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Is Jersey City’s Buyout Offer to Hundreds of Employees A Sign of What’s to Come for Other Municipalities?

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As COVID-19 lockdown continues, and with relief from federal CARES Act yet to arrive, municipalities in NJ are facing fiscal emergency and tough choices

This story was written and produced by NJ Spotlight. It is being republished under a special NJ News Commons content-sharing agreement related to COVID-19 coverage. To read more, visit njspotlight.com.

Full story link – HERE.

By Andrew S. Lewis

On Monday and Tuesday, Jersey City sent out emails and letters to some 400 employees, offering them voluntary separation packages in an effort to stanch what the city estimates will be a $70 million budget impact due to the COVID-19 health crisis.

“We’re hemorrhaging money,” said Mayor Steven M. Fulop. “Every year we have a lot of employees, like every municipal government, that are kind of on the fence about whether they should retire or not, and we think that this structure might help them make that decision and ultimately save us money long-term.”

Only employees who are nonessential and have worked for the city for 15 years or more are eligible for the separation packages, and, if vacated, Fulop said, many of those positions will not be refilled. The mayor declined to specify what city departments or positions received notices of eligibility, other than to say, “it’s across the board.” He added that there has already been interest. “Maybe this environment today has changed their perspective on what they want to do with the rest of their lives.”

Fulop estimates that the combined total salary of the eligible employees is $22.7 million, though he said he doesn’t expect everyone to take a buyout, which offers $20,000 or 25% of their salary, whichever is greater. “If we could get $5 or $6 million out of this process, I’ll take it and then we’ll move on,” he said. “The next conversation is going to be around furloughs, if need be.”

First in the state but unlikely to be the last

Jersey City is one of the state’s hardest-hit municipalities by COVID-19. According to Fulop, the city now has “well over 2,000 cases at this point and 54 fatalities that are documented.” On April 6, one of its city council members, Michael Yun, died of complications from the disease.

The city is the first municipality in the state to broach employee buyouts in an effort to mitigate the staggering — and still mounting — financial fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. It is likely not the last to face such tough choices. Fulop confirmed that other urban New Jersey municipalities have contacted him with questions about how the city is structuring the buyouts.

One of them is Newark, the state’s largest municipality. Earlier this week, city councilman Anibal Ramos Jr. reached out to Fulop to discuss the fiscal impact of the COVID-19 crisis on their cities. “We had our council meeting this week, and I talked about having the opportunity to discuss with our business administrator some measures that we can agree on here in Newark that would better prepare the city to weather the storm,” Ramos Jr. said. “I did raise the issue about the Jersey City buyout program and that it’s something the [Newark] administration should look at as well.”

“Any municipality not considering this today is probably going to make their life much more difficult,” Fulop said. “The sooner you can start making decisions around where to cut and how to restructure the budget, the better you’re going to be.”

But John Donnadio, executive director of the New Jersey Association of Counties, expressed some concern with Jersey City’s decision to shed employees in an effort to mitigate budget impacts. Donnadio pointed to Gov. Phil Murphy’s April 4 executive order allowing retirees to return to state and local government employment without impacting their retirement pensions.

“From the staffing level, we are really struggling to continue, because government is open and we’re struggling to provide the services that we need to provide,” Donnadio said. “I would advise municipalities to talk to their financial officers and look at staffing levels and maybe reassigning staff as opposed to [buying them out].”

When asked in his daily briefing on Wednesday, Murphy said he had “no insight into Jersey City’s voluntary separations,” but added, “we need all hands on deck, I’ll say on behalf of the state.”

Increasing stress, extra costs

“Some of the same unfortunate responses that were necessary following 9-11, the 2008 recession, and Sandy are going to be looked at again, which included consideration of early retirement, furloughs, layoffs, outsourcing service, adjusting work hours,” said Mike Cerra, assistant executive director of the New Jersey League of Municipalities. “I think Jersey City is a little bit ahead because of the very significant impact of [COVID-19] in the city and on its work force.”

The Jersey City buyouts highlight the increasing fiscal stress that municipalities across the state are facing since New Jersey’s lockdown order went into effect on March 21.

