Council: Finance Revamp; Prop Maintenance, Film Credit…
In the wake of scandal and shoddy oversight in recent years, the mayor and council on Tuesday voted unanimously to create a department of finance for Secaucus, appointing interim tax collector Nick Goldsack to the new post of director of finance.
Goldsack, who has filled in for admitted bilker and jail-bound former tax collector Alan Bartolozzi since 2009, takes over an $88,000-a-year position created to collect taxes and oversee finances for the town.
Mayor Mike Gonnelli said the $800K tax office scandal, coupled with the discovery of millions of dollars in uncollected funds and old bond money never used necessitated the move. Gonnelli said as much as $10M went uncollected or unused over the last decade.
The mayor said the new position carries the dual roles but pays a salary less than the $100K Bartolozzi would have been making as tax collector had he still been on the job.
FILM PUSH: The reinstatement of New Jersey’s tax credit for film and TV productions is seen as a possible boost to Secaucus, said 1st Ward Councilman Gary Jeffas.
The tax credit was nixed in 2010 by the Christie administration but brought back this year through 2015. It offers productions with 60% of funding in New Jersey a 20% credit for qualified expenses like operations, construction, and photography.
The incentive helped a few productions base their sets in Secaucus, including NBC’s “Mercy” in 2009-10.
“When you see the stats of what a production like that brings to a town – they stay in our hotels, have lunch in our delis and eat in our
restaurants – it’s a tremendous amount of money,” said Gonnelli. “The average job is a $50K job.”
Jeffas added: “We’re hoping this will bring them back into the area and the warehouses that aren’t being used.”
Gonnelli has been in talks with Hartz and other players to work on getting productions back to town. “This could be a boon for us,” he said.
HEAT WAVE: The oppressive heat in recent weeks has been a blessing for the finances of the town pool. After 2nd Ward Councilman John Bueckner in June reported the pool to be $8,000 behind 2010 figures, the facility is now $17,000 ahead of last year.
Bueckner said the hot weather coupled with earlier openings and later closings has boosted revenue.
The pool had brought in $150K through mid July, compared with $133K last year.
“We’re doing very well on the pool end of it,” he said.
REC CENTER: Bueckner said the rec center now has 2,463 members, up from 1,800 in 2010 when the membership was significantly more costly. He also said a small cafe added for members’ convenience has turned into an unexpected money-maker with about $3,000 in revenue.
Gonnelli said two grants totaling up to $10K will go to build a meditation garden in rear of the rec center. The mayor, who said he saw a bald eagle near the spot recently, said the outdoor space can be used for classes in yoga or thai-chi or just for residents to relax or pray.
PROPERTY MAINTENANCE: Third Ward Councilman Susan Pirro is urging residents to report any overgrown or ill-maintained properties to the newly constituted board of health.
An inspector will be dispatched to review the complaint.
Clancy said the town is moving to adopt international property maintenance codes to clarify guidelines for keeping up the town’s appearance.
He also noted that a common complaint of wild animals and trash can often be avoided by residents following current codes for garbage. He said town code requires garbage to be in a receptacle, not placed outside in a bag. The town also requires that garbage not be put out for collection until 6 p.m. the night before.
RIBBON-CUTTING: Second Ward Councilman Jim Clancy said the construction work to revamp Blondel and Charles Street parks is nearing completition.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony is slated for Aug. 13.
We would have been better off with Damascus Bakery rather than a dumb TV show….
Which got CANCELLED.
Talk about cutting your nose off to spite your face. We could have used the permanent jobs that Damascus would have generated for our community.
Companies are moving out, or have moved out…Damascus would have been like a breath of fresh air.
But, too late now.
And with Damacus would have come the chance, although it be slight, that an explosion would have occured. Near homes and a school. Have you ever seen the affect of flour exploding? Have you ever felt an explosion like that half a city away? Have you ever seen the intestity of the fire from such an explosion?
Ask the people of Clifton. The ones who were rocked out of their beds early in the morning. The ones who’s walls and foundations cracked. Ask the firefighters who worked for so long to put that fire out.
So trust me when I say, keeping Damascus away from there was a very good thing. Because even a small chance of an explosion is too big when you are talking about homes and school.
The first thing Nick can do is collect the money from the vending company that had the vending machines at the new Rec Center. Councilmember B said they sold $ 3,000.00 at the new refreshment stand, so I’m sure the vending machines made a profit. You could ask a sitting council member for the name of his relative that owns the company. So how much money did this company pay the town?
The vending machines are owned and stocked by the town
I do think there was more than meets the eye with that Damascus Bakery thing. There are bakery’s all over. Look at the Teixeira Bakery at the heart of the Ironbound section of Newark. That thing is massive, never a problem.
You have to figure a newly constructed bakery with new machines and current safety standards would be pretty safe. Anything can catch fire if people are negligent enough. Should we not allow cars to be parked within 100 feet of homes since they have gallons and gallons of gasoline in them? All someone has to do is open up that gas cap and light a match, you know.
