I think with corzine that the ridiculously low tolls should be raised, but HHealy doesn't deserve 1 dime - he's lied ((IMHO) and squandered tax payers money.

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Just ask Bret Schundler about that: http://www.stopbretschundler.com/

He was the first to take America's Golden Door down that path.

In fairness, the gov hardly has spending cuts at the top of his agenda either. My suspicion is that his ridiculous toll increase is just a way of making people knuckle under to other tax increases. Oh the joys of living in a one party state...

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yep - and then since it's a 'distressed city', I'm sure in order to lure developers to build waterfront high-rises and minimize their risk, we'll have to give them....

(drumroll...)

MORE PILOTS!!!

(cymball crash)

They left out that to get the 8 mil.we will have to be included in the distressed city program like trenton and camden.
So much for the world class city Healy is always crowing about.

Investers don't look kindly on distressed cities.

I've got a good idea, CUT SPENDING!. What a giant douche.

You know, you drive into JC from Rt.78, and immediately as soon as you get off the exit ramp, the pavement's so bad on Columbus it's like the Baja 500, and it's like 'Welcome to Jersey City'.... - it's so emblematic of this municipal government -

...meanwhile the Superintendent of our failing school district has been making $230,000.00 a year while in addition (until recently) drawing a full salary from the state legislature as well - *and* he's getting a raise this June...

sorry for the rant, it's a cold-@$$ Monday....

Healy hands out the PILOTS like after-dinner mints - at best, it's only a short-sighted end-run around the schools and the county - at worst, there's something else in for him too (in Hudson County? never!)

He then goes crying to the state to bail him out yet again when he can't find enough of a tax base because he's screwed the city out of it - it's such a welfare mentality.

As one of the huddled un-tax abated masses, I don't want to see my property taxes go up, but part of me hopes the state finally says NO to Healy - I can just imagine Corzine's eye's rolling as his secretary says "It's Mayor Healy on the phone for you again, Governor" - Healy's like the ne'er-do-well nephew who keeps squandering his inheritance (the development $).

Healy: City needs $8M state aid to ease the burden on taxpayers

Monday, February 11, 2008
By KEN THORBOURNE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Jersey City has applied for $8 million in state aid to fill a budget gap for the fiscal year that ends June 30.

In a Feb. 4 letter to Department of Community Affairs Commissioner Joseph V. Doria Jr., Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy says the city needs the money to ease the burden on taxpayers whose "obligations" have risen "precipitously."
"Since 2005, the municipal tax levy has increased 38 percent, from $105 million to $145 million," Healy says. "The total tax levy (the amount to be raised by taxation) has increased 26 percent, from $251 million to $371 million.

"Although we continue to work on cost saving efforts, it is clear the city will face a shortfall of $8 million for fiscal year 2008," Healy adds. "During this economic environment, a property tax increase will be especially burdensome to our community. That is why I am writing to request supplemental municipal aid."

The DCA didn't return phone calls to comment. Doria, the DCA commissioner, is the former mayor of Bayonne. Richard Turner, the mayor of Weehawken, sits on the state's Local Finance Board that signs off on the supplemental aid.

Healy said last week he expected the City Council to introduce a budget in the next few weeks that calls for raising between $149 million and $151 million to meet municipal expenses. If the state comes through with the requested aid, city residents might not see a tax hike given the expansion of the tax base, Business Administrator Brian O'Reilly said.

The city is also counting on receiving $15 million from the settlement with Honeywell to clean up and sell chromium-tainted sites on the west side of the city, as well as roughly $4 million from the sale of a building on Newark Avenue.