On March 23, the Murphy administration froze nearly $1 billion in planned fiscal year 2020 spending, some of which includes a combined $186 million freeze on municipal aid programs and Homestead property-tax relief benefits. With nearly 577,000 unemployment claims since the lockdown, many residents are facing financial hardship and could lapse on bills like property taxes, which are vital to municipal coffers.

On top of that, municipalities large and small are having to invest in personal protective equipment (PPE), additional cleanings of firehouses and police stations, overtime for essential employees, and other unexpected measures to operate within the state and federal directives that have so far been changing on a near-daily basis. The smaller the municipality gets, the more impactful even the most trivial expenses, like signage to indicate park closures, become.

Too early to assess impact at Jersey Shore

In the tiny beach towns of the Jersey Shore, mayors and municipal administrators have gradually come to grips with the fact that they must close their boardwalks and beaches — places that attract crucial visitor dollars, even in the much-quieter winter months. But in the offseason, the vast majority of traffic in these tourist enclaves is that of nonessential construction workers, and now they too have been ordered to stay home. A lockdown that extends into the summer season would be disastrous for these fragile, tourism-based municipalities.

“If this cuts into the summer season, then all of a sudden a lot of Shore communities might be looking at dramatic responses” like Jersey City’s, said Cerra. “There’s going to be impacts — it’s to what degree at this point.”

So far none of these municipalities have reported the kind of measures that Jersey City has taken. “Some part-time employees have been furloughed because of the statewide closing of nonessential facilities,” said Doug Bergen, public information officer for Ocean City, in South Jersey. “It’s still too early to assess the financial impact overall.”

“I’ll be the happiest guy in the state if the Shore is able to be on its feet by the time summer comes around,” Murphy said in Wednesday’s briefing. “But, again, please stay in your primary residencies — the Shore does not have the infrastructure, particularly health infrastructure, to be able to withstand the sort of challenges we have right now.”

So far, little help from CARES

Following the passage, on March 27, of the $2 trillion CARES Act, there was mounting concern among state and federal lawmakers that the record-breaking aid package would be insufficient in supporting local governments like Jersey City, the state’s second largest municipality with a population of about 270,000, not to mention those of tiny towns like Ocean City.

The catch is that, in the CARES legislation, localities with populations under 500,000 cannot receive stabilization funds directly — despite being the most populous state in the nation, none of New Jersey’s 565 municipalities come close to having a population of a half-million or more. (Newark, the state’s largest, has a population of 285,000.)

New Jersey Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-7th) is among the sponsors of H.R. 6467, introduced in the House on April 7, which specifically addresses the need to provide “an enhanced Coronavirus relief fund for units of government with a population of 500,000 or less.” The bill would provide $250 billion in direct payments to these localities. “Hopefully this will be done sooner rather than later,” Cerra said.

Fulop has been among the New Jersey officials who have been vocal about the need for additional coronavirus legislation that addresses municipalities with populations of less than 500,000. “As it stands today, no municipality in New Jersey would have any direct aid,” he said. “It’s really a pass-through from Trenton, and any time there’s another layer of government involved, the pot gets less and less.”

 

Header:  Jersey City Times file photo

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Lights! Camera! Jersey City!

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Tired of looking at the same four walls? Wish you could resume your active life in Jersey City? Well, with a little imagination you can still spend some time around town — without ever leaving your home. For cinephiles or even casual movie-watchers, escaping into Jersey City is as easy as logging into your Netflix or Hulu account and enjoying some quality on-demand time in front of your TV.

Jersey City has been a favorite backdrop of film directors for decades. So, as you hunker down until the “all clear” sounds, why not enjoy a few flicks that were shot in part in Jersey City? It might make you feel a little less disconnected from the life you’re waiting to resume. Here’s a brief list:

“The Joker” (2019) – While Joaquin Phoenix’s portrayal of the twisted titular character generated most of the chatter about this movie (as well as a Best Actor Oscar for the star), Jersey City played an important supporting role in the film. Both the press conference in front of “Wayne Hall” and the protest scenes took place in front of the William J. Brennan Courthouse on Newark Avenue, one of the pre-eminent municipal buildings in Beaux-Arts architectural style in the country.

