For Immediate Release: Contact: Heather Taylor
April 1, 2010 (732)548-9798 x1

CITIZENS LAUNCH A JERSEY CITY CALL TO SERVICE
Jersey City, N.J. — Civic JC, the Downtown Coalition of Neighborhood Associations, the Heights Coalition, the West Bergen/Lincoln Park Neighborhood Association and the Citizens’ Campaign are leading a Call to Service in Jersey City, to increase citizen participation in community and City service opportunities.

The Call to Service was kicked-off last November in City Hall with a free community forum about the appointments process and the political leveraging techniques for getting appointed to serve on a local Board/Commission/Agency/Authority. The next installment of the Call to Service will be on Saturday, April 10th at 11am.

This effort is part of the Citizens’ Campaign’s “Jersey Call to Service,” a statewide public service initiative to inspire citizens to participate in the leadership of their communities and reverse the tide of government waste and corruption.

Jersey City has 40 boards and commissions for residents to serve on, and which offer the opportunity for community leaders to have a substantial impact in city public policy. Attendees to this forum will get inside tips for seeking and gaining appointment, and learn about current service opportunities in Jersey City.

The Call to Service free one-hour leadership forum will be held on Saturday, April 10th, at 11:00 am in Dinneen Hall, St. Peter’s College (JFK Blvd & Montgomery St).

The Jersey Call to Service focuses on 4 powerful service opportunities, they are: 1) Serving on an appointed local board or commission; 2) Serving as a neighborhood-level party committeeperson; 3) Becoming a citizen legislator by devising a constructive common-interest proposal and presenting it to a relevant government body; and 4) Serving as a “Citizen Journalist” to report from the frontlines what is happening in City Hall.

The Call to Service forum is free and open to the public, if you are interested in attending please RSVP to info@civicjc.org.

For more information on the Jersey Call to Service, visit www.JoinTheCampaign.com.

Civic JC is deeply concerned about the financial health of Jersey City and believes that, failing significant action by local government, we will face unacceptable property tax increases that will destabilize our local economy and the long term health and well-being of our city.

We advocate (1) immediate rigorous cost-cutting initiatives that do not reduce services to the Jersey City public and do not have negative long-term financial repercussions; and (2) the establishment of a public budget commission charged with annual budget review and creation/maintenance of a five-year financial master plan.

Cost-Cutting Initiatives

Structural initiatives must be identified, studied, and swiftly implemented to permanently reduce the costs of local government. These items should be on the table: management structure, departmental consolidation, labor reductions, shared services, reduced employee benefits (including health, parking, motor vehicle use), and increases in revenue to the city from the semi-autonomous public authorities. Efforts must be initiated to obtain support at the state level for legislation to reform the public safety (fire and police) contract arbitration process and to prepare for increased local contribution for our schools, potentially an additional $125 million.

Municipal Budget Commission

A public budget commission should be established. Its members should be from equal parts government, business, and the general public and supported by relevant municipal departments. The commission will perform three primary functions: (1) oversee public review of the budget (2) provide recommendations for the current-year proposed budget and (3) prepare and maintain a five-year financial master plan matching revenues to expenses.

The commission will both review and project revenue streams and analyze and evaluate expenditures. All property tax abatement agreements greater than five years in term will go before the commission for review and recommendation. The commission will also be charged with review and evaluation of the budgets for the semi-autonomous agencies, with the aims of cost control and increasing revenue to the city. An initial commission project will be to study and recommend the need for an independently elected city comptroller.

By Heather Taylor, Communication Director
Citizens\' Campaign
November 4, 2009

Civic JC, the Downtown Coalition of Neighborhood Associations, the Heights Coalition, and the Citizens\' Campaign are leading a Call to Service in Jersey City, to increase citizen participation in community and City service opportunities.

The Call to Service will kick-off on November 19th in City Hall with a free community forum about the appointments process and the political leveraging techniques for getting appointed to serve on a local Board/Commission/Agency/Authority. Speaking at the event will be Jersey City Clerk Robert Byrne. This effort is part of the Citizens\' Campaign\'s \"Jersey Call to Service,\" a statewide public service initiative to inspire citizens to participate in the leadership of their communities and reverse the tide of government waste and corruption.

Jersey City has 39 boards and commissions for residents to serve on, and which offer the opportunity for community leaders to have a substantial impact in city public policy. Attendees to this forum will get inside tips for seeking and gaining appointment, and learn about current service opportunities in Jersey City.

