It never ends. Just another quiet Friday. Hat tip once again to our mighty friend the Wile E. Coyote, Eric Kurta. We begin with the balance sheet for 2010. More to come. Much, much more on the introductory budget.
City Hall announced today a new Corporation Counsel. The release follows:
=&0=&=&1=& =&2=& Mayor Zimmer announced today the addition of Michael B. Kates, Esq., to serve as the City of Hoboken’s new Corporation Counsel. Current Corporation Counsel Steve Kleinman has resigned effective Monday, December 7th, 2009, to pursue opportunities in the private sector. He will serve in a transitional capacity as an Assistant Corporation Counsel through January 15, 2010. Mr. Kates is a partner at Kates Nussman Rapone Ellis & Farhi with extensive experience in municipal law, zoning and planning. He has served as municipal attorney for the Township of Teaneck, and the Borough of Fair Lawn, as counsel to the Zoning Board of Adjustment for the Boroughs of Closter and Alpine and Counsel to the Planning Boards of Teaneck and Englewood Cliffs. Mr. Kates has received the highest rating (AV) from Martindale-Hubbell (a national and international database for the legal community based upon peer review), and has been selected, by peer review, as a 2009 New Jersey Super Lawyer in the category of land use and zoning. “We are very fortunate to have the opportunity to retain Mr. Kates,” said Mayor Zimmer. “His expertise in land use and zoning will be of particular importance, given the numerous development issues facing our City. I thank Mr. Kleinman for serving our City ably and I wish him well in his future pursuits. ” Mr. Kates will serve on a fixed fee basis of $103,500 per year. Since he will be an independent contractor rather than an employee of the City, he will not receive health or other benefits from the City. A copy of his resume is attached. After two and a half years as the full-time Hoboken Corporation Counsel, Steve Kleinman will be resigning from his position to pursue other professional opportunities. “I thank Mr. Kleinman for his service to the City and for remaining through a transition period,” Mayor Zimmer said. Mr. Kleinman will officially resign from his position as corporation counsel on Monday, December 7th. He will assist with a transition period until January 15,2010. On behalf of the State, Fiscal Monitor Judy Tripodi also expressed her thanks to Mr. Kleinman for his service to the city and his continued cooperation. “I think she has chosen a very qualified successor, and I intend to work closely with Mr. Kates over the next several weeks to ensure the smooth transition that the City deserves,” Mr. Kleinman said. “I am grateful to Mayor Zimmer for giving me the opportunity to serve, and I wish her and her Administration well.”=&3=& Either legal representation just got a lot cheaper or City Hall really knows how to cut a deal. Bringing a well experienced corporation counsel at a salary like this with no benefits cost to Hoboken? They need a plaque to mark this day in city government. The culture of corruption just took a shot to the gut. =&4=& – To commenter’s questions, we forwarded same to City Hall. Daniel Bryan, spokesman in a statement responded, “He (Kleinman) was hired at 115k, and although he never received a ‘raise’ per say, cost of living increases have brought it up to the 117 range over his three years.
Kates’ role is full time in terms of responsiveness but not physically being in City Hall. We are working out the structure.”
In all the rush of the Thanksgiving holiday, we forgot to mention a new city program and one that is very near and dear to our heart. Back in the day before we took up the thoroughbred lifestyle, one of our passions outside of the beautiful game (soccer to those who are unaware) was discovering the intensity of the discipline of wrestling. After the mortal combat in gym class, we scooted over to the open tryouts for the high school team. Short of joining the military after high school it’s a test to see how you measured up physically in a fairly defined mano a mano sport. After quietly taking barbs from other loudmouths about being there to become the water boy, Da Horsey trampled everyone in the weight category forcing the self-proclaimed favorite to run around the auditorium in a leather bomber jacket to chase a spot in a lower weight class. That and being named captain of our NYC high school team is one of our fonder high school memories and we hope this program becomes successful in its own rite giving equal or better to all its participants. Ready…..wrestle!