“The Godfather” (1972) – Francis Ford Coppola’s magnum opus about Mafia life includes some of the most quoted lines in movie history. Among them is “Leave the gun, take the cannoli.” The line is uttered by mobster Peter Clemenza after whacking a wise-guy rival and, as diehard Godfather fans know, was improvised by Richard Castellano. Fewer are aware the iconic scene was filmed in the marshlands along the Hudson River in what is now Liberty State Park.

“Godzilla” (1998) – This under-appreciated film (the 23rd in the Godzilla franchise) has it all, starting with the giant marauding prehistoric sea monster terrorizing Manhattan. Matthew Broderick stars as the mild-mannered scientist working with a gung-ho military command to capture and subdue the famed fictional titan. The operations center where they plot the lofty lizard’s last waltz is near present-day Essex and Hudson streets in Paulus Hook. The Jersey City neighborhood can be seen in several shots.

“Sid and Nancy” (1986) – This grim biopic about the lives of Sid Vicious, bass player and sometime-vocalist of the punk rock band The Sex Pistols, and his girlfriend Nancy Spungen, has become a cult classic. The music is intense, the acting and unsettling, and the direction by Alex Cox thunderous. Cox pulls the curtain back on the dark, manic energy that that propelled the punk rock movement and made it so enticing, even dangerous, to a generation aching for visceral authenticity. Not to be missed is the final, poignant scene in which Sid walks along Exchange Place in search of pizza.

“Annie” (2014) – Despite an all-star cast including Jamie Foxx, Bobby Cannavale and Cameron Diaz, this re-imagining of the Little Orphan Annie story failed to lift the hearts of critics and was even awarded a Golden Raspberry as Worst Remake of the Year. Still, the film has its charms. At the heart of the story is the kidnapping of everyone’s favorite ragamuffin, Annie. Your heart will swell when she is found not only because it means the good guys won but also because the rescue takes place in Liberty State Park, where there’s a 100% chance that the sun will come out tomorrow.

 

Header: Courtesy Joker Movie Facebook page, all other images courtesy Amazon.com

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Pregnancy and Parenting in the Time of COVID

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“In motherhood, love can manifest most powerfully as fear.”  This quote is from the new book by Sarah Menkedick, with the timely title “Ordinary Insanity.” One might argue that our current situation is one of madness framing our mundane daily activities. Pregnant women and new families are living through an extraordinary historic moment doing the most ordinary things: carrying, birthing and parenting children. Yet there is nothing normal about our lives right now. This is a time of chronic concern for all humans on the planet, but for parents, especially new families who haven’t yet acquired their self-confidence as parents, it can be a recipe for anxiety.

In the past two weeks, New York area hospitals banned pregnant women’s spouses (and other romantic partners) and their midwives from assisting with births. Understandably those near their due dates panicked and scrambled to switch hospitals or flee the area; some even considered birthing at home. Then, just as abruptly, the hospitals reversed course and announced that one support person could be present at delivery. But the damage had already been done. Pregnant women now fret: “Will my hospital rules change again? Is the hospital even safe? Will I be discharged before I’m ready? What if my labor nurse is infected?”

In addition, all the fun things pregnant women expect to enjoy—a “babymoon,” yoga and childbirth classes, baby showers—have been put on hold or rearranged to comply with our solitary confinement.

This is not to say that COVID-19 has been all bad for new parents. Spending time indoors with no distractions and partners home for a potentially much longer paternity leave constitutes the perfect postpartum bubble.

But those bubbles burst with age.

“I feel like right now I’m a terrible mother and a terrible employee,” one mom confessed in a virtual support group. She’s not alone. All parents working from home are feeling divided by their pressing work and childcare obligations. Maybe in the past you spent a few days working from home when your sick child couldn’t go to daycare, but this is different. With daycares closed and babysitting help too risky, there is no reprieve; the weeks are grimly stretching out before us.