The Call to Service is a free one-hour leadership forum held on Thursday, November 19th, at 7:00 pm in the City Council chambers.

The Jersey Call to Service focuses on four opportunities to serve Jersey City, they are: 1) Serving on an appointed local board or commission; 2) Serving as a neighborhood-level party committeeperson; 3) Becoming a citizen legislator by devising a constructive common-interest proposal and presenting it to a relevant government body; and 4) Serving as a \"Citizen Journalist\" to report from the frontlines what is happening in City Hall.

The Call to Service forum is free and open to the public, if you are interested in attending please RSVP to Andrew Hubsch at andrew@civicjc.org

Click here for flyer

Municipal Council approved Redevelopment Pay-to-Play Reform Jersey City, NJ - At its September 9th meeting, the Jersey City Municipal Council voted 8-0-1 to enact Civic JC\'s proposed Redevelopment Pay-to-Play Reform Ordinance. This ordinance was a long time in coming and represents a critical step forward in bringing ethics reform to Jersey City.

Under New Jersey law, local officials have the authority to exercise eminent domain, irrevocably change zoning and land use, and award tax abatements and other financial benefits to developers performing redevelopment work. With this much power, conflicts of interest and the appearance of a conflicts of interest must be eliminated for the public to have confidence that redevelopment decisions made by Jersey City government are based on merit, not campaign contributions.

The approved Redevelopment Pay-to-Play Reform ordinance now bans contributions to local candidates, elected officials and municipal and county political parties by developers and their professionals who wish to do redevelopment work in Jersey City.
Aaron Morrill, founding director said: \\\"this zero tolerance is necessary to prevent even the appearance of improper influence on city officials in their decisions regarding re-development. While the ordinance is not perfect, it will go a long way towards restoring confidence in the re-development process.�

We thank and commend the Municipal Council for approving this necessary and sound ordinance that will improve the redevelopment process in Jersey City; Councilman Steven Fulop for re-introducing the ordinance, Councilman William Gaughan for joining us in meetings with the Law Department and supporting the dialogue, Councilman Michael Sottolano for addressing concerns and forging consensus and Corporation Counsel, William Matsikoudis and his staff for bringing the council and reform interests together to move the process forward.

Civic JC also thanks our partners in local reform, Citizen\\\'s Campaign (http://jointhecampaign.com), NJ Appleseed (http://njappleseed.net) and Hoboken\\\'s People for Open Government (http://hobokenpog.org) for their support and resources.

Valerio Luccio, president of Civic JC said: Civic JC is now looking forward to working with our council and the Law Department on additional reform initiatives including applying the state\'s strict Conflict of Interest law locally (http://www.state.nj.us/ethics/statues/conflicts) and working towards implementing a Clean Elections program / publicly financed elections in Jersey City\\\".Read More
State Ethics Commission | New Jersey Conflicts of Interest Law
Source: www.state.nj.us
new jersey state ethics commission, statutes, regulations, statutes regulations, conflicts of interest law

On Wednesday September 9, 2009, the City Council approved with a 8-0-1 vote (council woman Flood abstaining) the Redevelopment Pay-To-Play Reform Ordinance (09-096).

Please see here for Pay To Play Reform Ordinance in PDF.

N.B.: the sections in italics marked with a star are those that were amended at the City Council meeting of September 9.

The initial Citizen Forum was held on February 4th in the auditorium of Frank R. Conwell Middle School #4 in downtown Jersey City. The forum was co-hosted by CivicJC and The Citizens' Campaign and co-sponsored by Boys & Girls Club of Jersey City, New Jersey City University, Women Rising and Hamilton Park Neighborhood Organization.

The forum, the first in a series that will be held throughout Jersey City in the coming months, was attended by over 30 members of the community. Lauren Skowronski and Shelly Bell of the Citizens' Campaign illustrated the ways in which local citizens can influence public policy. The presentation was followed by a lively discussion.

Members of the press were also present. Please see The Jersey Journal and The Jersey City Independent.

CivicJC.org would like to thank Principal De Filippo and the entire Jersey City Board of Education for the use of the auditorium. We would also like to give a special thanks to Dale Hardman who was instrumental in the logistics.

