Hoboken Revolt Questionnaire

• What do you think were your individual major accomplishments in

2010?

The year 2010 was a continuation of 2009. These are rebuilding years for the new
administration. In fiscal year 2010, we helped stabilize the city’s finances. We are still
identifying challenges, however. While continuing to focus on the city’s finances--such
as negotiating fair contracts with the unions, auditing city departments, and further
developing of shared services agreements and public private partnerships to reduce the
cost of government--we are poised for additional tax relief and a more efficient
government. The 2010 Transition Year budget yielded a 5% reduction in the municipal
tax levy, and we are currently finishing up the fire department audit.

As chairman of the Planning, Zoning and Economic Development Subcommittee of the

Council, for the first time in the city’s history we required the establishment of an
escrow account funded by the redevelopers to cover the redevelopment costs of
professionals to evaluate redevelopment projects.

• What are your top three objectives for 2011 as it relates to: your ward,
your subcommittee, and specific cuts to the city budget.

5th Ward

The first couple of years of our tenure, we focused on straightening out the City’s
finances so we could understand them and create a foundation from which to build. The
following years focused on recovering from past administrations overspending of the
budget by $12 million and authorizing $4 million in unapproved and illegal retirements.
These costs had an enormous impact on 5th Ward residents.

Given these challenges, we were able to accomplish many good things in a difficult
economy, which we expect will continue into 2011 with the support of our communities
dedicated to change, innovation and commitment to excellence.

1) Lower Taxes: Controlling spending and labor costs is job number one. This must
be done carefully in a way that respects both the contributions of city employees
and the burden on the taxpayer. Creative solutions must be sought like
development of public-private partnerships like the Discount Healthcare
Prescription Card issued in conjunction with the Heinz Family Foundation to
lower the cost of healthcare services, and Hertz Connect Cars which bring
transportation alternatives and economic value to our constituents. Interlocal
agreements with neighboring towns and authorities such as with Secaucus for use
of their community pool, and the Hoboken Housing Authority to share the use of
their fields for recreational play.
 2) Continued Street Improvements: safety and security on our streets with more
effective deployment of HPD and increased use of Crossing Guards. With the
pending 14th street Viaduct redevelopment, long awaited “countdown” signs are
expected at 14th & Willow Avenue and 14th & Park Avenue at the expense of
federal grant funding.

3) More Parks for our Constituents: We almost lost significant grant funding for the
clean-up of 1600 Park (on the border of the 5th ward), if it had not been for the
quick work of the Zimmer Administration. The 14th Street Viaduct Park
(underbridge) has been planned, and the much anticipated “Henkle Site” is in the
hands of new owners. Their policy is to clean the site before sale. As we are in the
negotiating stages for the Western Edge Redevelopment Plan, there’s a distinct
possibility that an additional recreational field can be developed.

Council Subcommittee

I served on the three subcommittees of the Council: Quality of Life, chaired by

Councilman Giacchi; Revenue and Finance, chaired by Mike Lenz; and Planning, Zoning
and Economic Development, chaired by me. I no long serve on QLC, and Planning and
Zoning. However, since we have been thoroughly involved in selecting a planner for the
NJ Transit Redevelopment Plan, I am staying on to finish out the selection process.

With the reorganization of the Council, I will serve on Revenue and Finance chaired by
Councilman Russo, and Public Safety chaired by Councilman Bhalla.

Revenue and Finance: I am proud to have helped author two balanced budgets and play
a key role in the ending of State Monitoring. It is the cornerstone of my tenure to
continue to be focused on ensuring that the City stays on course to adopt and follow
sound fiscal practices. So far so good, as we continue to audit city departments for
efficiencies, maintain industry standards with regards to cash surplus for stable local
governments and quality bond ratings (reduce the cost of borrowing), and reduce
personnel costs.

Public Safety: I believe that having a continuing dialog with the police and fire
departments is paramount. I am proud to have had direct contact with both chiefs when
critical issues require direct communication. Most pressing in the near term will be the
results of the fire audit, which has been under way since the fall. Its findings will be
important in the City’s efforts to reduce personnel cost, while improving efficiencies of
the department, if possible. Relations with the Police Department were strained in 2010
given the implementation of recommendations of the police audit. There were no
layoffs in the HPD -- unlike in many other urban communities throughout the state –
and significant savings were realized by retirements before year-end through the
implementation this effort. A redeployment plan is currently under way that is expected
to increase police presence at a reduced cost to the taxpayer. As a member of this
committee, I am anxious to oversee the implementation of the plan. Since street safety
continues to be a cornerstone of my tenure, through the Public Safety Subcommittee, I
am anxious to see the implementation of Class 2 officers to continue to help reduce the
cost of public safety and provide greater effectiveness in patrolling our streets by
supporting Community Policing and the Traffic Division of the HPD.

Planning, Zoning and Economic Development: I have served on this committee, and
have invested more time in this committee than any other in the last six months. There
are numerous projects ongoing throughout Hoboken from large to small, and from
complicated to extremely complicated. Development is important to Hoboken and
needs to be done right. Many projects in the last 10 years yielded extraordinary returns
to the developer community with little (or zero) known benefits to Hoboken’s growing
communities. In my opinion, we are in a period of rebuilding trust with the developer
community. Working with Director Forbes and the City’s Redevelopment Counsel, we
could not be in better hands to support the Council’s responsibility as the
Redevelopment Authority of the City. I am proud of our efforts to legislate policy that
finally requires Developers to fund Escrow accounts for the City’s professional support
for Redevelopment plans. I am equally proud of the City’s ongoing efforts to negotiate
terms of an interlocal agreement with NJ Transit to ensure that Hoboken takes the lead
in the redevelopment process over the railyards. It has been a long but very productive
process which will result in the City Council choosing an excellent Planner to support
the City and Community’s desires on how we will develop this important area of the
City. Western Edge Redevelopment is another large scale project of considerable
impact. It will be challenging, but not impossible to expect development that’s
economically diverse for Hoboken. I supported the City’s RFP process to hire a market
analyst which will determine the economic viability of a plan that includes incubator
space, Class B office space, affordable housing, student housing, retail and other
community benefits such as a community center, possibly a pool and open space.

It is disappointing that I will no longer serve on this important subcommittee of the

Council. However, my intentions are clear. Hoboken’s long term sustainability rests in
diverse redevelopment plans that take into account many things: (1) growing families,
an aged population, and affordable housing opportunities, (2) commercial development
which supports our tax base, benefits our local merchants and provides sustainable local
job opportunities, (3) community benefits for the public at large, and (4) balanced
economic benefits for the City and developer community.
Thank you for the opportunity to respond to your questionnaire and please advise if
there are any additional questions you might have as a result of my answers.

Peter Cunningham
5th Ward City Councilman