The City Council is set to vote on a salary ordinance Monday night that would reduce the mayor’s salary by 68 percent. The council also is expected to override Mayor Rick Proctor’s veto of an anti-nepotism ordinance (O-33-11) as well as vote on a PILOT for the Meridia Water’s Edge development (O-29-11).
Continue reading City Council set to vote on mayor’s salary cut
Since it’s a slow, holiday week, and it’s been too long since we had a poll up on the blog, what better time to unveil a new poll question? Completely unscientific, of course.
The City Council introduced a salary ordinance this month that would reduce the mayor’s salary from $65,000 to less than $21,000, a cut of 68 percent. City Council members are paid $8,043, with the Council President earning slightly more, at $9,676. Both are considered part-time positions.
Should the City Council reduce the mayor’s salary?
* Yes.
* Yes, but they should all be cut, including Council members.
* Not only cut, but salaries for all elected officials, and then some, should be cut.
* Times are tough, make cuts wherever you can.
* No; you get what you pay for; they should be paid something to attract worthy candidates.
* No.
The City Council will consider a 10-year Payment in Lieu Of Taxes (PILOT) for Meridia Water’s Edge, a 108-unit rental project proposed on land adjacent to Rahway Public Library and The Center Circle.
The City Council introduced a salary ordinance Monday night that would slash the mayor’s salary by 68 percent, drawing a 5-minute rebuke from Mayor Rick Proctor in which he called the move an abuse of legislative power and political retribution.
The ordinance (O-38-11), which will be up for a final vote and public hearing at the Dec. 12 meeting, would set an annual salary for the mayor’s position of $20,809 — a 68-percent reduction from $65,000. The salary ordinance passed 8-0 (one absent) and would take effect Jan. 1. City Council members, who received a roughly 2 percent increase in the previous salary ordinance adopted in September, would remain at the same pay level of $8,043 in the new ordinance ($9,676 for the council president).
“This isn’t about Rahway. This is about a political falling out and an abuse of legislative power. This is a personal vendetta, not public policy. This is not about Rahway, this is about vindictiveness. Am I bitter? Yeah, I am. I’m human,” said Proctor, adding that he took a $50,000 pay cut to run for mayor.
Proctor said $50,000 could be saved if City Council members cut their salary by 68 percent. He rattled off figures indicating that from 2005 to 2011, certain department heads saw their salaries rise as much as 30 to 40 percent. During the same six-year period, the mayor said City Council increased its own salary by 18 percent. “That’s preposterous, and sends a very clear message to the public that you’re either going to sleep through this recession or feel entitled to inflict economic pain to insulate yourself from sacrifices,” said Proctor. “I’m certain that the public will recognize that this ordinance stinks of retribution,” he said.
“Every day the people of Rahway suffering from economic hardship and the only solution you can come up with is to pick my pocket,” said Proctor. “That is inspired leadership.”
The mayor has been at odds with the City Council, as well as City Administrator and Redevelopment Director Peter Pelissier, since at least the summer, when the governing body rejected his bid to add staff within his office, and claimed he tried to have his wife hired as health officer.
The City Council last month approved the proposed Meridia Water’s Edge project for inclusion in the Lower Main Street Redevelopment Plan, paving the way for an application to be heard by the Planning Board later this month.
Fifth Ward Councilwoman Jennifer Wenson-Maier was the lone dissenter during a special meeting Oct. 24 when the council adopted the ordinance (O-26-11) by an 8-1 vote. An ordinance (O-29-11) regarding a Payment In Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) for the Water’s Edge project is scheduled to be introduced at Monday’s regular meeting of the City Council.
Capodagli Property Company has proposed 108 units adjacent to the city library and The Center Circle. The Planning Board is scheduled to take up the application at its Nov. 29 meeting and a redevelopment agreement is expected before the Redevelopment Agency at its Dec. 7 meeting.
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| (File photo) |
Wenson-Maier was among the council members who raised concerns in September about density and size of units, pushing to have the ordinance tabled. While there may be a trend for smaller units in new developments, she said she didn’t like the room sizes but understood the concept. The proximity of Water’s Edge to the library, recreation center and downtown restaurants could address locally some of the amenities offered at similar projects around the country, such as lounges, pools and party rooms, she said.
“What was unacceptable for me as a registered architect and liaison to the Environmental Commission was that the developer refused to obtain a silver LEED rating,” which she said is very attainable. “LEED eventually will become a requirement of the international building code,” Wenson-Mailer, who sites on the Environmental Commission, said via email. The sustainablilty element of the city’s master plan, adopted by the Planning Board in spring 2010, encourages LEED building elements.
Redevelopment Agency attorney Frank Regan said the developer has a loan commitment and is trying to close by the end of the year. “Weather permitting, he’s anxious to get into the ground,” Regan said. The Redevelopment Agency last month extended its memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Water’s Edge project.
The City Council last month adopted a transition year municipal budget, covering July to December 2011, as the city moves from a fiscal year (July-June) to a calendar year (January-December).