In a recent session of a support group for moms with toddlers, parents shared tips on how to create a makeshift playpen while on a conference call. “The one benefit is all of us are in the same boat—my boss, my colleagues, our CEO. It’s a great leveler.” One popular approach is for one to parent to work while the other watches the baby or children—but if you’re a single parent, this is obviously impossible. So, some single parents are leaving their homes and hunkering down with their own parents.

“I don’t know what I would have done without my mom,” says Alison, a single mother of twins. “It’s just too much for one person to juggle. We’re not supposed to work and take care of babies at the same time, but I have no choice!”  This combination of work and childcare is fueling unprecedented stress levels.

I spoke with Mollie Busino, director and psychotherapist at Mindful Power, a counseling practice in Hoboken. Many therapists have begun treating their patients in a virtual format like Zoom or Skype, and that has made counseling much more accessible. “This is a time of worry, and families need to protect themselves, especially in situations where anxiety is likely to escalate. I’m recommending that parents limit their time on social media, watching the news, and listening to a friend or relative who is consumed with panic about the Coronavirus,” Busino said.

Likewise, birth-workers, yoga instructors and other educators are creating virtual support groups to help new moms navigate this situation.

Still, parents are losing their ability to cope.  “If one more person says ‘this is the new normal’ I’m going to lose it!” says Lauren, a mother of two under age four. “I’m trying to work, my husband is trying to work, my four-year-old has no preschool to go to, and my baby is oblivious to the lack of adult attention right now.”

In Jersey City, parents are accustomed to utilizing our beautiful parks, playgrounds, interactive music and yoga classes; we have it all here, but much of that is on hold for the moment. In a recent new moms support group, I spoke to a mother of a newly toddling one-year-old, and she sounded heartbroken. “This is the time I should be watching my daughter run around, play on the swings, see her cherished friends—and we’re stuck inside with too much screen time and no fresh air.” When I suggested she go to a less-populated park (like Liberty State Park), she shrugged off the suggestion. “I think that’s worse,” she said. “Then I worry that the air we breathe, the things we touch, the person who walked—they’re all threats.”

So what to do?

Don’t let your anxiety spiral into depression. If the strain of this quarantine is starting to overwhelm you, take measures to protect yourself in the same way you would against the Coronavirus: Look for virtual new moms’ groups, seek online counseling, consider taking medication (which you may need only temporarily). Every day during this period of isolation feels long and repetitive, prompting lots of “Groundhog Day” memes. But perhaps you can connect virtually face-to-face with relatives and friends, something you might have done via only text or phoning before. Maybe you’d feel better expressing thanks—even for small, seemingly inconsequential things. I thing I can assure of you of is that this will end—and when it does, we are really going to appreciate the little things in life; we are really going to smile at that slice of pizza on the pedestrian plaza.

For help with perinatal mood disorders:

Peggy Kraft, Clinical Social Work/Therapist: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/peggy-kraft-jersey-city-nj/122489

Mollie Busino, Psychotherapist, Mindful Power: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/mollie-busino-hoboken-nj/77480

The Seleni Institute: Perinatal Mental Health: https://www.seleni.org/

The Motherhood Center: https://www.themotherhoodcenter.com/

Partnership for Maternal & Child Health: 973-268-2280 x 154: ygonzalez@partnershipmch.org

 

Header: Distancing in Liberty State Park, photo by Jayne Freeman

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Defender of the Heights: Jersey City Mourns Passing of Ward D Councilman Michael C. Yun

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His smile lit up the room like the colorful bowties he wore to work every day. Ward D Councilman Michael C. Yun served on the Jersey City Municipal Council since 2013, where his curious mind and laser-beam attention to detail were as sharp as the crease in his pin-striped pants.

This past weekend, Yun, 65, lost his battle with Covid-19, testing positive for the virus on March 29 and passing away on April 6. His Jersey City constituents and City Hall colleagues were shocked and saddened by the news, remembering him as affable, compassionate and a staunch advocate for Jersey City.

Photo courtesy City of Jersey City

“We are beyond saddened by the passing of Councilman Michael Yun,” Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop said. “He was a family man, a great businessman, and a tireless advocate for Jersey City throughout his nearly three decades of public service. More than that though, he was a great husband, father and grandfather as he never missed a chance to share how proud he was of his family. This is devastating for all of us here, as Michael was part of our Jersey City family. We will miss him, and we will continue to aggressively fight against this pandemic, now in his honor.”

