt. Gov. Guadagno. “The Christie-Guadagno Administration’s policy of assertively protecting and pursing jobs for New Jerseyans is a major reason why the New Jersey Comeback is underway.”
Pearson will occupy five floors starting in 2014 and is relocating approximately 900 employees from its current offices in Upper Saddle River and Old Tappan, N.J.
Mayor Dawn Zimmer will hold open office hours on Wednesday, February 1, 2012 from 5pm to 7pm in her office on the second floor of City Hall, 94 Washington Street. No appointment is necessary.
Office hours will also be held on Wednesday, March 7, 2012 and Wednesday April 4, 2012 from 5pm to 7pm.
At her second State of the City address, Mayor Dawn Zimmer highlighted the City of Hoboken’s progress on fiscal, infrastructure, and quality of life issues, and announced plans for 2012.
Mayor Zimmer identified a 10 percent reduction in municipal taxes and the saving of Hoboken University Medical Center as two key achievements in the last year.
“Together we saved our City from financial destruction with the successful sale of Hoboken University Medical Center,” said Mayor Zimmer, who noted that the City would have been responsible for paying a $52 million bond if the sale had not been successful.
During her first State of the City address, Mayor Dawn Zimmer emphasized her three priorities for her Administration: to operate as fiscally responsibly and cost-effectively as possible in order to reduce and stabilize taxes for the long term, to address Hoboken’s significant infrastructure challenges, and to improve the quality of life for all Hoboken residents.
The address was streamed live online and is available for viewing in its entirety at the link: http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/12875366. It will also be played on Channel 78 on Cablevision and Channel 47 on FiOS.
Mayor Zimmer proposed bonding $20 million, to be paid for completely from the Open Space Trust Fund, to purchase land for new park space for the underserved areas along the western side of Hoboken. In addition, the City has developed a capital investment plan to improve parks and is developing a master plan for the maintenance of the City’s neglected water main system and a maintenance manual to cost-effectively maintain the City’s waterfront for the long term.
Mayor Dawn Zimmer will hold open office hours on Wednesday, December 15th from 5pm to 7pm in her office at City Hall.
�I invite residents to come by and let us know how we can be more helpful and responsive to their needs,� said Mayor Dawn Zimmer.
Directors and other members of the administration will be available to assist in addressing resident concerns.
At a community meeting on parks and open space held on Monday evening, Mayor Dawn Zimmer announced her intention to request that the Council approve a bond ordinance for the acquisition of land for the creation of new parks as designated in Hoboken�s Master Plan.
“It is important that we acquire this park space now before we lose any more land to development,” said Mayor Dawn Zimmer. “After a year and a half of belt-tightening, gimmick-free budgets, and responsible fiscal management, we are now out of state fiscal supervision and on strong financial footing to make this investment in our City’s future. In addition, we are very well positioned to sell the Hoboken University Medical Center, maintain the acute care services currently provided by the hospital, and release the City from its $52 million bond guarantee. And now is the time to take advantage of the downturn in the real estate market so we can change our City for the better forever.”
The bond funding would go towards purchasing land designated in Hoboken�s Master Plan as park space. The Open Space Trust Fund would go towards funding the cost of the bond.
Mayor Dawn Zimmer would like to thank all of the municipal employees that helped the City vacate the garage by the end of this week. Many thanks to Director Jennifer Maier and everyone in her Environmental Services team.
Last night, the City Council voted 5-3 to terminate an agreement with SHG Hoboken Urban Renewal Associates, LLC, (SHG), an affiliate of the S. Hekemian Group, to sell the municipal garage property after carefully deliberating the issue in closed session for nearly 4 hours. The decision was made necessary by a series of deliberate and threatened actions by Hekemian which began immediately after their demand to significantly reduce the effective purchase price was rejected by the City in June.�Their actions clearly demonstrated that the developer had no intention of closing despite their public statements to the contrary.
The City of Hoboken has been increasing its efforts to enforce taxi and limousine regulations for the protection of residents and visitors.
�My Administration is taking taxi and limousine safety issues very seriously,� Mayor Dawn Zimmer said.
Code enforcement officers have already issued over $60,000 in summonses to illegally-operating taxi services. In addition to scheduled inspections, spot checks for proper documentation and vehicle condition are now regularly conducted.
