With the City of Jersey City and Jersey City Public School (JCPS) facing a 2021 budget that will almost certainly be worse than 2020, Ward E Councilman James Solomon and Councilman At-Large Rolando Lavarro are calling for Mayor Fulop and the entire City Council to dedicate any revenues generated by a local marijuana tax to the Jersey City Public Schools.
Should New Jersey voters pass state public question #1 this November, they will amend the Constitution and legalize the use of marijuana. The question in part reads: “If authorized by the Legislature, a municipality may pass a local ordinance to charge a local tax on cannabis products.” Both councilmen support the measure and are urging voters to vote “Yes” on state public question #1.
JCPS is grappling with a budget crisis. In 2018, the State cut funding to JCPS by $25 million per year for seven years, a cumulative reduction in state aid that will amount to $175 million. While a payroll tax enacted in 2018 has filled the initial shortfall, the funding gap grows wider with each passing year. With COVID-19 shutting businesses down, resulting layoffs and furloughs, employer payrolls have declined sharply, thereby substantially reducing payroll tax collections. Prognosticators expect 2021 to be worse when federal and state government lift moratoriums on evictions and foreclosures.
