Budgets are cryptic, but it's your money and you should have a say.
The BOE budget hearing is Wednesday (tomorrow). The municipal budget hearing is scheduled for May 16
Hi! I’m your neighbor Mariana Horta, and this is my newsletter about our local government. I watch them closely because their decisions can make our lives slightly better or substantially worse. Yet, only 32% of voters participated in the last municipal elections. We, the People, are too busy to pay attention! So I started this substack to bring you a digest of local issues in five minutes--what happened last week and what needs attention this week.
The BOE budget is out. The hearing is on Wednesday, May 3. As I write this, the meeting agenda has yet to be posted, but I found an updated version of the 2023-2024 budget, dated May 1st, on the Business Office website.
Some observations. We have lost over $5 million in CARES Act funding and don’t have other revenue sources to make up for it. Just as our revenue declined, employee health benefit costs have risen by 10%, and benefits now account for over 30% of salaries and 18% of the introduced budget. You can see other increases in the introduced budget presentation (page 13).
Cuts in classroom instruction? Page 9 shows per-pupil costs relative to previous years. Comparing 2023-24 with 2022-23, we see cuts almost across the board, except for “Total administrative costs” and “Administration Salaries and Benefits.” How is it appropriate to make cuts on “Classroom Instruction” and “Classroom Salaries and Benefits” but not on administrative costs?
Budget hearing tomorrow (May 3). The public can comment and ask questions about the budget at tomorrow’s hearing (answers are not guaranteed). The board will adopt the budget and certify the tax levy at the May 15 meeting.
Little progress on the Municipal budget. It is unclear if the council has or will amend the introduced budget before the hearing on May 16. Peter Yacobellis committed to organizing a public budget presentation with Montclair’s CFO before the budget hearing and voting on May 16. The presentation, not yet announced, would allow the public to ask questions about the introduced budget and any amendments. Do you have specific questions?
I would like to understand the total cost of the fire department because the introduced budget does not disaggregate health benefits and statutory costs by department. I would also ask for an accounting of the fire department's salaries and wages. How many firefighters? Other staff? How many new staff? And how much is allocated to overtime, and why does the fire department have so much overtime? Next, I would ask for a similar accounting for the Police department because it’s our largest department, and it’s absolutely opaque. It does not even publish crime data! I would also ask for clarification on the budgeted health benefits and liability insurance increases.
Another area I would ask about is allocations for the vision zero initiative, pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure, and street lights. We pay some of the highest municipal-use taxes in the state (and in the country). Why can’t we have streetlights?
Lastly, I would ask for a list of all PILOTs and their amounts, along with the amount property owners would be paying if they paid taxes. There exists an assumption that redevelopment benefits conventional taxpayers, but it is unclear if that is the case in Montclair. Redevelopment has the potential to benefit conventional taxpayers if the development would not occur without the incentives of redevelopment and if it brings offices and businesses that have a low impact on municipal and school services. However, Montclair has very little land still available for development, and all it builds are apartments. Often, these are luxury apartments that send kids to schools but pay no school taxes. Thus, the impact of PILOTs on Montclair’s schools and conventional taxpayers is an empirical question clamoring for an answer.
Last Week in Montclair
Good riddance. Last Friday, the Montclair Township Council finally took action to remove manager Timothy Stafford after three discrimination lawsuits and six months of paid leave. The council scheduled a public hearing for Friday morning at his request. But Stafford subsequently waived his right to a hearing, so the special meeting started with a resolution for his removal, which passed 5 to 0 with both Spiller and Hurlock absent. Spiller was absent because he had just lost his father and Hurlock for no good reason. Read Craig Wolff’s story here.
Unsure what the fuss is about? Read the recap on last Monday’s newsletter:
Black firefighters filed their suit. I sent an update about this last week, but if you haven’t read about it yet, here is the Montclair Local’s story about the firefighter’s lawsuit against Montclair, Chief Herrmann, Stafford, Montclair’s former HR director, and a testing preparation firm that only offered its services to white firefighters (yup, unbelievable, but nevertheless credible). Read the firefighter’s complaint here.
Barely grinding wheels of justice. The first hearing for Juliet Lee’s suit is adjourned until May 31. And no news may be good news in Rao’s suit. The parties have agreed to adjourn and may be negotiating a settlement (we can hope), and we should know by May 24.
The last edition. You probably received your last paper copy of the Montclair Local on Thursday. It came to every home in Montclair, but it almost didn’t because of a fire at the press. You can read all about it in the New York Times (this is a gift link that bypasses the paywall).
Let him grow. MHS graduate Andrew Marshall secured the first cannabis growing permit released by the Montclair council at the April 25 meeting. Read Craig Wolff’s story about it. The grow operation will be housed in a building at 154 Pine Street, which it will share with a cannabis manufacturing firm, TLEHL, licensed by the council last month.
I missed this. At the last BOE meeting, MEA president Cathy Kondreck raised the need for the district to adopt a local contract for night cleaning because, without it, the cleaners are treated as temporary employees and lose access to health insurance. However, the district appears not to pay any less for a month-to-month contract than it would pay on an annual contract. Talia Wiener reported for the Montclair Local.
