Hoboken May Give City Workers $1,000 To Get COVID Vaccine

HOBOKEN, NJ — After Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla released on Tuesday the first phase of the Hoboken Rescue Plan — a plan to allocate over $13.2 million of federal funding toward local business relief and other matters — the city's spokeswoman answered questions about a provision to reward Hoboken city employees, police, and firefighters with up to $1,000 for getting vaccinated.

City spokeswoman Marilyn Baer confirmed the provision Wednesday.

"In an effort to increase local vaccination rates, the city is proposing a financial vaccine incentive similar to many other regions across the United States," she said. "If approved, all full-time employees who have been vaccinated or who will get vaccinated in the near future will be eligible to receive $1,000."

The rewards would include workers who already got vaccinated. City workers began getting the shots in January.

"Throughout the pandemic, our employees were the model of leadership and consistency, working tirelessly to maintain city services at a high level," Baer said. "We are asking them once again to be a model and lead by example by getting vaccinated. The overwhelming majority of serious COVID-19 cases, hospital admissions, and COVID-related deaths occur among those not vaccinated. This is just the latest step the City is taking to safeguard its employees and the residents they interact with daily."

Read more about this week's new Hoboken coronavirus statistics here: One More Unvaccinated Patient In Hoboken's Hospital

Earlier this month, the city announced that all city workers, police, and firefighters had to get vaccinated or undergo weekly testing for the virus. READ MORE: All Hoboken Employees Must Get Vaccine Or Tested

On Tuesday, Councilwoman Tiffanie Fisher said in a statement, “It is great to see the ARP funds being applied in these creative ways to benefit many including the taxpayer-friendly approach of funding items already appropriated in this year’s municipal budget. But that hefty $600,000 vaccine incentives – using taxpayer funds to buy public employees…?"

The $600,000 figure was based on a number of 600 city workers, police officers, and firefighters.

Read more about the Hoboken Rescue Plan here: Hoboken City Council To Vote On New $13M 'Hoboken Rescue Plan'

Besides more obvious measures like increasing COVID testing and vaccination efforts and helping small business, the city said some of the Rescue Plan money could also go to art, recreation programs, and wifi in the low-income housing projects. It will also go toward staving off evictions. Read more about the Hoboken Rescue Plan here: Hoboken City Council To Vote On New $13M 'Hoboken Rescue Plan'

The plan will be up for discussion at the City Council's virtual meeting at 7 p.m. Wednesday. See links below to watch it virtually.

How To Watch The Council Meeting Live

The agenda includes links to watch the meeting live or simply use these links:

To watch it on Facebook Live, click here

Use via Zoom by clicking here. Or call:

• Phone Number: +1 929 205 6099 US
• Webinar ID: 961 3404 0110
• Passcode: 227698

Don't miss Hoboken breaking news alerts when they are announced, or get a free daily newsletter each morning with Hoboken news. Sign up with your preferences here.

Got news? Email caren.lissner@patch.com. Got photos? Please include express written permission from the photographer for us to use them. To be the first to get free news alerts with breaking stories in your town, or to get a free local newsletter each morning, sign up for Patch breaking news alerts or daily newsletters.