Fisher says: ‘Déjà vu — another council meeting, still no Hoboken budget from Bhalla’

Delayed budget leaves public in the dark ahead of critical financial decisions

HOBOKEN, N.J. — Councilwoman Tiffanie Fisher announced Tuesday she is reintroducing a resolution at the April 17^th City Council meeting urging Mayor Ravi Bhalla to publicly commit to introducing Hoboken’s 2025 municipal budget before the end of April.

Fisher said the city is already behind the state-mandated adoption timeline and that the council needs the budget now to make up for lost time, provide proper oversight and adopt a responsible plan.

At the last meeting, the City Council unanimously passed a nearly identical resolution, co-sponsored by Fisher and Councilman Paul Presinzano, reflecting the full council’s shared concern about the ongoing delay. Two weeks later, no budget has been presented.

“We are now more than six weeks past the legal deadline for the mayor to transmit the budget,” Fisher said. “Because we’re already behind, the City Council needs the budget as soon as possible to do our job — to provide transparency, evaluate tradeoffs and make informed decisions that protect taxpayers.”

Although the administration previously said the budget would be introduced at the April 17^th meeting, Bhalla sent the council a letter on April 9^th informing them that the introduction would be delayed again to a later date within April. However, no public announcement has been made about this change.

That same letter also included the mayor’s proposal for a 10% voluntary salary reduction for the mayor and council members — a move that, as stated in the resolution, the City Council will consider when the budget is formally transmitted.

“At this point, Mayor Bhalla just needs to be brave and introduce the budget,” Fisher said. “I’m committed to working together to address any challenges, but the process has to start. Residents and taxpayers deserve better.”

Meanwhile, Mayor Bhalla, now a lame duck campaigning for higher office, continues to advance long-term financial commitments with little concern for the consequences — including a recently approved, costly eight-year police contract that is already impacting other negotiations, and a proposed ordinance to hire 28 additional officers — without a budget in place. Together, these two items alone could cost taxpayers nearly $100 million over the next eight years.

And the hiring proposal directly contradicts the mayor’s own words. In his letter to the City Council last week explaining the delayed budget, Mayor Bhalla wrote:

“Given the current economic climate, all hiring is being frozen until we introduce and adopt the 2025 municipal budget.”

“These are major decisions with long-term consequences,” Fisher said. “And yet they’re being pushed forward without a financial plan and without transparency. That’s not how responsible government works.”

Fisher abstained from voting on the police contract at the March 3 meeting, along with Presinzano, citing the lack of a proposed budget and financial visibility. Pointing to recent progress in public safety initiatives, she has also called for the officer expansion ordinance — scheduled for a vote at the April 17^th meeting — to be paused until the city’s full fiscal picture is available and a more complete review of police staffing needs can be conducted.

Adding to the urgency, the city’s business administrator Jason Freeman — who leads the budget development process — has resigned and will leave his position on May 7. Bhalla has yet to identify his replacement. Fisher said this raises additional concerns, including about continuity and the city’s ability to finalize a thoughtful, transparent budget.

“The longer this drags out, the fewer tools we have to govern responsibly,” Fisher said. “Delays compress public input, limit oversight and increase the risk of rushed or costly decisions. Hoboken deserves a budget process grounded in transparency — not politics.”

The resolution reaffirms the council’s willingness to work collaboratively with the administration but calls for immediate action to restore public confidence in the city’s financial planning.

Budget deadlines per state guidance:

Under Local Finance Notice 2024-20 issued by the New Jersey Division of Local Government Services, municipalities are required to follow the timeline below for adopting their annual budgets:

• Feb. 28 – Mayor must transmit proposed budget to the City Council
• March 31 – City Council must introduce the budget
• April 30 – Budget must be adopted, or at the next regular meeting thereafter

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Councilwoman Fisher brings over 20 years of experience in finance to her role on the City Council, where she has consistently advocated for responsible, transparent budgeting that supports the services Hoboken residents rely on. Over her nine years on the Council, she has led efforts to ensure taxpayer dollars are spent wisely—taking a deeper dive into the numbers than anyone else and building consensus to improve the city’s financial plans. By amending and scaling back excessive tax increases proposed by Mayor Bhalla, she has helped deliver more than $15 million in savings while preserving funding for essential programs. Fisher has also served four times as chair of the Council’s Finance and Revenue Committee.