In lieu of flowers. Mayor Spiller lost his father on April 25. Send him your condolences. The family suggests donations to the Lustgarten Foundation in memory of Spiller’s mother, Hyacinth.
New stuff to borrow at MPL. Baristanet reported that the Montclair Public Library has a new collection of “things” available for the public to borrow. The collection includes musical instruments, museum passes, puzzles, and board games, among other items.
“Montclair has many progressive residents but lots of regressive leadership.” Read the Montclairvoyant for more snarky commentary on the town’s lawsuits.
What needs your attention this week?
(I included the email addresses of our councilors, BOE members, and our state legislators’ contact forms and phone numbers at the bottom of this newsletter.)
Again, the BOE Budget Hearing is on Wednesday, May 3. Here is the introduced budget presentation and the user-friendly budget posted yesterday.
Montclair’s proposed municipal budget. Read it here.
Vote by mail. Essex County has already started sending mail-in ballots for the June 6th primary. If you are already registered to vote by mail, check your mail. If you are registered to vote in person, you have until May 30th to apply for a mail-in ballot. Early in-person voting will also be available from June 2 to 4.
If you are new to Montclair or a newly naturalized citizen, the deadline to register to vote is May 16. And you really should register by then because our elections are decided on the primaries. This year we elect our state legislators, where both members of the assembly and state senators serve for four years. Because last year was a redistricting year, we have a moderately competitive primary ahead. Read about it here.
Activist training with the League of Women Voters. I’m sorry I only discovered these workshops now. You can still register for one on Municipal Resolutions (May 10) and another on Citizen Journalism (May 22).
Adopt-a-Mountie. Aminah Toler and Megan Roberts are organizing another fundraiser to furnish the dorm rooms of college-bound Montclair High School graduates. You can read about it on the Local and donate via their gofundme or Amazon wish list.
Montclair Literary Festival starts this week, on May 3rd, and goes through the 11th. You can find the festival’s schedule here. I’m particularly looking forward to Dionne Ford’s discussion on May 6, a talk about climate migration on May 7, another about Icelandic women on May 9, and a signed copy of Deb Perelman’s book. So which events will you attend?
Plant sales everywhere. Do you love to garden? Want to do more of it? There are three fundraiser plant sales this week. Montclair History Center and Montclair Community Farms are selling seedlings and herbs. The two separate plant sales support these two institutions that share an address. So you can buy from both at the same time, May 4 to 7. On the same days, you will find mostly ornamental plants at the Van Vleck Spring Plant Sale. It’ a great place to find beautiful bushes, perennials, and some native plants.
A substack recommendation. I have heard and read much about gentrification and the fear of a loss of diversity in Montclair lately. So I want to share this lecture Robert Reich posted on his substack about the “widening inequalities of place.” I enthusiastically recommend Reich’s substack, and I think you will enjoy his lecture.
Coming up:
Montclair Board of Education Meeting--May 3, 6:30 pm in the George Inness Annex. Public hearing for the 2023-24 school budget.
Montclair Township Council Meeting--May 16, 7 pm, at 205 Claremont Ave.
Montclair PTA Council Meeting--May 16, 7 pm, on Zoom.
Did I miss something? Please email me at montclairweekly@gmail.com.
Do you know anyone who may be willing to share their Montclair photos in this newsletter? I am a horrible photographer, and I would love to post someone else's photos here.
Montclair Elected Officials
Township Council
Bob Russo rrusso@montclairnjusa.org
Peter Yacobellis pyacobellis@montclairnjusa.org
William L Hurlock (1st ward) whurlock@montclairnjusa.org
Robin Schlager (2nd ward) rschlager@montclairnjusa.org
Lori Price Adams (3rd ward) lpriceabrams@montclairnjusa.org
David Cummings (4th ward) dcummings@montclairnjusa.org
Sean M. Spiller sspiller@montclairnjusa.org
Board of Education
Allison Silverstein asilverstein@montclair.k12.nj.us
Crystal Hopkins chopkins@montclair.k12.nj.us
Yvonne Bouknight ybouknight@montclair.k12.nj.us
Melanie Deysher mdeysher@montclair.k12.nj.us
Phaedra Dunn pdunn@montclair.k12.nj.us
Brian Fleischer bfleischer@montclair.k12.nj.us
Monk Inyang minyang@montclair.k12.nj.us
Eric Sherzer escherzer@montclair.k12.nj.us
Kathryn Weller-Demming kwellerdemming@montclair.k12.nj.us
State Legislators (I hear it’s better to call than to write)
Senator Nia H. Gill (973) 509-0388
Assemblyman Thomas P. Giblin (973) 779-3125
Assemblywoman Britnee N. Timberlake (973) 395-1166
I would like to know the detailed process for people to run for town council: dates and steps.
I would like to know why the fire department and maybe the police department do not comply with civil service guidelines. We wouldn’t have all these problems.
I want to have data to understand what the fire department and police department are doing before they ask for more budget.
Of course, we have lost the CARES money. We should have prepared for that, because it was clear it was temporary.