Jersey City is another step closer to Pay-to-Play Reform now that Councilman Steven Fulop has successfully led the petition signature drive. The proposed Contractor Pay-to-Play Reform Ordinance will now be sent directly to the Jersey City Municipal Council which will vote whether or not to introduce it for a second reading. If the council does not introduce the ordinance, it will be placed on the November 4th ballot as a public referendum and the public will decide.

This proposed “state of the art” ordinance was written by Civic JC with the assistance of Citizen’s Campaign, NJ Appleseed and the Hoboken-based citizens’ group People for Open Government. We believe that this reform ordinance is a giant step forward in not only reducing conflicts of interest in awarding city contracts, but also in moving forward ethics reform in Jersey City and ultimately, reducing the costs passed on to taxpayers.

Back in June 2006, our first efforts at advancing pay-to-play reform fell on deaf ears. Now, a little over two years later, a reform ordinance has successfully moved forward thanks to a lone Council member’s steadfast advocacy, the thousands of Jersey City voters (who signed the petitions), and the ongoing (and growing) support from numerous candidates for Mayor and Council in next May’s municipal election.

Civic JC welcomes the endorsement of this initiative by both our elected officials and those candidates planning to run for office in the 2009 municipal election. We extend to all an invitation to meet and discuss the Contracting Pay-to-Play Reform Ordinance and other reform initiatives. Working together for meaningful reform will make Jersey City municipal government more accessible, responsive and accountable to the residents.

Valerio Luccio
President, Civic JC

JERSEY CITY CITIZENS’ RIGHTS & RESPONSIBILITIES SURVEY

Executive Summary


INTRODUCTION

This Survey evaluates Jersey City’s civic health in 16 separate areas. The purpose is to assess current civic infrastructure conditions and to discover opportunities for increasing citizen empowerment and participation in local government. By discovering which components of a healthy civic community are in place and which are currently missing or could be strengthened, citizens are empowered to improve their city.

The information contained in the Survey was gathered through a combination of records requests and calls to relevant government and party officials. A special thanks to employees in the Clerk’s Office and at the Jersey City Public Schools, who were very helpful in assisting to secure needed information, and to Civic JC, who provided significant assistance in this effort.

The Survey covers areas under the control of three distinct entities: the municipality of Jersey City, the Jersey City Public Schools, and the Jersey City Democratic and Republican Parties. It reveals that Jersey City is doing a good job on four of the most essential components of civic health, is lacking nine components, and needs to strengthen an additional three.

It is important to note that Jersey City is not alone in this state of affairs, as civic infrastructure has been in decline for many years across the nation. What is important is that the opportunities for civic renovation be identified and addressed so that Jersey City may set an example of civic renaissance which will both challenge other cities and enhance Jersey City’s emerging economic renaissance.


SURVEY RESULTS

Four positive civic attributes of Jersey City are: (1) Jersey City has a procedure for citizen input at City public meetings; (2) the City website lists and keeps updated meeting dates, times and agendas for the council, planning board and zoning board meetings from January 2007; (3) the Jersey City Board of Education’s website maintains an updated list of meeting times and dates, agendas, and minutes; and (4) the Jersey City Board of Education offers high school civics classes that include the rights of citizens to participate in local government and local political parties.

Nine components of optimal civic health are missing in Jersey City. They include: (1) Jersey City political parties lack local party constitutions and bylaws that give representative power to the elected committee people; (2) local party constitutions do not provide for platform committees and guarantee neighborhood party representatives’ voting rights on party endorsements and platforms; (3) there is no City ban on political fundraising in government offices; (4) there is no municipal requirement for developers to disclose political contributions; (5) there is no regulation on public contracting to protect against “pay-to-play” practices; (6) the City lacks regulations to protect the redevelopment process against “pay to play” abuse;

(7) a public directory of appointed citizen positions is not maintained; (8) no formal and open application process exists for citizens to apply for positions on boards, commissions and authorities; and (9) adult civics education classes on local government, local political parties, citizen’s rights and opportunities for participation are not offered.

Three areas of civic health in Jersey City exist but need strengthening. Needed improvements include: (1) reducing the number of vacancies in Democratic and Republican political party committees; (2) controlling levels of campaign spending for local elections to bring them within the reach of coalitions of average citizens; and (3) reducing the number of vacancies in citizen positions on boards, commissions and authorities within the municipal government.


