HOBOKEN, N.J. — The City Council passed a resolution sponsored by Councilman Mike DeFusco at Wednesday night’s meeting urging the administration to suspend all pending layoffs and publicly present a comprehensive outline of the municipal budget. Two months prior to the local COVID-19 outbreak, the City Council was informed of a looming $7-14 million budget deficit that resulted in 79 city employees receiving layoff notices for early May. The adopted resolution is intended to shed light on where the budget stands now as well as prior to the health crisis to begin responsibly planning for Hoboken’s financial future.

The city has also taken on previously unanticipated costs for its emergency response to the global health crisis and municipal service revenues are expected to sharply decrease as a result of social distancing measures put in place. All of this, understandably, will add to the budget deficit.

“Over the past three months, members of the City Council have repeatedly asked the administration to share with us a comprehensive outline of Hoboken’s finances, a request that has still gone unanswered,” said Councilman Mike DeFusco. “Having still not seen as much as a budget proposal, even as neighboring cities have introduced their budgets, it would be irresponsible for the city to lay off any employees until we have time to properly review the numbers, line by line. The additional COVID-19 related expenses will undoubtedly put an additional strain on City resources and we will continue to dedicate all of our resources to stopping the spread of this virus. However, it’s critical for us to ensure the city’s necessary response to this emergency is not used to cover up the preexisting deficit. We must begin having open and honest conversations about our budget to protect the long term financial integrity of our city and municipal employees.”