Hoboken's 2012 Budget Introduced, Workshops to Follow

The Hoboken City Council will be talking about and ultimately passing the 2012 budget for the city of Hoboken in the coming weeks. On Wednesday, Finance Director Nick Trasente introduced the $102 million budget to the city council.

Before the budget can be passed, the city council will hold multiple public workshops and will be able to suggest amendments to the document.

The tax levy this year is flat, said Trasente, which means that the municipal taxes on your tax bill will remain flat.

In this year's budget, about 38 percent of the money goes toward salary and wages, which is a drop since previous years, according to Trasente. The finance director said that percentage went down, because many retirees haven't been replaced.

The city also currently has a surplus that is about $19 million. Of that money, only $9,5 million can be used—the rest has already been allocated and can't be used as cash, Trasente said. Of that $9,5 million, Trasente continued, $5.5 million has been put toward the budget. This means that roughly $4 million in cash is available, and can be used to offset next year's budget, he said.

Workshops have been scheduled for the coming weeks:

• Monday March 12, from 6 to 10 p.m.: Community Affairs and Health and Human Services. 
• Saturday March 17, from 10 a.m to 4 p.m.: Envorinmental Services, Legal Department, Administration.
• Tuesday March 20, from 6 to 10 p.m.: Parking Utility, Public Safety.