CONCLUSION

There is clearly a great deal of civic organization and dedication both within Jersey City’s government and in local neighborhoods and communities. The municipality of Jersey City, the Jersey City Board of Education, and the Jersey City Democratic and Republican parties now have a great opportunity to work with established and emerging citizen leaders to address inadequate civic health components.


METHODOLOGY

The survey results were compiled through a variety of methods including records requests, inquiries to public officials, a review of the City website, and other relevant original documents. Information sources and contacts with City officials have been documented throughout the process.


NOTE

This is the seventh Citizens’ Rights & Responsibilities Survey performed in New Jersey by local citizen volunteers coordinated by the Citizens’ Campaign. Newark, Paterson, Trenton, Plainfield, Hamilton, and Morristown also completed Surveys. The 16 components of civic health were developed by the Citizens’ Campaign with input from top academics, legal experts, and citizens concerned about improving the civic health of their communities. The Survey is continually being revised based on comments and suggestions from local volunteers.

The full survey can be viewed here - JC Survey in Entirety.pdf

For Immediate Release

November 22, 2007

Contact:

Steven Fulop (732) 895-7379

Daniel Levin (201) 217-1200

BETTER JC, INC. AND CIVIC JC LAUNCH HISTORIC CITYWIDE BALLOT
INITIATIVE

(JERSEY CITY) - On Monday morning, Better JC Inc, a community organization founded by Councilman Fulop, and CivicJC, a community group focused on good government in Jersey City, will begin collecting signatures for two proposed ballot initiatives that Jersey City residents will vote on in November 2008. The first initiative promotes a Contract Pay to Play Reform Ordinance and the second initiative modifies Jersey City*s Municipal Employment Salary Ordinance to prevent municipal council members who already receive a public salary from receiving additional pay from Jersey City.

Better JC and Civic JC along with 150 volunteers in all wards throughout the city, will begin visiting homes and businesses to collect signatures. This Monday morning a handful of volunteers began handing out literature at the PATH station to morning commuters in order to create awareness.

According to Better JC founder, Councilman Steven Fulop "The momentum for this ballot initiative throughout the city is unbelievable. We already have 150 volunteers. Now more then ever, Jersey City residents see the value of having a local government that is held to a higher standard and is accountable to them. For too long our elected officials have been taking advantage of the system by collecting multiple public paychecks and pocketing contributions from people that deal directly with the city in contracts," said Fulop. "Getting people to understand the concept of a ballot initiative is often a difficult task but the website and literature we designed explains everything clearly. " added Fulop.

Daniel Levin, founder and President of Civic JC said "It's not difficult to convince people that we need an open, transparent and honest local government. The challenge is getting enough signatures get these referendums on the ballot in November next year. Judging by the enthusiasm I've seen today and the amount of volunteers scouring the city, I'm certain that we will achieve our goal."

* * * *

Partnership for a Better Jersey City was founded by Councilman Steven Fulop in September of this year with the purpose of organizing two ballot initiatives in Jersey City. It launched its website at www.betterjc.org. This website explains the ballot questions and the reasons behind this huge grassroots effort. The site is also collecting donations (maximum donation $20) from residents, community activists or people interested in government reform in Jersey City.

Civic JC, a non-partisan community initiative was founded in 2005 with the purpose of promoting good government in Jersey City. Civic JC is a long time proponent of pay-to-play legislation in Jersey City. Said Levin, “We’re pleased to be teaming up with Councilman Fulop and Better Jersey City on these important initiatives.” Information concerning this and other important issues facing Jersey City can be found at www.civicjc.org.

CONTRACTOR PAY-TO-PLAY REFORM ORDINANCE

Preamble

WHEREAS, large political contributions from those seeking or performing contracts with a municipality raise reasonable concerns on the part of taxpayers and residents as to their trust in government and its business practices;

WHEREAS, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:48-2, a municipality is authorized to adopt such ordinances, regulations, rules and by-laws as necessary and proper for good government, as well as the public health, safety and welfare; and

WHEREAS, pursuant to P.L.2005, c.271 (codified at N.J.S.A. 40A:11-51) a municipality is authorized to adopt by ordinance, measures limiting the awarding of public contracts to business entities that have made political contributions, and limiting the contributions that the recipient of such a contract can make during the term of a contract; and