The increase in the municipal portion of the tax bill for the two quarters ending in August and November are expected to be about $18 compared with the same two quarters in the previous year, Chief Financial Officer Frank Ruggiero told council members at the Oct. 11 meeting. The upcoming February and May quarters likely will see an $18 increase from the previous year as well, he said.
The average home in Rahway, assessed at $133,000, will pay approximately $1,522 in municipal taxes for the half-year, according to Ruggiero. In the last full year budget (July 2010-June 2011), municipal taxes for the average home were about $2,416 (Remember, municipal taxes make up about a quarter of your overall property bill, with county taxes comprising about another quarter and school taxes making up about half). The transitional year budget totals $23.396 million, with a tax levy of $16.326 million. The total state Fiscal Year 2011 budget is $44.91 million, with a tax levy of $31.166 million.
Some line-items in the budget show jumps of 50 percent, Ruggiero said, as a result of some departments being more seasonal. For example, the Recreation Department has more expenses during July and August while the Department of Public Works might have more expenses during the fall relate to leaf pickup. Ruggiero said he expects the city to go for an accelerated tax sale sometime in the late spring of 2012, as the state doesn’t allow a tax sale for a transitional year.
The City Council voted 8-0-1 to adopt the budget, which included the Special Improvement District (SID) budget and SID properties. The lone abstention was by 6th Ward Councilman Samson Steinman, who said he abstained to avoid any appearance of a conflict of interest since he’s executive director of the Union County Performing Arts Center (UCPAC) and sits on the board of the Arts District, which now receives SID funds.
Water rates are likely to increase by 5 percent starting Jan. 1, 2012 to help close a nearly $1.2-million deficit in the city’s water utility. The base rate would rise from $29.64 to $31.12 per thousand cubic feet. A typical residential meter (5/8 inches) would see an increase from $32.60 to $34.23 in the base rate.
The City Council introduced an ordinance (O-30-11) at its Oct. 11 meeting which is scheduled for a public hearing and final adoption on Nov. 14. Also on tap for the Nov. 14 City Council meeting is a public hearing and final adoption of at the Oct. 11 meeting, the governing body adopted the city budget, which this year is a transitional budget as the city goes from a calendar year (Jan-Dec) to a fiscal year (July-June). More on the transitional year budget in an upcoming blog post. [CORRECTION: The public hearing and final adoption of the transitional year budget occurred at the Oct. 11 council meeting; there will not be a public hearing on the budget at the Nov. 14 meeting, only a public hearing on the new water rate ordinance.]
The city purchased additional water for a variety of reasons, according to Chief Financial Officer Frank Ruggiero, including construction and dilution (the heavy snowfall led to a need to dilute water because of the salt). In total, the city spent about $450,000, of which $217,000 was funded through an emergency appropriation and raised in the budget during the transitional year, he said.
Readers who live near the border of Colonia/Woodbridge might be interested in this bit of news from Woodbridge Patch: “Woodbridge Buys Land Development Rights of Colonia Country Club.” Here’s MyCentralJersey.com’s take on the same story.
The City Council on Monday tabled an ordinance (0-26-11) that would amend a redevelopment plan to include a 108-unit, five-story rental complex proposed near the library. Concerns were raised about the size of apartments and the density of units as proposed.
The governing body will take up the ordinance to amend the Lower Main Street Urban Renewal Plan at its meeting on Oct. 11 but some council members had concerns about the density and overall plans for the surrounding area.
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| The day after Hurricane Irene. (By D. Palmer) |
Representatives of Capodagli Property Company appeared before the council during its pre-meeting conference last week to present their plan, which includes a request for a Payment In Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) for the project.
Fifth Ward Councilwoman Jennifer Wenson-Maier said Monday night that she thought the units seem too small and the density of the project too high for the three-quarter-acre site. The 56 two-bedroom units would be 816 square feet as currently proposed, with 14 one-bedroom units of 672 square feet, and another 42 one-bedrooms of 720 square feet since they feature an office area.
There’s no master plan for that parcel or the three acres around it, Wenson-Maier said, adding that she’d like to aim for a “better product” and a more complete plan for the area, even if it means delaying the project. In addition to density, Councilman At-large James Baker raised concerns about potential future flooding, and also preferred to include some retail and commercial components, as was the case with the Town Center project. (The photo of the site above was taken the day after Hurricane Irene).
The Water’s Edge application was to go before the Planning Board on Sept. 27 but now will be delayed until the ordinance is approved by City Council.
NJ Transit issued an advisory that the outbound stairs on the east end of the Rahway Train Station will close Monday, until mid-October.
It would appear that the main/center stairs on the inbound platform are almost completely rebuilt — after being closed for more than 18 months. The Rahway Chamber of Commerce had an attorney send a letter to NJ Transit this week about the deplorable conditions and glacial pace of repairs to the inbound main stairs and the outbound elevator.