In 2017, right after Yun was re-elected to the city council, he hired Vernon C. Richardson as his chief of staff and council aide. Richardson says although he’s worked for several politicians including Vice President Al Gore and U.S. Congresswoman Maxine Waters, it was Councilman Yun who led by example with his tireless work ethic and compassion for the people of Jersey City.

“It’s why I went to work for him,” Richardson says. “He was the most honorable man, but more important, the most honorable politician that ever entered my life. There was not a time I did not work less than 55 hours a week, and it was an honor to be out there with him, attending every event with him.”

When Richardson was having a hard time keeping up with the councilman, he says Yun told him to try harder. Richardson says: “He didn’t say it in a mean or uncaring way. He would say, ‘We just have to work harder.’ That was the challenge that I took to work every day. Every time I think of his memory, it’s the most pleasant thing I have now. It’s not pain I feel. I loved my city, and I loved that man.”

In the Heights

Korean-born, Yun came to the U.S and settled in Manhattan before moving to Jersey City with his wife Jennifer in 1981. They planted roots in the Heights and opened Garden State News on Central Avenue where the couple sold papers and sundries. In the years that followed, Yun ventured into community activism as co-founder of Jersey City’s first Special Improvement District, and for more than 20 years he served as president and chairman of the board of trustees for Central Avenue SID. During that time, Yun helped establish Jersey City as an Urban Enterprise Zone and founded the Everything Jersey City Festival.

Councilman Yun, Maryanne Kelleher, and Councilman Boggiano, courtesy Maryanne Kelleher’s Facebook page

During that time, Richard Boggiano worked as a Jersey City Police Officer and lived in the Heights. He visited Yun’s store regularly to pick up The Jersey Journal, and the two would talk and became friends, Boggiano says. Years later, working alongside Yun as Ward C councilman, Boggiano recalls Yun’s razor-sharp attention to detail, poring over resolutions and ordinances that appeared on the council’s agenda and questioning their potential impact on the people of Jersey City.

“He did thorough research,” Boggiano says. “Michael was really good. He was diligent, had everything marked, underlined and prepped.”

Yun supported Boggiano when Boggiano tried to stop the city from removing the Katyn Memorial from outside the Exchange Place PATH station. The statue, by the sculptor Andrzej Pitynski, of a blindfolded soldier stabbed in the back with a bayonet was a tribute to the 1940 massacre of an estimated 22,000 Polish people, and it became the sensitive subject in a highly publicized tug-of-war when Mayor Fulop proposed moving it to a different location.

“We won the battle,” Boggiano recalls. “We had people come in from Poland to fight that. It was amazing. It meant a lot to everybody. I got Michael involved. He stood right by me.”

Yun was a good listener, Boggiano says, especially when it came to quality-of-life issues affecting the elderly.

“He was good to seniors,” Boggiano says.

Boggiano refers to a 2019 city ordinance Yun sponsored requiring residential buildings that house senior citizens to provide security guards around the clock.  The city council approved the ordinance.

“We must make sure that today’s seniors are protected tomorrow,” Yun told nj.com at the time. “Our seniors and the disabled amongst us are our most vulnerable. We owe them as much.”

He made a lot of changes to the Heights, Boggiano says, because he deeply cared about his community.

“Michael really cared about people,” Boggiano says. “He was dedicated. He helped seniors. He helped everybody. It’s such a loss for Jersey City.”

Paying It Forward

Yun served as president of the Jersey City Merchant’s Council that represented more than 3,000 small-business owners. He volunteered his time overseeing community projects like the preservation of Reservoir #3 in the Heights and the Korean War Veteran’s Memorial in Paulus Hook. In 2013, when Council at Large Rolando R. Lavarro, Jr., asked Yun to help him raise money for the victims of Typhoon Haiyan, which claimed over 6,300 lives in the Philippines, Yun not only said yes but rallied support from outside Jersey City as well.