WHEREAS, in the interest of good government, the people and the government of the City of Jersey City desire to establish a policy that will avoid the perception of improper influence in public contracting and local elections;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, it shall be the policy of the City of Jersey City to create such a regulation which states that a Business Entity which makes political contributions to municipal candidates and municipal and county political parties in excess of certain thresholds shall be limited in its ability to receive public contracts from the City of Jersey City; and

BE IT ORDAINED by the City of Jersey City, in the County of Hudson, and State of New Jersey, as follows:

DEFINITIONS

As used in this ordinance:

(a) “Campaign Committee” means (i) every candidate for City of Jersey City elective municipal office; (ii) every candidate committee established by or for the benefit of a candidate for City of Jersey City elective municipal office; (iii) every joint candidate committee established in whole or in part by or for the benefit of a candidate for City of Jersey City elective municipal office; (iv) every political party committee of the City of Jersey City; (v) every political party committee of the County of Hudson; and (vi) every political committee, continuing political committee, or other form of association or organization that regularly engages in the support of candidates for the City of Jersey City municipal or Hudson county elective offices or City of Jersey City municipal or Hudson county political parties or political party committees,. The terms in the foregoing paragraph have the meaning prescribed in N.J.A.C. 19:25-1.7.

(b) “Contribution” has the meaning prescribed in N.J.A.C. 19:25-1.7. By way of illustration, and not limitation, this definition includes pledges, loans, and in-kind contributions.

(c) A “contract for professional or extraordinary services” means all contracts for “professional services” and “extraordinary unspecifiable services” as such term is used in N.J.S.A. 40A:11-5

(d) For purposes of this Ordinance, a “Business Entity” whose contributions are regulated by this ordinance means: (i) an individual including the individual's spouse, and any child/children; (ii) a firm; corporation; professional corporation; partnership; limited liability company; organization; association; and any other manner and kind of business entity; (iii) any person who owns 10% or more of the equity or ownership or income interests in a person or entity as defined in sections (i) and (ii) above and their spouses and child/children; (iv) all partners or officers of such an entity, in the aggregate, and their spouses and child/children; (v) any person, subcontractor, subsidiary, corporation, firm, partnership, limited liability company, organization or association who has received or indefeasibly acquired the right to receive, from a person described in subparagraph (i) above, more than $100,000.00 in compensation or income of any kind (including, by way of illustration, and not limitation: wages, salaries, sums paid to independent contractors, benefits, dividends, profit-sharing, pension contributions, deferred contributions, stock, stock options or gifts), in any twelve (12) month period prior to the award of, or during the term of, a contract subject to this ordinance; and (vi) all persons who are an "affiliate" of a Business Entity as defined in sections (i), (ii) and (v) above, as such term is used in 11 U.S.C. 101(2).

SECTION 1 - PROHIBITION ON AWARDING PUBLIC CONTRACTS TO CERTAIN CONTRIBUTORS

(a) To the extent that it is not inconsistent with state or federal law, the City of Jersey City and any of its departments, instrumentalities or purchasing agents shall not enter into any agreement or otherwise contract to procure "professional services" as such term is defined at N.J.S.A. 40A:11-2(6) and used at N.J.S.A. 40A:11-5(1)(a)(i) and/or banking, insurance or other consulting service (hereinafter "Professional Services"), nor "extraordinary unspecified services" as such term is defined at N.J.S.A. 40A:11-2(7) and used at N.J.S.A. 40A:11-5(1)(a)(ii) and/or media, public relations, lobbying, parking garage management or other consulting and/or management service (hereinafter "Extraordinary Unspecified Services") from any Business Entity if such Business Entity has solicited or made any Contribution to (i) a candidate, candidate committee or joint candidates committee of any candidate for elective municipal office in Jersey City or a holder of public office having ultimate responsibility for the award of a contract, or (ii) to any Jersey City or Hudson County political committee or political party committee, or (iii) to any continuing political committee or political action committee that regularly engages in the support of Jersey City municipal or Hudson County elections and/or Jersey City municipal or Hudson County candidates, candidate committees, joint candidate committees, political committees, political parties, political party committees, (hereinafter "PAC"), in excess of the thresholds specified in subsection (c) within one calendar year immediately preceding the date of the contract or agreement.