Reports of the slow introduction of the flu shot for the H1N1 virus are widely known but the follow up locally isn’t. Here’s an update from City Hall on the almost 5,000 vaccine disbursement:
Almost a dozen health care providers, including pediatricians and clinics have received vaccines to administer to their patients. “The partnership the City of Hoboken has created with local healthcare providers has been extremely helpful in protecting our community from the spread of the H1N1 virus,” said Dr. Angelo Caprio of the HUMC. “This program has worked remarkably well.”
Hoboken’s H1N1 Swine Flu Task Force which includes the Health Department, Office of Emergency Management, the Mayor’s Office, HUMC and community volunteers would also like to remind the public that the best defense against the spread of the virus or the seasonal flu is properly washing your hands, covering your cough and sneeze, staying at home if you are sick and receiving vaccines from your private health care provider or through the City’s upcoming H1N1 Swine Flu virus immunization program.
For more information about Hoboken’s ongoing efforts to combat the H1N1 Swine Flu virus, contact the City’s Registered Environmental Health Specialist Lynette Medeiros at 201-420-2375.
Here’s a first hand account of this past Tuesday’s meeting of the 4th Ward residents with the Hoboken Police Department offered by resident Rami Pinchevsky:
This past Tuesday night, the Hoboken Police Department hosted a meet and greet for residents of Hoboken living south of 6th Street, and west of Madison.Chief Falco spoke on his visions for the City. 4th Ward Councilman Michael Lenz also made a brief statement how he was eager to work with the department and thanked them for putting together the event.Multiple members of the police department spoke on various topics, including:
Light Rail Problems: Officer Jason Falco mentioned that between December 2008 and January 2009, there were 7 aggravated assaults at the Light Rail station. As a result, the have installed better lighting and increased police patrol resulting in zero violent crimes since.
Burglaries: Lieutenant Ferrante discussed that Hoboken has fortunately not had serious numbers of home invasions in recent years, with most burglaries these days of the bike and postal package variety. He discussed various ways in which one could reduce the likelihood of being a target of theft. In addition, he mentioned that if your building has been burglarized, the police would come and thoroughly review the property and make a complete survey detailing ways to better protect your property.
Traffic and Pedestrian Safety: Sergeant Marnell explained that most traffic infractions in Hoboken are attributable to running stop signs and double parking. Last year they issued 713 traffic summons. That number does not include tickets issues by the Parking Authority.
Here’s a chart on the top line showing the contributions of less than $300 for all candidates in the last mayoral election and total expenditures this year for both elections. This is always a good breakdown as it shows core support for candidates in the community. If you look at this, Dawn Zimmer’s small contributions far exceed all others combined.
This information is brought to you by the Wile E. Coyote, Eric Kurta. Thank you again Eric!
The second line shows what the candidates have spent in total based on filings shown on the last filing date.
Talking Ed Note: The total for Beth Mason shown above is inclusive of the May and November mayoral elections. Mayor Zimmer’s expenditures are inclusive of the May, June runoff and November elections.
All other candidates in the chart are totals for the November election.
The City Council clearly recognizes the importance of their role in the process. And this is the beginning not the end of that process. Although people will suggest it is the State Fiscal Monitor’s role to be more aggressive, politically it doesn’t make much sense to expect her to push that with all the cleaning up of the mess left behind (we’ve heard only limited stories of how badly our records have been kept) and drive a new spending philosophy in town. This isn’t a bad starting point. It could have been better by a few million sure, but it’s the employee cost in town driving this and the status of the union negotiations were held in closed session. That will be problematic but that’s a statewide issue due to the arbitration process favoring the unions. The gravy train has been going on quite a while in New Jersey. “What’s in it for me” being normal in the culture of corruption. No one walks away from the dinner table when it’s always free, especially in New Jersey. Those folks show up in mass every election making sure they have the “free spenders” in office disbursing your money.