The Jersey City Council questioned new hires, including honing in on the deputy mayors, at a public hearing this morning for the Mayor’s Office as the governing body combs through the municipal spending plan.
Jersey City Mayor James Solomon’s chief of staff, Laura Bustamante, led the mayoral office budget presentation.
Their proposed mayoral office budget of $2,517,915 in 2026, down slightly from the prior year when it was $2,646,015. Bustamante emphasized that they hired new CFO Bill Viqueira quickly to address the over quarter million dollar budget deficit.
“We immediately started putting financial controls alongside our finance department,” she declared. She added that the mayor’s office has seven out of 10 possible aides, cutting expenses for cable, office supplies, food, and petty cash as well…