The Socialist In New Jersey Continue To Yank At The Pockets of NJ Citizens

[Hoffi Gwlithlys]

It is a growing virus as I have stated before with more and more City Counsel Members across the State continue to place themselves above the citizenry as NJ drowns in unsustainable debt, vicious tax and fee schemes and those who have the means are meaning on leaving.  Add Jersey City, to the growing list of socialist progressiveness grabbing for theirs before the plan to end wage growth and some financial comfort for the first time in a long time ends for citizens but not the political chosen.  How ironic is it that the demons are now "Billionaires" not "Millionaires" as the likes of "The Bren" and the "Warren" find themselves the Millionaires they have have damned for soooo long.... how quick that narrative has changed.

The Jersey City Council is set to consider new legislation that would nearly double council members’ salaries and allow the city’s department heads to receive pay raises of up to 15% next year.

Under an ordinance being introduced Thursday, council members would see their salaries jump from $36,180 to $60,000 by 2022, potentially turning the part-time jobs into full-time gigs.

The ordinance would also establish new salary ranges for many senior leadership roles and grant Mayor Steve Fulop a pay increase of nearly 39% if he wins reelection in 2021.

The plan could cost more than $365,000 in its first 12 months.

Ward C Councilman Richard Boggiano said the pay increases for the City Council members are long overdue.

“You have to have people there that are making a decent living that have one job and that’s their job,” Boggiano said, adding that council members work between 60 to 70 hours a week. “Paying people part-time, that’s why Jersey City has so many faults.”

The ordinance does not require council members to work full-time or prohibit them from working for outside businesses.

The ordinance, which would take effect in January 2020, would see council salaries immediately jump to $50,000. Council members would receive another $5,000 pay raise in January 2021 and other $5,000 bump in January 2022. However, council members could opt to waive the increases.

The council president, who currently makes $39,351, would earn $5,000 more than the other council members.

The ordinance would also institute a new pay range for many members of the city’s leadership staff. Department directors, including the city clerk and the tax assessor would be eligible for up to 10% pay raises each year pending a performance review done by the business administrator and the director of human resources.

Directors’ salary bumps would be limited to a maximum 10% a year, except for the first year of adoption of the ordinance, when directors would be eligible for as much as a 15% pay hike.

For instance, Business Administrator Brian Platt, who earns just under $143,000 per year, would be eligible to earn up to $200,000 annually under the newly proposed scale. The city’s corporation counsel, Peter Baker, would also be eligible to earn up to $200,000 – over $60,000 more than his current salary.

The mayor’s salary would also rise to the existing base salary of the Hudson County executive in 2022, following the next mayoral election. Hudson County Executive Tom DeGise currently earns $151,299.

Fulop currently makes $109,000 per year.

City spokeswoman Kim Wallace-Scalcione said the salary adjustments are based on a compensation study conducted by the city’s human resources department, which compared the current salaries of the city leadership to those in other New Jersey cities.

A salary adjustment has not been made since 2005, she said.

“While the mayor himself is not taking a salary increase at this time, the mayor does believe that fair compensation in line with other cities of similar size is important for Jersey City to attract talent,” Wallace-Scalcione said.

“Ultimately, salaries are a large component to attract and retain the talent needed in our leadership positions,” she said “It’s important to have qualified leadership in decision-making roles to continue move our city forward.”

Meanwhile, it’s been nearly 30 years since the council voted to give themselves a pay raise.

In 1993, when DeGise served as council president, the governing body voted to bump their salaries from $15,000 to $22,500 ($24,500 for council president) and add annual cost-of-living increases.

Ward D Council member Michael Yun said the ordinance still has room for improvement, but he supports the spirit of the proposal.

"As Jersey City continues to grow, it is imperative that we pay those in charge of city operations a salary equivalent to the skills and experiences they bring to the municipality,” Yun said. “Poor political optics have created the current situation where the mayor and council are vastly underpaid and have been so for decades.”

Yun said if the ordinance succeeds, he will accept the increase. He believes his colleagues should do the same.

Councilmembers Daniel Rivera, Denise Ridley, Jermaine Robinson, Mira Prinz-Arey, and Council President Rolando Lavarro could not be reached for comment.

Ward E Councilman James Solomon doesn’t want the salaries increases to be a burden for the taxpayers. He said the council needs to find corresponding cuts to offset the salaries increases, which could be worth more than $800,000.

Whether he accepts the raise depends on the manner in which the ordinance passes, Solomon said.

Meanwhile, Councilwoman at large Joyce Watterman said the pay raise is overdue.

“If the public is happy with the level of leadership, they get from specific representatives this increase won’t change that belief,” Yun said. “If the public isn’t happy with any elected official in city government, raising the salary means a greater likelihood of recruiting more qualified leadership after the next election. "

It appears that the the Citizens will be have to accept the pay raises before they can vote them out if they don't like it.... a sort of weird but familiar comment by Faux Speaker Nancy.... vote on it before you can read it.... If the Citizenry allows this to continue..... there is no one left to blame.....suck it up people.... or CHUCK IT OUT!!!!!  you have a choice if you truly want it. 

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