PERTH AMBOY – At the 2/11/15 Council Meeting a handout was available which gave a breakdown of the 2015 BID budget.
Barry Rosengarten
Barry Rosengarten was reappointed Chair at the BID Reorganization Meeting that took place Tuesday, February 10th at the YMCA. At that BID Meeting, 15 more Board Members were appointed.
Rosengarten said that applications had been advertised in newspapers including the Amboy Guardian. 18 applicants filled out applications. The voting was done by secret ballots. Present members voted and there is representation of businesses and community leaders on the Board.
Rosengarten said that the only Council Member that was present at the BID Reorganization Meeting was Fernando Gonzalez. “The budget that we are presenting here tonight (2/11/15) is the same as last year,” he said. “We work within the UEZ. The UEZ would be the donut and the BID would be the hole in the donut. The State eliminated a lot of funding from the BID and we were left with $236,000. The BID has funded several projects and we’ve made $19 million in improvements. We support our businesses who request new façades. We have one person who’s doing all our programs and an administrator is needed to handle these programs. The downtown is cleaner and if you see litter – just pick it up! I’m asking all to support our businesses and programs.”
Rosengarten emphasized that they followed the proper procedures and by-laws for the election process. “There are no new by-laws,” he said. “We are using those that are currently in place and operating under them. We will review them later.”
Former BID Board Member Virginia Lugo said that the budget is the same as in the past and was mostly for salaries. At the election that was just held, there was a new VP and Treasurer, “but the same people were appointed and the businesspeople still don’t have a say,” she said.
Councilman Fernando Gonzalez said that the budget presented is not an audit – just a statement. The purpose of the BID was to improve the downtown. 36% of the budget is for administration; 6% for downtown beautification and 7% for façades. The Council should go downtown to see where improvements are needed and should supply input. The BID needs to answer more questions about the downtown.
Gonzalez cited Carteret as a town who turned their downtown from something ugly to something beautiful.
The planters on Smith Street have been in another point of contention.
BID Chair Rosengarten acknowledged that there had been a problem with the plants, but said the plants have grown since then.
Councilman Fernando Gonzalez cited Metuchen as having beautiful flower beds and that we need to be more influential.
Resident Reinaldo Aviles told the Council that they control the ordinance and they can hold it. The present BID Members picked the new Members. No election took place. Many Members cannot be accessed. This is the time for the Council to ask questions now. New BID Members were chosen and who are they?
It’s taxpayers’ money and they want it spent properly.
