Council Approves Line Item Transfers

The Hoboken City Council approved roughly $2 million in line items during Wednesday night's meeting after weeks of debate and

In an 8-1 vote—Councilwoman Beth Mason was the only council member voting "no"—the council decided to approve the measure,

Before the measure passed, Mayor Dawn Zimmer said that if not passed, the city would run out of funds in particular line items to pay salary and wages.

The point of highest contention was an almost $20,000 raise for the mayor's chief of staff, who also received an $11,000 raise a little more than a year ago. The debate on this issue heated up with Council President Ravi Bhalla quoting the former chiefs of staff's salaries and Councilman Michael Russo calling the council majority "clowns."

In the end, it was Councilman Tim Occhipinti

And although he said he'd approve the transfers in the best interest of the city, its residents and the tax payers, Occhipinti added, "I don't agree with everything that has to be transfered."