HOBOKEN – Mayor Dawn Zimmer met with her directors on Thursday to advise them that layoffs would be necessary in order to close a budget gap after the City Council did not pass two bond proposals on Wednesday night.
Zimmer has five allies on the council, but needs six votes for a bond ordinance to pass. Her council foes voted against an ordinance to refinance a parking bond in the midtown garage related to the hospital sale, and also against a $2.8 million capital improvement bond, meaning the ordinances failed by a 5-4 vote.
For prior coverage, click HERE.
Zimmer sent out a release on Thursday after meeting with her staff and directors.
“I deeply regret that this action must be taken, but unfortunately the City Council minority's blocking of these essential bond ordinances leaves me no choice,” she said in a release. “Layoffs should not be necessary at all, but the City Council minority has intentionally created an easily avoidable budget gap that must now be addressed in a fiscally responsible manner.”
The city has a $365 million bonding capacity, and the city has bonded for $112 million thus far.
The city must now close a $7.3 million budget gap to pay off the garage construction bond and to make essential capital improvements, which will likely be paid for through staff reductions. If the council had passed the refinancing bond on Wednesday, the city could have saved $50,000, Zimmer said, due to better refinancing rates. Now, the city must pay $4.5 million to extinguish the non-taxable garage bonds and make them taxable, since the government is no longer operating the hospital.
The council members that voted against the capital improvements bond said they thought Zimmer shouldn’t bond for capital improvements. They also said they voted against the parking refinancing because they disagreed with a related parking agreement that would provide certain access to the garage for the new owners of the hospital for 99 years, regardless whether the property remains a hospital.
Zimmer said the city negotiated the best they could, and this was the deal that was agreed upon between the city and the buyers.
For much more, pick up a copy of The Hoboken Reporter this weekend. - Ray Smith
"if the mayor only offers one alternative to the layoffs, and that alternative is to borrow a lot more money, and the council minority votes against this, how does that make them responsible for layoffs?"
Can you explain how a bond refinance involves "borrowing a lot more money?"
(of course, mason and russo could have tried to offer some too but the council is limited in what it can do i think.)
On one side, Hoboken gains $50,000 annually from the lower interest rates, hundreds of additional parking spaces in the garage and market rates for more parking should the hospital not last beyond seven years.
On the other, chaos, destruction and the last burning ember given life to burn Hoboken down.
Like the arsons earlier burning out their neighbors will the guilty escape with no convictions. We'll see.
For more on this story with video and photos:
Mile Square View
http://milesquareview.com
1) Plant money trees in front of city hall and fertilize them well so that we can harvest a few million by Christmas.
2) Place large bins outside of city hall and hope that enough money will fall from the sky really soon.
3) Hope that one of the UFOs regularly spotted all over the US will stop by in Hoboken and find our town worthy of a little cash infusion.
HO HO HO. Not a very merry Christmas for many Hoboken families, thanks to them.
What a horrible crew. They've dishonored themselves and disgraced our city by casting off the painless, responsible action for some crazy scheme to weaken the mayor. Makes no sense at all.
The bond refinance was a no-brainer; a bit of paperwork that would have saved our city 50K. We are no where near our bonding capacity. Now we have to scramble for millions while our friends and neighbors lose their jobs.
For what?
May MORT's constituents never forget. Nor forgive them. Such irresponsible and destructive individuals do not belong in a position of power over the rest of us.
http://grafixavenger.blogspot.com/2011/10/mort-bottom-of-deck.html
But no one more than those who will lose their jobs because of the political manuverings of Councilpersons Russo, Mason, Castellano and Occhipinti who worked so hard to sabotage Hospital sale and both the Zimmer Administration and the people of Hoboken.
The tradgedy for Hoboken was calculated and percipitated by the City Council Minority Castellano, Mason, Russo and Occhipinti and they are to be held responsible for their actions.
My sympathy goes out to all those who will have to suffer for their actions.