By Jaydeen DeCambre using Civilio AI
Newark’s 2026 budget is still not done, and the city will keep operating on temporary emergency appropriations while the administration works through questions from the state. At the October 21 Municipal Council meeting, Business Administrator Eric Pennington told the council the administration expects to introduce budget amendments at the next meeting in early November, after going back and forth with the state examiner. Councilman Anibal Ramos Jr. pressed on the timeline, noting the meeting was “almost at November” and asking what was holding the budget up.
Pennington said the finance director and OMB budget director are now communicating with the state examiner “pretty much daily,” and that the city has answered the state’s questions. Asked whether the tax rate would stay the same once amendments are finalized, Pennington said it would “if they accept everything.” The council approved a temporary emergency appropriation of $41,492,738 to keep operating expenses funded through November while the full budget remains unresolved.
The budget delay was one of several spending questions raised during a meeting where public comment ran long and emotional. A resident told the council that from 2017 to 2025, eighteen million dollars had been allocated to address the City Hall elevators, and questioned where the money had gone. That prompted Ramos to ask the administration for a full breakdown of every dollar allocated to the elevators over recent years, saying the situation gives “the impression” these are “the most expensive elevators anywhere in the country.”
Pennington responded that all four City Hall elevators are being replaced, with two expected to be completed by the end of November and the remaining two taking three to four months after that. He said the project is now being managed more closely than in the past, with a weekly project call, and that he is questioning change orders to keep the work on time and within budget. Councilwoman Donna Jackson raised the prior contractor, Big Apple Elevator, and asked whether the city is penalizing the company for unsatisfactory work; Pennington confirmed the matter is under review with legal counsel but declined to discuss details.
On housing, the council advanced a tax abatement for the Summer Avenue Apartments project, but only after the administration acknowledged an error. The item was listed as a 25-year abatement, but Corporation Counsel Kenyatta Stewart asked the council to amend it to 20 years, and Economic and Housing Development Director Allison Ladd said the correct term is 20 years and that the documents reflect that. Ramos asked for documentation showing the tax abatement committee agreed to 20 years, and requested a five-year analysis comparing abatement terms to project size. The item was moved out of communications, with the administration set to submit a corrected amendment before first reading.
The council also introduced an ordinance establishing a procedure for investigating illegal property conversions, which Ramos called “an important tool” for the building department, citing a property on Montclair Avenue that is “clearly illegally converted” but hard to access. A separate ordinance to push construction start times in traffic zones to 8 a.m. was also introduced, with sponsors agreeing to meet with engineering, the water department, and police to firm up the language before it returns.
Several items were deferred or returned to the administration, including the resolution amending the 2026 municipal budget and the appointment to the Caribbean Commission. The council also adopted on first reading a lease agreement with Bethany Baptist Church for senior citizen services at an annual rent of $30,000, with a public hearing scheduled for the next meeting.
Make Your Voice Heard
The next Municipal Council meeting is Wednesday, November 4, at 12:30 p.m. in the Council Chamber at City Hall, 920 Mayor Kenneth A. Gibson Blvd. (Broad Street). That is when the administration expects to introduce budget amendments, and the Bethany Baptist Church lease is up for its public hearing. The council meets again on Wednesday, November 18, at 6:30 p.m.
Want to speak during the Hearing of Citizens? Sign-up for November 4 closed on October 30, so the next chance to get on the speaker list is the November 18 meeting. Here is how to sign up:
- Sign up by noon on the Friday before the meeting. For November 18, the deadline is Friday, November 13, at 12 p.m. The city does not make exceptions.
- Choose how to submit: email hoccomments@ci.newark.nj.us, call (973) 733-4343, fax (973) 733-3725, or drop off or mail the Hearing of Citizens form to the Office of the City Clerk, Room 309, City Hall, Newark, NJ 07102.
- Include: your name, home address, email, the meeting date and time, and your topic in eight words or less. A phone number is optional.
- Confirm: call the Clerk’s office to make sure your sign-up was received.
The Hearing of Citizens form is available on the City of Newark website at newarknj.gov.
