Just a few dollars more than last year for cash-strapped New Jersey City University.
That’s what the 100-year-old institution — still trying to recover from years of mismanagement — will see in the state’s fiscal year 2025 budget that was agreed upon Wednesday night and made public Thursday morning.
School officials had sought $55 million in the budget, but will settle for $41.9 million, just $200,000 more than it received last year. Still, it’s $3.5 million more than was proposed when the 2025 spending plan was first presented in April.
The funding is a portion of the $107 million for 29 Hudson County projects and programs in a $56.6 billion state spending plan that includes a new tax hike on large companies, added funds for property-tax relief and big spending on public schools and pensions.
Among the “Christmas tree” items for Hudson County are $2 million to help North Bergen balance its municipal budget without raising taxes more and another $10,000 for an an intern program for Brian Stack, the Union City mayor and state senator.
NJCU Interim President Andres Acebo remained positive Thursday. He said the university advocated and received an increase in its outcome-based allocation, which is is based on a university’s number of Pell grant recipients, degrees awarded, and the number of degrees awarded to underrepresented ethnic and minority students.
“We are pleased the Legislature has taken that action,” Acebo said Thursday. “The $3.5 million increase to our outcome-based allocation further enhances our ability to drive our student success goals and our student persistence initiatives as outlined in our Academic Master Plan and Strategic Enrollment Plan.
“We look forward to continuing to work together beyond this budget season to continue finding resources to address our university’s important mission-centered needs, including our long-term deferred maintenance priorities.”
NJCU isn’t the only school seeing some state funding come its way. Stevens Insitute of Technology will receive $5.75 million and $1.5 million for capital construction for its Institute for Artificial Intelligence.
Hudson County will receive $2 million for asbestos remediation at the historic Brennan Courthouse and $1 million for renovations to the Hudson County jail. North Bergen Mayor Nick Sacco “greatly appreciated” the $2 million described in the budget as ”operation aid.”
“We always know we can count on our Assemblyman Julio Marenco to make sure our community’s interests are represented in Trenton,” said Sacco, who was squeezed out of his state senate seat in 2022 when the legislative districts were redrawn after the Census.
Bayonne received $2 million for its food pantry and $500,000 for the South Cove pedestrian bridge, which will connect the former Military Ocean Terminal with the South Cove area, Bayonne spokesman Joe Ryan said.
Mayor Jimmy Davis said the state has supported “this bridge, which will provide convenient access to shopping and other commercial services for residents of the former Military Ocean Terminal. The bridge will improve their quality of life.”
West New York will receive $3 million toward a parking lot project that Mayor Albio Sires said will serve the new recreation center the city has been developing.
Jersey City mayoral candidate Jim McGreevey’s New Jersey Reentry Corp. will receive $12.6 million, some $2.2 million more than the nonprofit organization was awarded last year.
Some $95 million is earmarked for the Lincoln Tunnel Access Project, a $1.8 billion Port Authority project that will improve the Wittpenn Bridge; the Route 1&9 truck route extension, the Pulaski Skyway and Route 139.
New Jersey City University officials have spent the past two years attempting to trim its annual operating budget after revealing a $22.7 million deficit in June 2022. The university established austerity measures, including cutting its academic portfolio by 33%.
The university’s board of trustees will vote on its final budget for 2025 on July 11. The university has been waiting on the state’s final budget to determine its spending plan for the next year, which includes addressing $51 million in infrastructure needs.
The university is expected to raise its tuition, which will now include the cost of textbooks, by 3.5%.
The infrastructure needs have not been addressed for decades, but the university has been working on a plan to utilize grants from the state and energy companies. The $14 million requested for infrastructure would have covered a boiler system, an HVAC system at Rossey Hall, elevator infrastructures at Vodra Hall, campus-wide security enhancements and campus-wide HVAC building management system upgrades and repairs.