(b) No Business Entity who submits a proposal for, enters into negotiations for, or agrees to any contract or agreement with the City of Jersey City or any of its departments or instrumentalities, for the rendition of Professional Services or Extraordinary Unspecified Services shall knowingly solicit or make any Contribution, to (i) a candidate, candidate committee or joint candidates committee of any candidate for elective municipal office in Jersey City, or a holder of public office having ultimate responsibility for the award of a contract, or (ii) to any Jersey City or Hudson County political committee or political party committee, or (iii) any PAC between the time of first communication between that Business Entity and the municipality regarding a specific agreement for Professional Services or Extraordinary Unspecified Services, and the later of the termination of negotiations or rejection of any proposal, or the completion of the performance or specified time period of that contract or agreement.

(c) The monetary thresholds of this Ordinance are: (i) a maximum of $300 per calendar year each for any purpose to any candidate or candidate committee for mayor or governing body, or $500 per calendar year to any joint candidates committee for mayor or governing body, or $300 per calendar year to a political committee or political party committee of the City of Jersey City; (ii) $500 maximum per calendar year to a Hudson County political committee or political party committee; and (iii) $500 maximum per calendar year to any PAC. However, for each Business Entity party to a contract for Professional or Extraordinary Unspecified Services as defined in subparagraph (a), or engaged in negotiations for a contract defined in subparagraph (a), when such Business Entity’s Contribution is aggregated with all “persons” defined in subparagraph (d) of “Definitions” above, by virtue of their affiliation to that Business Entity party, a maximum of $2,500 to all City of Jersey City candidates, candidate committees, joint candidate committees, and holders of public office having ultimate responsibility for the award of a contract, all City of Jersey City or Hudson County political committees and political party committees as described herein combined, without violating subsection (a) of this section.

(d) For purposes of this section, the office that is considered to have ultimate responsibility for the award of the contract shall be (i) the City of Jersey City Mayor or Governing body, if the contract requires approval or appropriation from the Mayor or Governing body, or (ii) the Mayor of the City of Jersey City, if the contract requires approval of the Mayor, or if a public officer who is responsible for the award of a contract is appointed by the Mayor.

(e) Rules regarding subcontractors. No person may be awarded a subcontract to perform under a contract subject to this Ordinance, if the subcontractor would be disqualified by paragraph (a) from receiving the contract at the time that the subcontract is awarded. Nor may any person who would be disqualified by paragraph (a) from receiving the contract perform substantially all of obligations described in a contract for professional or extraordinary services that is subject to this ordinance.
SECTION 2 - CONTRIBUTIONS MADE PRIOR TO THE EFFECTIVE DATE
No Contribution or solicitation of contributions made prior to the effective date of this Ordinance shall be deemed to give rise to a violation of this Ordinance.

SECTION 3 - CONTRACT RENEWAL

No contract subject to this ordinance may be renewed, extended, or materially modified unless the resulting renewal, extension, or modification would be allowable under the provisions of this ordinance if it were an initial contract.

SECTION 4 - CONTRIBUTION STATEMENT BY BUSINESS ENTITY

(a) Prior to awarding any contract or agreement to procure Professional Services" or Extraordinary Unspecified Services" from any Business Entity, the City of Jersey City or its purchasing agents and departments, as the case may be, shall receive a sworn statement from said Business Entity which is the intended recipient of said contract that he/she/it has not made a Contribution in violation of Section 1 of this Ordinance. The City of Jersey City, its purchasing agents and departments shall be responsible for informing the City Council that the aforementioned sworn statement has been received and that the Business Entity is not in violation of this ordinance, prior to awarding the contract or agreement.

(b) A Business Entity shall have a continuing duty to report to the City of Jersey City any Contributions that constitute a violation of this act that are made during the negotiation, proposal process or the duration of a contract. The City of Jersey City, its purchasing agents and departments shall be responsible for informing the governing body within ten (10) business days after receipt of said report from the Business Entity, or at the next City Council meeting following receipt of said report from the Business Entity, or whichever comes first.

(c) The certification required under this subsection shall be made prior to entry into the contract or agreement with the City of Jersey City, or prior to the provision of services or goods, as the case may be, and shall be in addition to any other certifications that may be required by any other provision of law.

SECTION 5 - RETURN OF EXCESS CONTRIBUTIONS

A Business Entity that is a party to a contract for Professional Services or Extraordinary Unspecified Services may cure a violation of Section 1 of this Ordinance, if, within 30 days after the date on which the applicable ELEC report is published, said Business Entity notifies the municipality in writing and seeks and receives reimbursement of the Contribution from the recipient of such Contribution.