“He asked me to meet him at a Korean radio station in New York City,” Lavarro remembers. “We went into a recording room with whom, I assumed, was a popular Korean radio personality. The entire program was in Korean. I didn’t understand one word. Councilman Yun and the host exchanged friendly banter, and Councilman Yun then asked me to explain what had happened in the Philippines. They translated what I said, and they must have added other words appealing for donations.”

When they left the recording room, Lavarro says Yun turned to him and said, “Okay. We’re done. Now we wait and find out.”

“I shrugged my shoulders not knowing what would happen,” Lavarro continued. “We left the radio station, and he treated me to some great Korean food”.

Weeks later, Yun reached out to Lavarro to tell him they had raised some money and requested a meeting with the Philippine Consulate to present the check. When the two councilmen arrived, the presidents of Korea Radio Broadcasting NY and the Korea Daily were presenting two checks for $100,900 and $24,431, respectively, to Philippine Consul General Mario de Leon.

“I was flabbergasted,” Lavarro says. “I recall asking Michael if he’d like me to issue a press release, publicize his work and the generous donations. Instead, he was humble about it and talked about how grateful Koreans are to the Philippines. While Councilman Yun didn’t say it, he told and taught me that he was paying it forward for his ancestors. As I reflect on that memory, I think that is how he lived his life, how he approached public service. I think everyone whose life he touched will attest to that.

 

Header:  Michael C. Yun getting sworn in as Jersey City Councilman as his wife Jennifer, and their grandson, look on, photo courtesy the City of Jersey City

 

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Murphy Waives All State Testing for New Jersey’s Graduating Seniors

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But there are few other certainties as of yet, including how to reach students who have no access to technology for remote learning and how long lockdown will last

This story was written and produced by NJ Spotlight. It is being republished under a special NJ News Commons content-sharing agreement related to COVID-19 coverage. To read more, visit njspotlight.com.

Full story link – HERE.

By John Mooney

New Jersey’s 2,500 public schools and 1.4 million students are in limbo when it comes to how this school year will proceed and how it will end. But yesterday, Gov. Phil Murphy and his administration answered at least a few of the questions.

In a sweeping executive order, Murphy announced in his daily briefing that he had extended the current closure indefinitely — hinting that a firmer decision is still at least a week away. But he also announced an end to limbo for roughly 13,000 high school seniors, waiving all state testing requirements for those hoping to graduate with a diploma this June.

Murphy had already suspended the testing for the spring, but his order said any final hurdles — including a last-resort portfolio appeal — would be removed and graduation assured as long as the students met local requirements.

“They will no longer need to submit an appeal in order to graduate,” Murphy said.

The decision won quick plaudits from advocates who had worried in the early days of the pandemic that these students would be unintentionally harmed.

“The reduced availability of alternatives and the difficulty of implementing the portfolio with schools closed made enforcing the testing requirement untenable,” said Stan Karp, director of secondary reform for the Education Law Center.

“The governor’s decision provides needed relief for 13,000 seniors who were on track to graduate in June and for their schools. It will allow them to concentrate on the many challenges they face in light of the pandemic.”

Nixes testing for teacher evaluation

Murphy’s orders also specifically eliminated the use of testing for evaluating teachers, although it was already minimal, and gave a few local districts flexibility in pushing back school board and budget votes from April to May 12.

Nonetheless, the governor and state Education Commissioner Lamont Repollet at the daily briefing didn’t mince words that challenges and uncertainties remain, including around the large numbers of students without the technology for remote instruction.

By the state’s own survey, more than 100,000 students don’t have either the internet connectivity or the one-on-one devices needed for distance learning. Paper-and-pencil tools are still available, but officials conceded the more technology the better.

“Online learning is just one tool,” Repollet said. “Continuous instruction can come in many ways.”

The commissioner pushed to give an upbeat appraisal, saying educators statewide had made remarkable strides in a few weeks. “These extraordinary circumstances call on all of us … to reach for new heights of innovation, collaboration and mutual support,” he said.

“We have been at this 20 days,” the commissioner said.

How long in lockdown?

Still, the basic question remains about how long schools would be in lockdown and relying on remote instruction. Murphy has said that decision wouldn’t come before April 17, a month from his initial order, but he yesterday offered little encouragement that schools would be back to normal anytime soon.

