A press release that I sent out today....

Proposal to save millions, Streamline overlapping services;

Jersey City, NJ ? May 16th, 2011 ? Councilman Steven Fulop and Councilwoman Nidia Lopez announced today that they will be sponsoring resolutions to notify the Mayor of the City Council?s intention to consolidate certain City and County services. Specifically, the Jersey City Cultural Affairs department would be consolidated into the Hudson County Cultural Affairs department and the Jersey City Economic Development Corporation (JC EDC) would be consolidated into the Hudson County Economic Development Corporation. The resolutions are to notify the Mayor of the Council?s intent to consolidate these two city functions in advance of planning for the next budget year so the Mayor can take the appropriate steps.

?The redundancy of services between the County and City basically mean that Jersey City residents are taxed twice for the delivery of those services,? Said Councilman Fulop. ?It is time Jersey City stops putting politics first and stops budgeting with one time revenue sources. The City needs to streamline overlapping services where possible? added Fulop. Earlier this year, Councilman Fulop was the first to propose that the JCIA be rolled back into the Jersey City DPW for savings of $10MM.

Nidia Lopez stated, ?The budget cuts for the Jersey City Economic Development Corporation mean the reduction of the funding for UEZ zones and SIDs, and we have an opportunity to do what is right for the taxpayers. This will start the process so that the Mayor knows what we will and won?t fund.?

When approached about potential consolidation Freeholders O?Dea and Romano both commented on the potential benefits of eliminating redundant services before cutting essential services like police and fire. ?These are tough economic times and I think this is worth exploring. It could help the residents in Jersey City and hopefully the efficiency would be financially beneficial to the county as a whole ? O?Dea said.

The Next Council Caucus is slated for May 23rd and the next Council Meeting is May 25th