The budget math in Jersey City is hard. The clock is running. That’s why Mayor James
Solomon is publicly making his case to Trenton.
“Jersey City’s economic growth is really New Jersey’s economic growth,” Solomon said
Thursday at the Jersey City Summit for Real Estate, Economic Development &
Innovation. “New Jersey cannot meet its goals, and particularly Governor Sherrill cannot
meet her goals, without Jersey City continuing to be an economic partner.”
It’s a pointed argument — and a deliberate one. Solomon, four months into his first
term, inherited a city with significant debt and a credit rating that has been downgraded
five times in three years. He is optimistic about the path forward. He is also realistic
about what it requires.
“We have a plan to get ourselves through this with significant state support this year,”
he said.
The leverage Solomon is applying is rooted in geography and politics. Governor Sherrill
has made housing affordability and housing production signature themes of her
administration. Those goals, Solomon argued, run directly through Jersey City — one of
the state’s most active development markets and a critical piece of the regional housing
supply puzzle.
It’s the kind of argument that often works in Trenton.
Jersey City’s development pipeline — even with debates around affordable housing and
pilot agreements — remains one of the most active in the Northeast.
“We think ultimately the governor and the legislature will provide that support,” Solomon
said. “But we’ll know on June 30, because that’s when the budget is due.”
Solomon said the city has a plan. And that the conversations in Trenton are going well.
He is not predicting a crisis, but the goal he laid out — a city whose credit rating rises,
whose property taxes track inflation, and whose budget is structurally stable year over
year — requires getting through this year first.
“There won’t be perfect this year,” he acknowledged. “But going forward, we believe
we’ll be in a place where we can have a budget that’s sustainable.”
