Interview with Peter Cammarano

by: Thurman Hart

Tue May 13, 2008 at 06:21:14 PM EDT

I won't blame that on Peter, though.  Peter has kept himself busy working on the statewide campaigns of Bob Menendez and Hillary Clinton, in addition to trying to restore a bit of sense to the Hoboken City Council.  He even found the time to stop by NJCU and spend the evening talking to my students for a Local Politics Forum last month.

So I decided to ask Peter to go on the record with some comments about every municipality's greatest problem - its finances.  Here's what Peter had to say:

Question: Like many cities, Hoboken seems to have budget problems every year.  All I hear is that yet another deficit has to be plugged.  What's the problem?

Answer: Passing a budget is arguably the most monumental task for local governments to accomplish.  It is critically important that we approve an honest and responsible budget after considerable input from members of the public and State government.  

The short and simple answer to why we seem to have budget problems in Hoboken is that that we spend more in our budget expenditures than we collect in taxes and other revenue sources.  

The more comprehensive answer is that the City continues to hire people, and the cost of employing people continues to rise dramatically - including the cost of collectively bargained salaries and benefits.  Hoboken has also developed an unhealthy reliance on one-shot gimmicks and non-recurring revenue as a short term fix for budget shortfalls - for example, the sale of municipal assets like the public works garage.  

Answer: The long-term solution of Hoboken's budget problems is going to involve a lot more than just cutting a few jobs.  It's going to take some real leadership, creativity and cooperation.  

In this respect, we are in much the same situation as the State of New Jersey.  Someone is going to have to draw a line in the sand between employment with the City that is necessary, and that which is needless.  For example, the City recently created a new position and hired someone who handles the Mayor's public relations.  In my opinion, this is a needless position and a waste of taxpayer money.  

Also, the City of Hoboken, just like the State of New Jersey, is going to have to assume a tougher bargaining position in contract negotiations going forward, with the understanding that concessions on both sides are in the public interest, and with an eye toward getting some degree of control over the spiraling costs of the health care and pension systems.

Question: How does state aid to municipalities enter into the equation?

Cutting State aid to municipalities is one of the ways in which the State of New Jersey is dealing with getting its own fiscal house in order.  A dramatic reduction in State aid to all municipalities across the board will affect each municipality differently, because the various towns that receive State aid depend on it to balance their budgets to different degrees.  For example, a city like Paterson is considerably more dependent on State aid than Hoboken.  And if the State cuts its aid to each city by 50% or 75%, then Paterson will be much worse off as a result, compared to Hoboken receiving the same cut.  The same holds true for some municipalities' dependence on Abbott money to finance their school districts.  A similar reduction across the board in Abbott funding would hit other cities harder than Hoboken.  

I do want to point out, however, that one area where Hoboken is exceedingly dependent on State financial aid is in the discretionary funds that we need to operate Hoboken University Medical Center (formerly known as St. Mary's Hospital).  Whatever one thinks of State aid, the continued viability of Hoboken University Medical Center is critical because it is a provider of affordable health care in our community.  Hospitals are closing or threatened with closure across the State: Greenville Hospital in Jersey City, Saint Barnabas in Paterson, Muhlenberg in Plainfield.  It is imperative that we keep our hospital open in Hoboken.

QuestionDo you plan to run for Mayor?  Assembly?  Vice-President of the United States?

I know it might sound cliché, but the truth is that, right now, I am solely focused on being the best Councilman I can be for my friends and neighbors here in Hoboken.  

I love Hoboken and care deeply about its future.  It's where I've chosen to raise my family.  And I will fight to make my city more affordable for the working families who live here - whether you've lived here all your life or you've recently moved here.  

I'm sure the political considerations regarding whether to run for office next year will occupy more of my time and thought as next year approaches.  But, in the meantime, I'm simply going to continue working with my neighbors and like-minded individuals (like those here on Blue Jersey) to continue Hoboken's progress and future growth while protecting our community and its proud heritage.  

Late last year, when I launched www.StopthePATHhike.com to challenge the Port Authority's plan to raise fares 33%, Blue Jersey was one of the first places I came to in order to spread the word.  With your help, we succeeded in getting the Port Authority to only increase the fare 25 cents - half of what was originally planned.  This wasn't just a victory for the hundreds of people who signed the petition to stop the fare hike - many of whom came from Blue Jersey.  This was a victory for everyone who uses the PATH and for everyone who believes we should be encouraging public transportation in order to unclog our roads and combat global warming.  This was an entirely grassroots effort that was fueled by the online petition and blogs like Blue Jersey.  

Regardless of what I plan on doing once my term on the Council ends, I am going to continue the fight to make Hoboken a more affordable place.  As great as our City is, it has also become an expensive place to live for many people.  Hoboken's rebirth started because artists, artisans and professionals seeking easy access to New York City realized they could rent or own in Hoboken for a lower cost, while still enjoying all the amenities of urban living.  Now, a generation later, the extraordinary cost of renting or owning - coupled with high property taxes - has made living or running a business in Hoboken prohibitively expensive for many people.  Sadly, as residents and businesses leave Hoboken because of that economic reality, we're also losing some of the diversity that made the City so attractive in the first place.  In Hoboken, we have the delicate and complicated task of stopping and hopefully reversing this trend, while not causing further damage to our economy and housing stock.  

My term on the City Council is up on July 1, 2009.  I plan to work as hard as I can between now and then.  Making Hoboken a more affordable place to live, work and raise a family will continue to be one of my main priorities going forward.