When specifically asked whether families should plan for the late-spring graduation season, for example, the governor said he wouldn’t bet on it.

“I’m not trying to be flippant, but I wouldn’t put any nonrefundable checks down on the (graduation) celebrations right now,” Murphy said. “It’s hard to say otherwise. I hope I’m wrong, but I fear I am not.”

 

Header: Jersey City Times  file photo

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Mortgage Help During COVID-19 Crisis, But What About Property Taxes?

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Without relief, property owners hit hard by illness or income loss will have to cover payments due May 1 or incur penalties

This story was written and produced by NJ Spotlight. It is being republished under a special NJ News Commons content-sharing agreement related to COVID-19 coverage. To read more, visit njspotlight.com.

Full story link – HERE.

By John Reitmeyer

To ease the economic pain of the coronavirus pandemic, New Jersey homeowners have been granted mortgage relief from banks and a reprieve from evictions. But no such help has been approved thus far from local property tax bills.

That means many homeowners who are dealing with economic hardships caused by severe illness, the loss of a job or a shuttered business are also being forced to cover quarterly property tax payments by a state-imposed May 1 deadline.

Potentially making matters worse for thousands of New Jersey homeowners is the state’s recent freezing of all funding for the next installment of Homestead property-tax relief benefits. They were supposed to be paid out by the state as direct credits to effectively reduce those May quarterly bills, but Trenton is facing its own economic shortfalls.

Even if they wanted to grant an extension of the property tax deadline, municipal officials say such relief will require executive action from the governor or new legislation since the quarterly payment schedule is set in state statute.

A bill to extend the May 1 deadline for many property owners this year has been drafted by Assemblyman Robert Karabinchak (D-Middlesex). It’s on schedule to be formally introduced in the lower house this week. But it remains to be seen whether it or other efforts can pick up sufficient support between now and the end of the month to help struggling homeowners.

High-tax state

New Jersey is notorious for having some of the nation’s highest property taxes, and the size of the average bill in the state increased by another nearly $200 last year to a record $8,953, according to the latest figures released by the state Department of Community Affairs.

Property tax payments are assessed and collected at the local level in New Jersey, with municipalities using a quarterly billing system set in state statute to raise the funds needed for their own government services, as well as for local schools and county government.

Of particular note during the COVID-19 emergency, local property taxes are paying for much of the frontline services that are being leaned on heavily right now in New Jersey, paying the salaries of police officers and other first responders, as well as municipal health department and sanitation workers.

Under the statewide schedule, property taxes are due on the first day of February, May, August and November. They can be paid directly to a municipality or through a mortgage company, which is something many homeowners do as they pay down home loans over the long term.

State law also allows for a 10-day grace period for property owners to make their payments without facing penalties. But it also requires municipalities to turn over all portions of tax payments that fund local schools and county governments by the middle of the month.

The New Jersey State League of Municipalities has suggested the best way to provide immediate tax relief to those who are struggling financially is to expand the typical 10-day grace period for the May 1 deadline by executive order or legislation.

“Our recommendation is to extend that grace period,” said Michael Cerra, who serves as the municipal-lobbying group’s assistant executive director.

At the same, Cerra’s group is also suggesting municipalities should also get a break on their requirement to turn over all funds to local schools and counties by May 15. Otherwise, municipalities could have to take on costly short-term borrowing to cover those bills, he said.

“You can’t have one without the other,” Cerra said.

Payment date of July 15 instead of May 1?

Karabinchak’s bill, according to a copy that was provided to NJ Spotlight, would extend the May 1 deadline for all residential and commercial property owners in New Jersey who don’t make property tax payments through an escrow account controlled by a bank or other financial institution. The funds for those payments have likely already been set aside.

“People should not have to choose between paying for groceries and medication or paying their property taxes because they have been ordered to stay at home and have consequently lost income,” Karabinchak said.

No penalties, fees or interest would be levied under the measure as long as May 1 property taxes are paid by July 15, which is the same deadline that the federal government is using this year for the filing of U.S. income tax returns. Murphy and lawmakers have also announced they want to use the same deadline for state returns this year, but an official extension has yet to be enacted.