SECTION 6 - EXEMPTIONS

The contribution limitations prior to entering into a contract in Section 1(a) do not apply to contracts which (i) are awarded to the lowest responsible bidder after public advertising for bids and bidding therefor within the meaning of N.J.S.A. 40A:11-4, or (ii) are awarded in the case of emergency under N.J.S.A. 40A:11-6. There is no exemption for contracts awarded pursuant to a "Fair and Open Process" under N.J.S.A. 19:44A-20 et seq.

SECTION 7 - PENALTY

(a) It shall be a material breach of the terms of a City of Jersey City agreement or contract for Professional Services or Extraordinary Unspecified Services when a Business Entity that is a party to such agreement or contract has: (i) made or solicited a Contribution in violation of this Ordinance; (ii) knowingly concealed or misrepresented a Contribution given or received; (iii) made or solicited Contributions through intermediaries for the purpose of concealing or misrepresenting the source of the Contribution; (iv) made or solicited any Contribution on the condition or with the agreement that it will be re-contributed to a candidate, candidate committee or joint candidates committee of any candidate for elective municipal office in Jersey City, or a holder of public office having ultimate responsibility for the award of a contract, or any Jersey City or Hudson County political committee or political party committee, or any PAC; (v) engaged or employed a lobbyist or consultant with the intent or understanding that such lobbyist or consultant would make or solicit any Contribution, which if made or solicited by the professional Business Entity itself, would subject that entity to the restrictions of this Ordinance; (vi) funded contributions made by third parties, including consultants, attorneys, family members, and employees; (vii) engaged in any exchange of Contributions to circumvent the intent of this Ordinance; or (viii) directly or indirectly, through or by any other person or means, done any act which if done directly would subject that entity to the restrictions of this Ordinance.

(b) Furthermore, any Business Entity that violates
Section 7 (a) (i-viii) shall be disqualified from eligibility for future City of Jersey City contracts for a period of four (4) calendar years from the date of the violation.

(c) Any person who knowingly, purposely, or recklessly violates any provision of this ordinance, or who conspires with another person to violate any provision of this ordinance, or who, with the purpose of promoting or facilitating a violation of this ordinance, solicits another person to commit it, or aids or agrees, or attempts to aid another person in planning or committing it, shall be subject to punishment including fines and/or imprisonment as fixed by law for violations of the ordinances of the City of Jersey City.

SECTION 8 - CITIZENS PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION

In addition to any rights that were heretofore available, or which may hereafter be available, to citizens, taxpayers, or associations, to challenge violations of this ordinance, every person aggrieved by a violation of the ordinance, or any taxpayer or resident of the City of Jersey City has the right, consistent with the Rules of Court, to file charges in a court of competent jurisdiction, and/or to pursue a civil action for a violation of this ordinance in a court of competent jurisdiction, and to seek and obtain declaratory, injunctive, or other legal or equitable relief, including but not limited to, attorneys fees and costs, arising from or related to a violation of this ordinance.

SECTION 9 - SEVERABILITY

If any provision of this Ordinance, or the application of any such provision to any person or circumstances, shall be held invalid, the remainder of this Ordinance to the extent it can be given effect, or the application of such provision to persons or circumstances other than those to which it is held invalid shall not be affected thereby, and to this extent the provisions of this Ordinance are severable. The drafters of this Ordinance, the persons signing the petition in support of this Ordinance, and the persons who cast votes in favor of the Ordinance, declare that they would have supported the Ordinance and each section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or provision or application thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more other sections, subsections, sentences, clauses, phrases, or provisions or applications thereof may be held invalid.

SECTION 10 - REPEALER

All ordinances or parts of ordinances which are inconsistent with any provisions of this Ordinance are hereby repealed as to the extent of such inconsistencies.

SECTION 11 - INDEXING

The monetary thresholds of “Definitions” Section (d) and Section 1(c) of this ordinance shall be increased effective March 1 of each calendar year by the percentage increase, in the prior calendar year, of the consumer price index for all urban consumers (CPI-U) for the New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island region, rounded to the nearest $10.00. The Clerk of the City of Jersey City shall, by no later than April 1 of each calendar year, prepare and publish the revised thresholds on the official municipal website and in an official municipal newspaper.

SECTION 12 - EFFECTIVE DATE

This Ordinance shall become effective twenty (20) days following the final adoption thereof by the Municipal Council of the City of Jersey City and shall be published as required by law.