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<\/a>Former Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy.<\/p>\nI was re-elected mayor of Jersey City in 2009 \u2013 in the middle of collapse of the financial markets and a national recession.<\/p>\n
The people of Jersey City were hurting, and the economy had made a complete mess of the city\u2019s finances. It was not how I wanted to start my second full term in office.<\/p>\n
Now, in 2026, another mayor, fresh off an election, was handed a budgetary disaster and was forced to make hard decisions.<\/p>\n
While I may not agree with Mayor James Solomon on everything, I\u2019ve been following the work he\u2019s doing to get the city\u2019s finances under control, and he should be commended for the work he\u2019s done to limit the impact on taxpayers and protect city services.<\/p>\n
When you are mayor, you are only a temporary custodian of the city. I went through the difficult years of the recession and handed my successor, Mayor Steve Fulop, over $60 million in surplus. I understood how important an emergency fund is to fall back on.<\/p>\n
I was shocked to learn that Mayor Fulop did not do the same for his successor. Passing on a historic budget deficit and no emergency fund demonstrates a poor understanding of what it means to be a custodian of the city.<\/p>\n
During the Great Recession, Jersey City did not have a helpful partner sitting in the governor\u2019s chair in Trenton. Governor Chris Christie believed that cities had to figure out their budgets for themselves.<\/p>\n
Mayor Solomon knew that our city\u2019s residents could not bear the burden of fixing a historic budget crisis alone.<\/p>\n
His relationship with Governor Mikie Sherrill and partnership with the Hudson County legislative delegation secured a record $120 million aid package from Trenton.<\/p>\n
That work helped the city avoid a devastating tax increase and mass layoffs across city government.<\/p>\n
Alongside state aid, Mayor Solomon worked to shrink city spending \u2013 with a focus on protecting the services we depend on every day.<\/p>\n
Faced with the same task, I worked tirelessly to protect public safety, and while other cities in New Jersey laid off dozens of police and firefighters, Jersey City didn\u2019t have to lay off any public safety employees. I was forced to lay off over 150 civilian employees.<\/p>\n
That was a drastic measure that deeply impacted families across our city. It was one of the most difficult decisions I made in office.<\/p>\n
I was happy to see that Mayor Solomon protected JCPD and JCFD and only cut a minimal number of positions elsewhere. Hitting that balance can only be achieved by a sharp-eyed look at city operations and a focus on finding waste.<\/p>\n
I know that the hard work Mayor Solomon is doing today is aimed at stabilizing the city\u2019s finances, making future tax increases low and predictable, and setting the city up for long-term health.<\/p>\n
These decisions are not politically popular, but they will pay off in the long run.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Jerramiah Healy was the mayor of Jersey City from November 12, 2004, to June 30, 2013.\u00a0<\/p>\n