Steven Fulop – Civic Parent

Fulop Era Abatements Approved from 2013 to 2016

July 6, 2017June 12, 2021Brigid D'SouzaAdvocacy, Jersey City City Budget, Tax Abatements

I’m sharing a new map I created that pin-drops all abatements approved since Mayor Fulop and the current City Council took office*, i.e. since the summer of 2013. I created the map after reading Terrence McDonald‘s recent article from the Jersey Journal titled “Has Steve Fulop Evolved on Tax Abatements?” It’s a valid question...

Fulop’s Spokesperson Wrong on Property Tax Appeals Logic

April 24, 2017February 9, 2019Brigid D'SouzaAdvocacy, Property Revaluation, Property Taxes

Steven Fulop’s press person, Jennifer Morrill, made an egregious error on the record this month when she characterized tax appeals as not being based on sales prices. Tax appeals are, in fact, based explicitly on recent comparable sales prices. Ms. Morrill’s statement was in response to a story about a local resident, April Kuzas, who...

Jersey City PILOTs Rob Funding from the School System

November 17, 2015June 12, 2021Brigid D'SouzaJersey City City Budget, Jersey City School Funding Crisis, NJ UFB-In Context, Public Schools, Tax Abatements

A strong public school system is essential bedrock to a healthy community. Yet in Jersey City, our bedrock is threatened by a fiscal policy that is over-reliant on PILOTs. Here’s the crux of the problem: PILOTs help grow the city, which in turn increases demand for public schools. But PILOTed residents don’t pay school tax, leaving taxpayers to bear the burden...

Mayor Fulop: Please Stop Politicizing Our Public Schools

September 24, 2015July 14, 2019Brigid D'SouzaPublic Schools

I emailed this letter to Mayor Fulop on September 24th. Dear Mayor Fulop, After reading this article in today’s Jersey Journal, I’m asking you, as a parent of two children in the Jersey City Public School (JCPS) system: Please stop politicizing our public schools. I was at the Jersey City Board of Education (BOE)...

Press Releases, Property Taxes, and the Value of Spin

August 16, 2015June 12, 2021Brigid D'SouzaJersey City City Budget, Property Taxes

Mayor Fulop announced last week the hiring of a new communications director for Jersey City, 26-year old Ryan Jacobs, at a salary of $110,000. The current communications director, Jennifer Morrill, earns $100,614 and will remain as press secretary “to assist…with day to day operations.” Jersey City taxpayers are now paying over $200,000 for spokesperson duties. A...

Abatements 501: A Critique of Mayor Fulop’s “Buy Up” Abatement Policy

April 21, 2014May 19, 2021Brigid D'SouzaJersey City School Funding Crisis, Public Schools, Tax Abatement Series

In my Abatement Series, I’ve discussed the basic premise of abatements, how they are funded, and the impact to conventional taxpayers. In this post I look at Mayor Fulop’s new tax abatement policy for Jersey City, which includes two notable components: Tiering System: A system of awarding abatements based on geographic location or project type1. Each...

What Does 1.88 Students Look Like?

March 28, 2014September 28, 2019Brigid D'SouzaJersey City School Funding Crisis, Public Schools, Tax Abatements

On Wednesday night, the City Council approved an 80-unit abatement in downtown Hamilton Park. Here are some of the specs on the property: located at 9th & Brunswick in downtown Hamilton Park a community the abatement will extend for 20 years contain 80 units, including 20 3-bedroom units and 35 2-bedroom units 1.88 kids from the building will attend...

Tax Abatements 401: The Transparency Issue

March 23, 2014May 19, 2021Brigid D'SouzaAdvocacy, Jersey City School Funding Crisis, Public Schools, Tax Abatement Series

In his 2010 report, “A Programmatic Examination of Tax Abatements,” NJ Comptroller A. Matthew Boxer highlighted numerous weaknesses with abatements. One issue he touched upon was transparency. He stated, “Information concerning abatement…is not published in a transparent manner or centralized location, making it difficult to impossible for the public to compare, calculate the effect...

An Open Letter to Mayor Fulop and the City Council of Jersey City Regarding Basic Life Support (“BLS”) EMS Contract

December 26, 2013February 9, 2019Brigid D'SouzaAdvocacy

This letter was emailed to the Mayor and all nine City Council members on December 26, 2013 at 11:04am. Date: December 26, 2013 From: Brigid D’Souza, Yoo Lee, Matt Schoenfeld Subject: Concerns Regarding Basic Life Support (“BLS”) Emergency Medical Services (“EMS”) Contract To: Mayor...