Since a good portion of our local tax dollars are spent on salaries and related personnel costs, the only way taxes will be controlled in the short term is to have a smaller, more efficient workforce. It certainly seems that combining agencies, especially the semi-autonomous ones, saves money by eliminating the duplicate top brass, and centralizing administrative functions such as accounting, HR, etc.

This city is long past due for a technology upgrade. Many of the forms necessary for citizens are either mailed or faxed, but should all be on line, filled in on line, and processed electronically.

Once the city becomes a more attractive place to live, more people will move here and buy one and two family homes, which would then increase the tax base.

Just like in business, first you stop the wasteful spending and build a strong foundation, then you focus on growth.

Rich Boggiano voted against the budget. Where are the tax cuts that Fulop promised? The tax bill the public received had the February and May tax quarters for 2014. Those quarters had the 8% increase! Since we are on a calendar year and not a fiscal year there was no need to have the 2014 tax bills mailed to taxpayers.

People of JSQ made a big mistake by electing Rich Boggiano.

The council people who voted "No" did not want to give up handling the complaints from their ward. They were against the new expansion of the Mayor's Action Bureau. I forget the new title. I am sure it will return once the ordinance is broken down into several parts.

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That's very generous of him to fund a make-work jobs program with other people's money. Did Mrs. Cunningham promise a family member a job? So much for Steve's coalition building, back to business as usual.

By Terrence T. McDonald/The Jersey Journal
on August 28, 2013 at 9:22 PM, updated August 28, 2013 at 9:31 PM

A sweeping overhaul of Jersey City?s municipal government, a top priority of Mayor Steve Fulop, went down in flames tonight after three Fulop allies on the City Council jumped ship and voted against the measure.

The vote came after a 30-minute public hearing that found members of the audience booing any council members who voiced approval of the ordinance, which would have combined the police and fire departments, expanded the constituent-service division and paved the way for a merger of the public-works department and the autonomous Jersey City Incinerator Authority.

Tonight?s action is the first time any of Fulop?s council allies have stood in the way of one of his objectives since the mayor took office almost two months ago. It also seemed to stun top city officials in the Fulop administration, who spent 10 minutes following the vote trying to figure out how to proceed.

The measure failed 4-5, with council members Rich Boggiano, Khemraj ?Chico? Ramchal, Daniel Rivera, Joyce Watterman and Michael Yun voting against. Ramchal, Rivera and Watterman ran on Fulop?s ticket in May?s municipal election.

Fulop could not immediately be reached to comment.

Boggiano called the measure was too expansive. Ramchal said he believes the proposed changes to the DPW would lead to unnecessary job losses at the JCIA. Rivera said he has questions about the measure, but declined to specify what his questions are.

Council members Diane Coleman, Frank Gajewski, Rolando Lavarro and Candice Osborne voted in favor. Coleman, who represents Ward F, said she thinks the measure would have made managing city government ?easier and better.?

Full story at the Jersey Journal.