Msg# 34

 CivicJC Free Jersey City, NJ Leadership Forum - Webmaster

 

Msg# 33

 CivicJC Free Jersey City, NJ Leadership Forum - Webmaster

  TO UNSUBSCRIBE TO THIS NEWSLETTER CLICK HERE: http://civicjc.org/modules/evennews/index.php?action=unsubscribe

Msg# 32

 CivicJC Newsletter: JERSEY CITY BUDGET CRISIS - Webmaster

    Jersey City BUDGET CRISIS - Review and Recommendations   Jersey City Pay-to-Play Reform - Enacted   February 20, 2010 CIVIC JC FOR OPEN AND TRANSPARENT GOVERNMENT IN JERSEY CITY We urge the public to attend the February 24th Council meeting at City Hall: 280 Grove Street - 6:30PM Jersey City Budget will go up for Second Reading with public comments. Passage of this budget will result in Property Tax increase.     BUDGET CRISIS   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 needs to 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.     CivicJC.org CivicJC on Facebook Official Jersey City Site Jersey City List Jersey City Independent   CivicJC a non profit 501(c)(4) Corporation dedicated to a better government for Jersey City, NJ     Redevelopment Pay-to-Play Reform enacted   At its September 9, 2009 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.    Link to the full press release on CivicJC.org       Important Dates:   February 24th 6:30pm - Council 2nd Reading 2009 Budget March 2010 – Citizen Forum - St. Peter’s College April 2010 – School Board Election     You subscribed to this Civic JC mailing and may unsubscribe here  

Msg# 31

 CivicJC URGENT: NJ Appleseed Public Interest Law Center Action Alert - Webmaster

 URGENT: NJ Appleseed Public Interest Law Center Action Alert Urge Governor Corzine to VETO S3157 January 12, 2010 Despite the work of New Jersey activists, the State Assembly has passed bill S3157--legislation that would seriously weaken the rights of citizens living in Faulkner Act municipalities to self-govern. To preserve citizen legislative power, we must contact Governor Corzine and urge him NOT TO SIGN this bill. Contact Governor Corzine TODAY New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine State House Trenton, NJ 08625 Fax:(609)292-5212 Tel:(609)292-6000 http://www.state.nj.us/governor/ What this Bill means for Citizen Activists Right now, those living in towns organized under the Faulkner Act (also known as Municipal Optional Charter law) have the right to pass ordinances themselves, by getting the measure either before the town Council or on the ballot through a process known as Initiation and Referendum (I&R). Bill S3157 would weaken that right of empowerment, by severely limiting the number of times a citizens' group may use the I&R process. Currently, an I&R petition to change the length of the term of office for elected officials can be brought once every 3 years, and a petition to change in the form of government can be brought once every 2 years. But S3157 would extend that period of prohibition to 10 years in each case. Bill S3157 has more far-reaching consequences, however. This is the first step the NJ legislature has taken, since broadening citizens' rights to self govern in 1982 when it passed the I&R law, to curtail those rights. Bill S3157 represents the first step in taking away citizens' rights of self governance and self determination. Everyone living in a Faulkner Act municipality will be impacted by this change in the law. Please contact Governor Corzine today and urge him not to strip citizens of our right to self-empowerment: DO NOT SIGN bill S3157. Sincerely, Diana H. Jeffrey, Esq. irector, Government Accountability Programs New Jersey Appleseed Public Interest Law Center

Msg# 30

 CITIZENS LAUNCH A CALL TO SERVICE – Community Forum - Webmaster

  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 the leadership of the community. The Call to Service will kick-off on November 19th in City Hall at 7pm 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, 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 – 280 Grove Street; Jersey City, NJ. 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. Classes to train you for these service opportunities are available online on demand for free on our website. The Jersey City Call to Service forum is free and open to the public, if you are interested in attending please RSVP to Andrew Hubsch andrew@civicjc.org   Civic JC is a non-partisan, community-based initiative, designed to promote good government practices and a comprehensive, positive vision for the future of Jersey City as a “World Class City.” TO UNSUBSCRIBE TO THIS NEWSLETTER CLICK HERE: http://civicjc.org/modules/evennews/index.php?action=unsubscribe  

Msg# 29

 This is a TEST - Webmaster

 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 the leadership of the community. The Call to Service will kick-off on November 19th in City Hall at 7pm 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, 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. Classes to train you for these service opportunitites are available online ondemand for free on our website. The Jersey City Call to Service forum is free and open to the public, if you are interested in attending please RSVP to Andrew Hubsch andrew@civicjc.org This is a TEST

Msg# 28

 This is a TEST - Webmaster

 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 the leadership of the community. The Call to Service will kick-off on November 19th in City Hall at 7pm 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, 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. Classes to train you for these service opportunitites are available online ondemand for free on our website. The Jersey City Call to Service forum is free and open to the public, if you are interested in attending please RSVP to Andrew Hubsch andrew@civicjc.org This is a TEST

Msg# 27

 CITIZENS LAUNCH A CALL TO SERVICE – Community Forum - Webmaster

 CITIZENS LAUNCH A JERSEY CITY CALL TO SERVICE – Community Forum November 19th Jersey City, N.J. — 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 free one-hour leadership forum will be held on Thursday, November 19th , at *7:00 pm* in the City Council chambers. The Jersey Call to Service focuses on four powerful service opportunities, they are: 1) Serving on an appointed local board or commission. 2) Serving as a neighborhood-level party committee person. 3) Becoming a citizen legislator by devising a constructive common-interest proposal and presenting it to a relevant government body. 4) Serving as a “Citizen Journalist” to report from the front lines 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 For more information on the Jersey Call to Service, visit www.JoinTheCampaign.com

Msg# 26

 Pay-to-Play, the time is now. - Webmaster

 The proposed Pay-to-Play Reform Ordinance will be on the council agenda this Wednesday for second reading, public hearing and possible vote. The ordinance will remove conflicts of interest, or the appearance of conflicts from our elected officials. This is an essential first step toward restoring public confidence in the decisions made by Jersey City government. Please contact your council member and come to the City Council meeting on Wednesday, September 9, at 6pm to support passage of the ordinance. To be removed from this mailing list: http://civicjc.org/modules/evennews/index.php?action=unsubscribe

Msg# 25

 Civic JC - EDUCATION ALERT - Free Leadership Forum - Webmaster

  New document Making Jersey City Work for Everyone A forum to discuss Crime, Affordable Housing, Local Jobs, Youth Services and Tax Abatements When: Saturday May 2, 2009 Where: Saint Peter's College - McIntyre Lounge 2641 Kennedy Blvd. Jersey City, NJ Time: 10 am - 1 pm (lunch will be provided) Sponsored by: Sociology and Urban Studies Senior Seminar Class, Public Policy Program, GANE, ACORN, NJPP, SPC, JC Affordable Housing Coalition, Communipaw Block Association, Civic JC.