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<\/a><\/p>\nAs a Hudson County View reader you are aware Mayor Solomon is proposing a 20%* tax increase to the municipal budget. This is bad news.<\/p>\n
Combined with the board of ed and county hikes, I\u2019ll be paying 16.2% more next year<\/a>. That\u2019s bad. I don\u2019t want to pay that. (Update: We\u2019re down to 15%<\/a>. That\u2019s good!)<\/p>\n Is the city doing anything about this? Sure, the new state budget gives us a $15 million grant (free money) and a $120 million loan (cheap money) from the state.<\/p>\n When that passes Trenton, that should ease the burden. The bad news is Mayor Solomon already budgeted for that \u2013 and still came up with the 20% increase.<\/p>\n Are we cutting spending? Yes. The administration has announced a $1 million cut to our parks spending, the end of the compost program, and cutting the VIA service \u2013 which provides cheap van trips across town.<\/p>\n I don\u2019t like paying taxes, but I also don\u2019t like these cuts.<\/p>\n Should we go deeper with the cuts? Maybe. Like I said, I don\u2019t want to pay more taxes \u2013 but I\u2019m starting to get concerned about all this cutting.<\/p>\n Sadly, increased taxes is turning Jersey City into an episode of Parks and Rec \u2013 where all we can think of is short term fixes delivered at maximum volume.<\/p>\n The list of ideas I\u2019ve seen on social media have been \u2013 to put it lightly \u2013 really bad:<\/p>\n Cut right to counsel for tenants facing eviction There\u2019s a lot of well meaning voices out there who \u2013 like me \u2013 don\u2019t want to pay more taxes. But, so far, I haven\u2019t heard a lot of well meaning voices with really good plans.<\/p>\n I personally like ticketing dangerous drivers with speed cameras and raising taxes through new ratables (big towers downtown pay a lot of taxes).<\/p>\n But I\u2019m not going to BS you and tell you those solutions will show up in time for the next budget vote.<\/p>\n I don\u2019t like the current plan \u2013 but it\u2019s better than all the other ones out there. And in a democracy that\u2019s the best you can expect.<\/p>\n I like a plan where the city pools aren\u2019t closed one day a week. Or a plan where we accept that next winter it will snow \u2013 and that the roads will be plowed.<\/p>\n I like a plan where I can go to sleep at night knowing our children won\u2019t be paying decades from now for a bankruptcy we took today.<\/p>\n We rely on our city services for our daily life. If you played SimCity you know, a wise public servant once said<\/a> \u201cYOU CAN\u2019T CUT BACK ON FUNDING! YOU WILL REGRET THIS!\u201d<\/p>\n
\nStop paving the roads
\nFurlough city employees\u00a0
\nGive less abatements.\u00a0
\nAlso, give more abatements.
\nDeclare bankruptcy<\/p>\n