This is a letter that should make it in to the Hoboken Reporter for weekend of December 20, 2008. The goal here is to focus on the issues and get away from all the personalities who could be involved in the race for Mayor.
I have made it very clear recently as to my dislike of the past 4 years of the Robert’s Administration. Rather than criticize and be lumped in with the nay-sayers here is a list of things that the new mayor of Hoboken should work on starting in 2009:
1) Determine all PILOTS and document for public to see. Administer pilots to maximize tax revenue. Put moratorium on all new residential PILOTS.
2) Reevaluation. Put everyone on the same rate as soon as possible. It is long over due and will make taxes fairer for all except those on PILOTS.
3) Desk audit of all jobs to see where cuts can be made without diminishing essential services.
4) Cut non-essential services.
5) Complete investigation of Police Department including SWAT, Labruno, Andriani etc.
6) Departments are too top heavy. Demote where necessary, provide early incentives for rest but do so legally.
7) Work to get new School board to rescind Jack Raslowski and get a more budget conscious Superintendent of schools.
8) Follow up on flooding solutions for 4th and 5th Wards in particular. This includes improvements in sewerage.
9) With some of the cuts divert more money to improve roads in this town.
10) Make sure reserve is set aside for ball fields (not parks) so the City can buy land if opportunity presents itself. Sybil’s Cave is not a park.
11) Do the new police station. Just do not involve PILOTS.
12) Transparency. Increase it. Build a better City Website. It should not be the Mayor’s My-space page
13) No more Mayor's name on Garbage trucks and every sign in town. It reeks of emperor Nero.
14) Hire a professional administrator from outside Hudson County to come in and put patronage and politics aside.
15) Complete the Parking audit. Where are all the quarters?
16) Leadership. Demand that City workers show up and do their best. If not show them the door legally through the appropriate corrective action procedures so a judge can’t over turn them later.
17) Make Health and benefits less expensive to minimize layoffs. Cut health insurance costs by adopting a PPO instead of self-insured. This will save 30%. No more unlimited sick leave.
18) Fire the accounting firm that is there now.
19) Pursue grants more aggressively than in the past.
20) Work with Governor Corzine to ban PILOTS Statewide.
21) Appoint better a zoning board that isn’t beholden to developers interests alone.
Black jack. Certainly these points can be debated but this list is certainly a good start to think about what we want in our next mayor. By no means is it exhaustive, but I do think we need to see which candidate has a good platform and whether or not we trust that they will work towards these goals if elected. Hoboken deserves a vision and the ability to execute that vision to move the City forward.
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I have made it very clear recently as to my dislike of the past 4 years of the Robert’s Administration. Rather than criticize and be lumped in with the nay-sayers here is a list of things that the new mayor of Hoboken should work on starting in 2009:
1) Determine all PILOTS and document for public to see. Administer pilots to maximize tax revenue. Put moratorium on all new residential PILOTS.
2) Reevaluation. Put everyone on the same rate as soon as possible. It is long over due and will make taxes fairer for all except those on PILOTS.
3) Desk audit of all jobs to see where cuts can be made without diminishing essential services.
4) Cut non-essential services.
5) Complete investigation of Police Department including SWAT, Labruno, Andriani etc.
6) Departments are too top heavy. Demote where necessary, provide early incentives for rest but do so legally.
7) Work to get new School board to rescind Jack Raslowski and get a more budget conscious Superintendent of schools.
8) Follow up on flooding solutions for 4th and 5th Wards in particular. This includes improvements in sewerage.
9) With some of the cuts divert more money to improve roads in this town.
10) Make sure reserve is set aside for ball fields (not parks) so the City can buy land if opportunity presents itself. Sybil’s Cave is not a park.
11) Do the new police station. Just do not involve PILOTS.
12) Transparency. Increase it. Build a better City Website. It should not be the Mayor’s My-space page
13) No more Mayor's name on Garbage trucks and every sign in town. It reeks of emperor Nero.
14) Hire a professional administrator from outside Hudson County to come in and put patronage and politics aside.
15) Complete the Parking audit. Where are all the quarters?
16) Leadership. Demand that City workers show up and do their best. If not show them the door legally through the appropriate corrective action procedures so a judge can’t over turn them later.
17) Make Health and benefits less expensive to minimize layoffs. Cut health insurance costs by adopting a PPO instead of self-insured. This will save 30%. No more unlimited sick leave.
18) Fire the accounting firm that is there now.
19) Pursue grants more aggressively than in the past.
20) Work with Governor Corzine to ban PILOTS Statewide.
21) Appoint better a zoning board that isn’t beholden to developers interests alone.
Black jack. Certainly these points can be debated but this list is certainly a good start to think about what we want in our next mayor. By no means is it exhaustive, but I do think we need to see which candidate has a good platform and whether or not we trust that they will work towards these goals if elected. Hoboken deserves a vision and the ability to execute that vision to move the City forward.