Last month, Murphy announced that an agreement was reached with more than 40 different banks to provide homeowners who are struggling with economic hardships caused by the pandemic with a mortgage-payment forbearance lasting as long as 90 days. Financial institutions have also agreed to not report late mortgage payments during this period to major credit-reporting agencies that track individual credit histories.

In addition, last month Murphy signed a temporary ban on evictions for both homeowners facing foreclosure and tenants who have fallen behind on their rent payments. The measure was one of many included in an economic-relief package that state lawmakers rushed to the governor’s desk in response to the pandemic.

Lots of red ink

Those efforts and others come as thousands of New Jersey residents have lost their jobs amid strict social-distancing measures that Murphy ordered to help stop the spread of the disease. They include the closing of all businesses deemed as “nonessential” across the state.

A total of 44,416 New Jersey residents have tested positive for COVID-19 as of the latest official update from the Murphy administration. Another 1,232 residents have died.

Meanwhile, 206,253 new claims for unemployment benefits were reported in New Jersey last week, according to the latest state data, easily topping the record set just the week before.

Adding to the financial squeeze for many New Jersey residents will be the loss of next month’s Homestead property tax relief benefits due to a freeze on nearly $1 billion in state spending ordered by the Department of Treasury in response to the pandemic. That comes as the state has seen its own revenues plummet, in part due to the aggressive social-distancing measures.

More than 500,000 homeowners in New Jersey receive Homestead benefits, which are offered to seniors and the disabled who make up to $150,000 annually, and all other homeowners who make up to $75,000 annually.

For his part, Murphy hasn’t said much yet about the looming May 1 property tax deadline as he’s focused primarily on issues related to the health crisis itself. Asked by a reporter about the potential for an extension during a media briefing held earlier this week, Murphy responded by saying there was “nothing new to report.”

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Editorial: Governor’s Edict to Close Parks Well Intentioned But Misguided

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Today Governor Phil Murphy signed an executive order “closing all state parks and forests and county parks to further social distancing measures.” The governor explained, “We have seen far too many instances in our parks where people are gathering and socializing in groups and by closing these areas, we are further limiting public interactions to only the most essential purposes.”

We ask that the governor rescind this well intentioned but heavy-handed edict.

Jersey City is one of the most densely populated cities in the country and unlike the denizens of tony Monmouth County, where the governor lives, most Jersey City residents live in apartments. There are no backyards and just as few green spaces. If you want to stretch your legs, clear your mind, get some fresh air or exercise, the parks are it.  Thus, these outdoors spaces play a vital role in what will soon be New Jersey’s largest city.

There is no question that our residents have sought refuge in our parks during the Covid-19 crisis. But in our experience, few of those people have been “socializing in groups.” Joggers and walkers are using the park to burn energy and to stay fit — and have been consistently crossing the path to maintain distance from others who approach. Individual families are in the park so toddlers can roam around on the grass, so tweens can kick a ball outside, and so parents can push their infants — single file — in strollers.  But that’s it. In Liberty State Park, in Lincoln Park, residents are not “gathering.”

With all parks closed, however, restless families and exercisers seeking a break from work will spill over onto the streets — be it on the pedestrian plaza on Newark Avenue, on the Hudson River Waterfront Walkway and along Westside Avenue. This is a recipe for congestion, this is what to be wary of. Parks have become the new essential amenity. Not only are they not dangerous, they are needed for our collective mental and physical health.

Jersey City residents have shown their willingness to take all necessary steps to combat Covid-19.  Thus, it’s surprising that, before doing something draconian, the governor didn’t call for a smaller step. He could station one or two law-enforcement members throughout the parks to admonish socializers. At most he could require those who enter parks to wear face masks. Were he to do either of these things, we have no doubt that Jersey City residents would happily adjust.

We commend Governor Murphy for his strong leadership during this crisis. However, this step — one that not even New York has taken — is going too far. Please governor Murphy, reconsider, and open the parks.

 

Header: Distancing in Liberty State Park, photo by Jayne Freeman

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