Dear Friend,
As you may be aware, last night Mayor Zimmer delivered her first State of the City address. First and foremost I would like to congratulate Mayor Zimmer not only on a job well done but thank her for addressing many of the issues that are important to residents of the 2nd Ward.
Perhaps the most exciting portion of the Mayor’s speech was her announcement that she will ask the City Council to vote on a $20 million bond ordinance to acquire, build, and renovate parks and open space throughout our city as called for in Hoboken’s Master Plan. Several years ago I chaired Hoboken’s Master Plan Subcommittee and along with many other dedicated volunteers we crafted a plan to increase parks and open space for future generations. I want to thank Mayor Zimmer for taking the steps necessary to move this process forward. Also important to note is these bonds will be paid for with money form Hoboken’s Open Space Trust Fund.
The Mayor also highlighted the open space projects that are underway in the 2nd Ward. The biggest park in our ward will be 1600 Park and this project will be completed by autumn. Also, Hoboken Cove and Maxwell Park, which is now owned entirely by the City of Hoboken, have further increased our open space. I am very excited for the summer to arrive because residents will be able to kayak from the boat house located along the waterfront. The warm weather cannot get here soon enough!
Mayor Zimmer also reiterated her plans to advance the sale of the Hoboken University Medical Center to a private owner. It is important to do this so taxpayers do not remain on the hook for the $52 million in bond guarantees that exist. However, it is also important to make sure the new owners maintain an acute care facility. Hoboken is a first class city and our residents deserve a first class hospital.
My concern with Mayor Zimmer’s speech is how her administration plans to address Hoboken’s $20 million (and growing) surplus. I remain steadfast that as much of the surplus as possible must be used to provide immediate property tax relief. The city must also cut the tax rate so that we do not continue to over tax residents. Last year we cut taxes 5%, but never adjusted the rate so City Hall is continuing to over tax residents. I hope we can work together to provide a significant tax cut in the upcoming budget.
Once again I would like to congratulate Mayor Zimmer on a great job in delivering the State of the City address. I look forward to working with the Mayor and City Council so that we can continue to make Hoboken an even better place to live and raise a family.
As always if you are need of assistance or have any concerns please do not hesitate to contact me at (201)-916-8244 or Beth@MasonCityCouncil.org. I look forward to seeing you soon.
Thank you for your time.
- Beth Mason
My comment: Beth is still using the wrong number for the budget surplus but this is not really the dagger throwing press release at the Mayor and her speech that one might have expected. I guess the dirty work was left up to Hoboken 411 and Mike Russo. This is part of Beth's re-branding herself in the public eye of being more cooperative with the Zimmer Administration. One only needs to watch one Hoboken City Council meeting to know how untrue that really is. ◦
