Jersey City Ward D Councilman Jake Ephros will pull a resolution he sponsored authorizing the City Council to hire four full-time aides citing a desire to work with his colleagues and the administration.
Instagram photo.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
“This proposal concerns one core obligation: delivering fast, reliable constituent service to every resident of Ward D, especially in moments of crisis. This is not about expanding authority or creating some new category of staffing out of thin air,” Ephros and his office said in a lengthy statement.
“New Jersey State Law already authorizes Council member aides in municipalities of Jersey City’s size, allowing each Council member to appoint up to four full-time equivalent aides, with compensation set by ordinance. The proposal is simply to staff to the level that state law sets forth so city council work can actually be done.”
The statement continued that the prior governing body budgeted for full staffing levels, but choose not to exceed $120,000 total (as opposed to the allowed $300,000) as a sort of unwritten gentlemen’s agreement.
Further, Ephros and his staff contend that fully staffing each council office would be just 0.5 percent of the city’s entire budget.
Two of his colleagues, Ward F Councilman Frank Gilmore and Councilman at-Large Michael Griffin panned the idea this morning in the wake of Mayor James Solomon announcing a budget deficit that is over a quarter billion dollars, as HCV first reported.
However, the Heights council representatives and his aides contend that this is anything but reckless spending and would actually help streamline city operations.
“This proposal is also about oversight. In the recently released Financial Emergency Report by Mayor Solomon’s Office, the city’s fiscal condition is described as the result of years of choices in which former Mayor Fulop ‘relied on a series of gimmicks to keep the public in the dark,’” they wrote, citing the 24-page reported the administration commissioned.
“The report also warns that ‘certain departments had little to no fiscal oversight,’ contributing to overruns and missed opportunities to recover funds owed to the city. A properly staffed council office strengthens independent oversight of city finances and agency performance and helps build durable checks and safeguards so the mistakes of the past are not repeated.”
With all that said, Ephros and his team expressed a willingness to work together and are removing the resolution from this Wednesday’s agenda ahead of today’s 4 p.m. caucus meeting (rescheduled for Tuesday due to “maintenance” at City Hall), though said it is possible it will be reintroduced.
“Mayor Solomon’s office has communicated that they would like to negotiate with us directly on the issue of staff budget, so we are retracting the resolution at this time, pending those discussions. We reserve the right, if need be, to reintroduce the resolution and keep fighting to ensure our Council office is fully resourced so we can deliver excellent service to our constituents,” their statement says.
“We will continue to fight for a Jersey City that works for tenants, for working families, for immigrants, and for every resident who expects responsive service and transparent government.”