B/S…Damascus probably failed to pay off the right people…stop buying into the static put out there meant to confuse the weak minded….
Not only was the bakery a potental hazard, but the smells that would have been produced by the bakery would have brought down the property value all all the houses in the area, not to mention the attraction of rodants.
Again, if you speak to residents who live around the large bakery in the Ironbound section of Newark, you will find the smell of freshly baked goods have done nothing to drop the property values there. They actually love the smell. Actually, realtors use the smell of freshly baked goods as a tool in getting people more interested in a property. A common tip is to stick a pie or loaf of bread in the oven prior to showing a house to fill the air with the amazing aroma of freshly baked goods.
Secaucus is a swamp, there are rodents all over. These arguments are dumb, almost Fox News-esque.
What should have been done was work with Damascus to get alternate locations for the bakery in town. There are many other locations that are not so close to residential areas or schools
You are the dumb one voiceofreason, and narrow minded too.
Stop being a bully…….voice of reason, more like legend in your own mind….
Our tax Rate was much better when the previous administration failed to collect million of dollars. In the letter with my tax bill they brag that this is the smallest Tax increase since 2007, in other word the smallest increase since Iocono left or Mike first got elected! Why were the increases much less when millions of dollars were not collected? They took us back to higher Taxes and a much larger payroll.
You say, ” our tax rate”. How can you say our when you live in Lyndhurst? HAHA got you!
Does anyone know why there is a new charge on the current tax bill listed as “Library”?
It was not on last years tax bill. It was also not mentioned in the letter that came with the new bill.
I was just wondering when Mayor Mike is going to start taking some accountability for the way he is running the show. For two years Mike has been pointing fingers as to why things are the way they are. Well Mr. Mayor, why don’t you explain to everyone why the taxes did not go up for the years Elwell was mayor when you claim that there was so much uncollected money. Obviously, Elwell’s administration was managing things effectively if all this money was out there as you say, and they still managed to keep taxes down. Why don’t you tell the taxpayers of all the high paying new positions you’ve created for political promises.
It’s quite amusing how you are taking credit for leading the town in it’s fight against the NJMC tax sharing. Here’s a question, where was your voice when Elwell was fighting to get Secaucus out of the NJMC tax sharing? He’d been fighting for years. You were a commissioner at the NJMC. You could’ve fought with him to get us out. You chose to keep quiet. Then you became a councilman. Elwell was still fighting to get us out. You still kept quiet. Didn’t want to ruffle any feathers with your connections out there. Now all of the sudden, you’re on a crusade to stop tax sharing. Did you just wake up, or is this your usual “How can I make Mike shine?” Remember Mike, as a sitting mayor, you collected $165,000.00 from a settlement against the town. My taxes are almost $1200.00 higher than when Elwell was mayor. You can blame the county, you can blame the last administration, you can blame Bartalozzi, the NJMC, the uncollected alarm fees. Bottom line….taxes have gone up, and there is no one to blame but you, and your administration’s ineptness (PERIOD).
Another new screen name (NotsoShocked) from our little friend. Remember the lawsuit that cost the town 165,000 was because of Anthony and Dennis. How come you don’t mention that ? Enough said.
The Attorneys in the article are Mike Gonnelli’s appointed town attorney’s. These are the same attorney’s who had been representing the town against Mike Gonnelli, who later flip-flopped, got the town attorney appoinment from Mike, and then Mike got his $165,0000.00 settlement. Oh yeah, the plot thickens. What was that Mayor Mike. No deals were ever made with the county. O.K.
http://www.nj.com/jjournal-news/index.ssf/2011/08/north_bergen_pays_town_attorne.html
http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/2011/08/attorney_for_north_bergen_rake.html
72% of voters felt there is more corruption to uncover in Secaucus, I say they hit the nail right on the head.
Only TBS people are on the council.How can there be more corruption? LOL
Let’s ask Iacono and Elwell why Mike got 165.000. I think the word is harassment.
OMG, you’re kidding, right?????????
“Obviously, Elwell’s administration was managing things effectively ”
Wow, the more Anthony/Lone Ranger/Let’s Make a Deal/Big Bucks/Bigger Bucks…and I forgot what else he calls himself…..posts, the more he makes a fool of himself. Enough already!! Please, just get the trial underway so he can go to jail and stop posting nonsense. And please…..do not allow him access to a computer!
Oh, and since you love to cut and paste Anthony, I thought you might enjoy this:
http://www.nj.com/hobokennow/index.ssf/2011/02/breaking_passaic_business_admi.html
http://thejerseysting.com/Inside/page16_files/6536eb7338d6d46d616163c3b9a98203-94.html
A perfect example of how the previous administration was “managing things effectively”….HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA …. buh bye Anthony, buh bye. Ta ta for 3 to 5
In order to help improve my case with the State I pointed out a high ranking TBS official who I believed is guilty of official misconduct.The State felt my claims warrant an investigation of this person actions.Now with the Elwell case but to rest they should have more time to investigate him.The 72% are right about more corruption.