Gov. Mikie Sherrill (D) vetoed two bills today that sough to aid Jersey City’s fiscal woes: One that would’ve allowed the city to utilize their Arts and Culture Trust Fund for their municipal budget next year, and the other to create a parking tax.
“According to the Department of Community Affairs, Jersey City is the only municipality that has both an annual levy for open space, recreation, and historic preservation and an arts and culture trust fund,” Sherrill said in a veto statement released this afternoon.
“In 2016, Jersey City voters approved a referendum to establish a Municipal Open Space, Recreation and Historic Preservation Trust Fund to be funded at a rate not to exceed $0.02 per $100 of assessed valuation of each annual tax levy. The referendum’s language stated that the funds raised from the levy would be used exclusively for the acquisition, development, and maintenance of lands for recreation, conservation, and historic purposes.”
While the City Council approved establishing an Arts and Culture Trust Fund in 2016, voters did not approve the referendum until November 2020…