Hudnut: Solomon Misplaced A Push to Hand the Jersey Metropolis Board of Training A Clean Examine
Hudnut: Solomon lost an attempt to hand a blank check to the Jersey City Board of Education
JERSEY CITY – Jersey City City Council last night got closer to introducing regulations and a 2% municipal sales tax on cannabis sales. A consensus that the council appears to have reached is to split the revenue evenly between the education committee and social programs targeting the communities affected by the drug war. That consensus followed Council President Joyce Watterman, Councilor Daniel Rivera, Councilor Denise Ridley and Councilor Mira Prinz-Arey after Councilor James Solomon had originally proposed that the controversial Education Committee be given a blank check on cannabis tax revenues.
“James Solomon continues to oppose the city having a say in how the Education Committee spends any additional funds we send to them. His originally proposed cannabis tax revenue sharing plan was a blank check to Ed’s board of directors, “said Jake Hudnut, district attorney and town council candidate.” Now that the majority of the council has wisely pointed this out and believes that we should ensure that any money sent to schools from this tax is spent responsibly, James refuses to recognize the egg on his face and instead advocates a compromise that enforces his irresponsible proposed. “
The nine-member education committee, which represents nearly 30,000 students in 42 Jersey City public schools, has been preoccupied with issues ranging from fiscal mismanagement and a botched reopening process during the COVID-19 pandemic to special interest groups participating in campaigns to instead they focus on the needs of the students.
“Our BOE draws a budget from our taxes that is higher than the city budget, but still cannot meet the needs of our community, our children and our teachers. Why should we give them more money without making sure they are spending it wisely? James is more interested in gaining political favor with BOE members than in actually solving the problems in our local education system. “
The state deadline for approving a municipal cannabis regulatory ordinance, including a tax plan, is August 21. If the council does not take these measures, the city could potentially miss this revenue opportunity for the next five years.
###
(Visited 92 times, 16 visits today)
