Have you been following the news about NJ state budget cuts and Trenton city tax increases? Are you wondering what it all means, and how it could have gotten so bad? You’re not alone.

Why not join the Committee to Fix Trenton’s Budget and help us do something about it!

We are a group of Trenton residents who are working to understand the City’s budget in depth: how it spends money, and where it gets its revenues. We intend to recommend policies to the next administration of the City of Trenton, and the new state administration, that will help Trenton continue to develop, and ultimately lower our real estate taxes and reduce our dependency on the State budget. It’s not something that can happen overnight, but it CAN HAPPEN.

Joining is easy. Any registered voter residing in the City of Trenton who is not currently a candidate for office may join. Just agree to leave politics as usual outside the door and work towards a better Trenton.

A first step is to click the “Register” link in the sidebar. This will add you to our newsletter email list, and make sure that you hear about all of our upcoming activities.

Here is the modified Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the City and the State. Mayor Mack is agreeing to take $22M and the follow restrictions and management help from the State:

1) DCA recommends Cabinet nominees (including replacements for Directors)
2) Mayor picks from the list
3) Mayor can not fire Directors without DCA approval
4) Council gives up/down vote on nominees
5) Three member panel makes policy recommendations on hiring issues (this seems to be a very weak position)

Modified Transitional Aid Letter (81)

Our second year of transitional aid is marked by a decrease due to DCA’s lack of confidence in Trenton’s capacity to manage itself. Because of that, this year’s MOU includes a rather harsh new control over our local government. In it, a committee of three will be appointed by the state, city council and administration to make hiring and firing decisions that would normally be the province of a Mayor.

The budget team at city hall including David Rousseau, Eric Berry and Elana Chan, have put together their initial budget proposal. This was presented to City Council on July 1 and was passed. In FTB’s conversations with the City, this is only an initial proposal. We applaud having that in place at the beginning of the fiscal year (July 1, 2011 is the beginning of the 2012 fiscal year).

This budget does not include policy decisions, nor does it yet include citizen input.

Fix Trenton’s Budget has met with Berry and Rousseau and is meeting the City Council Budget sub-committee to relay citizen priorities. The budget also does not reflect a complete elimination of Transitional Aid (nor should it, yet).

We’re happy to have this transparency. It gives us all a chance to work on shaping the budget and policy before final resoultion (hopefully in September).

Along with the FTB budget survey, we also conducted a survey asking Trentonians what types of new revenue options they would support. The results are linked here.

The results are in from out 2011 Citizen Budget survey. This “first of its kind in Trenton” exercise has produced useful insights into priorities in our community.

The attached document presents the results of the survey and also includes ALL of the comments made both at the public meetings and in the online survey. These comments add a great deal of color to the discussion of Trenton’s strategy going forward.

Thanks to everyone who participated. Results will be online soon.

Nine months late, but Trenton has finally announced a municipal budget.

We have a whopping $.30 tax increase to show for it.  Notice that while our taxes went up $5.9M, salaries went down only $3.6M.

Here’s the original budget that was introduced last fall.  It has comparisons to the 2010 budget.

All budget workshops will cover the same information and will be held from 6:30pm – 9:00pm.

• North Ward – Monday, March 7th at Greater Mt. Zion AME Church, 42 Pennington Avenue

• South Ward – Wednesday, March 9th at The Millhouse, 325 Jersey Street

• East Ward – Monday, March 14th at the Infinity Lounge (previously Roman Hall), 100 Whittaker Avenue

• West Ward – Wednesday, March 16th at Grace Community Church, West State Street and Hermitage Avenue

Please join us at the next workshop in your Ward and pass this on to your friends and neighbors. This is OUR budget.

Much has been written recently about the Mayor’s transition team from last summer.  Who was on it and why.  What’s not been widely talked about is that this group produced a final report.

Perhaps there are recommendations in it that spell out a recovery plan for Trenton.  Attached here is the transition teams “Final Report”.  The team’s co-chairs were Dr. Jack Washington and Joe Jacobs.  Included in the report are names and backgrounds for all of the committee members.  Many of them are now famous.

Community Meeting on Trenton Municipal Budget

Meeting Monday, February 7, at 7:00 pm at Mt Zion AME Church

Beautiful Trenton, TCCA and Fix Trenton’s Budget Committee are hosting a public information and planning meeting on Monday, February 7, to discuss Trenton’s municipal budget.  Doors open at 6:30 pm, with the program starting at 7:00 pm.  The meeting will be held at Mt. Zion AME Church, located at 42 Pennington Avenue in Trenton.

 The meeting will focus on priority-based budgeting: setting priorities and making hard decisions.  Angela DeGraff will facilitate the meeting, which will include presentations by Fix Trenton’s Budget Committee and opportunities for participation by everyone attending the meeting.  All interested Trenton residents are invited to attend.

This meeting is the first in a series of meetings seeking citizen input and participation in the budget process, focusing on the 2012 municipal budget.  Future meetings will be held in the each of Trenton’s wards.