L.B. UEZ looks to state to release funding

L.B. UEZ looks to state to release funding
UEZ leaders meet to discuss state of the program
BY KENNY WALTER Staff Writer
Amonth into the fiscal year and the state’s Urban Enterprise Zones (UEZ) have not received funding, and Long Branch’s UEZ director is questioning when the funds will come.

Long Branch UEZ Director Jacob Jones said in an interview Monday that the state had promised to fund 90 percent of the administrative budgets for the state’s 37 UEZ zones, which represents 10 percent of the overall UEZ budgets, but the city has yet to see that money come through.

“Even though the projects were approved, we have not received those funds,” he said. “We haven’t received a penny.

“He [Gov. Chris Christie] promised to do it but he hasn’t done it yet. We are at the mercy of the state, we are waiting for the funds to be released.”

Jones was one of the representatives from many of the state’s 37 UEZ zones who gathered in Long Branch on July 28 to discuss the state of the program.

He explained exactly how UEZ is funded and why the state doesn’t like the program.

“The state doesn’t set budgets for the UEZ, the UEZ actually [funds it] by the sales tax incentive program,” he said. “The state is upset with the UEZ because they see that those tax revenues could be going to the state.”

Jones said that 3.5 percent of the sales tax collected in the UEZ, which represents most of the city’s business districts, goes into a dedicated account for the UEZ.

Jones said that there is about $300,000 in the city’s UEZ administrative account and he used about $150,000 last year. The zone operates on about $500,000 per year, he said.

The Long Branch UEZ has spent nearly $6 million since 1994 on projects, which have included improving parks, resurfacing roads and building facades, supporting redevelopment and purchasing police vehicles, according to Jones.

The administrative account funds staff salaries locally and in the state UEZ office.

Jones explained that Long Branch is able to survive the state’s withholding of funds for the time being but other UEZs throughout the state might not be as lucky.

“We close out our budgets each year in June so we can’t run over,” he said. “We don’t have any funds that we can tap into to keep this year’s program going.

“We are dicey, but fortunately I have other resources in my office that I can keep things going for staff and operations,” he said. “If I was singly just a UEZ office, I would be in trouble.”

The Office of Community and Economic Development also operates out of Jones’ office.

The UEZ meeting, held at city hall, was presided over by Elizabeth Mayor J. Christian Bollwage, who is chairman of the UEZ Mayors Commission.

Bollwage said that after the state threatened to take the full administrative budget, he has mixed feelings about operating at 90

percent.

“I don’t know whether we won or we lost,” he said. “I guess we won because in March we had nothing.

“We now have some money and administrative money that is 90 percent that will keep it going for another

year,” he added. “I know the governor has spoken to different mayors that said, “I’m in favor of UEZs.

“He has told people that if things turn around, he plans on funding UEZs next year at the full strength.”

Bollwage urged that the UEZ coordinators should continually send in proposals for projects despite not receiving the funds yet.

“I think the position of all of us is that we need to keep sending in proposals,” he said. “We cannot, just because the state says the money’s not there, stop sending in proposals.

“The business community and everybody else has to be aware that this money rightly belongs to business communities,” he added. “If you think it is going to build up surplus in the coming years, it’s not.”

Millville UEZ coordinator Denise Jackson objected to the state’s labeling the UEZ account as surplus.

“Our money is not a surplus, that money is in an account for us to do projects from,” she said. “This was money that was allocated to our projects, we don’t just store money there.”

Asbury Park UEZ Director Tom Gilmour said that the benefits of the UEZ need to be explained to the people making decisions about funding.

“This is not a simple program, it takes time to understand how it works and why it works,” he said. “We need to educate those people that are going to make the decisions right now moving forward.

“Make sure that they understand that we need to be a part of that process,” he added. “We have never been a part of the decision process.

“Shame on us if we don’t step up and make it happen. It’s not one or two zones that are going to carry us, every zone needs to be a part of this.”

Bollwage credited the commission’s frequent meeting and lobbying efforts with keeping the UEZs afloat.

“If we did a study that looks for success in our enterprise zones, there probably isn’t enough paper to print it,” he said.

“The last governor nickeled and dimed us and this governor quartered and dollared us. This is a great group because not only do we do it individually but also collectively.”

Long Branch Business Administrator Howard Woolley joked that before UEZ was started Long Branch was in really poor shape by showing a picture of a closed-down former go-go bar.

“If go-go bars are a sign of urban decay and we couldn’t even keep a go-go bar open, I’ll ask you where we were,” he said. “Since that time, the UEZ has helped us in our redevelopment efforts.

“The UEZ helped us in the planning, the UEZ helped us in the implementation, the UEZ supported the businesses as they have grown in years,” he added. “If you want to praise UEZ, you’ve come to the right place.”

New Jersey’s UEZ program was enacted in 1983, according to the state website. The program was created to foster an economic climate that revitalizes designated urban communities and stimulates their growth by encouraging businesses to develop and create private-sector jobs through public and private investment.

Administered by the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, the UEZ program supports nearly 150,000 full-time jobs and has attracted more than $24 billion in private investment, the website states.

There are almost 7,000 businesses of all sizes and types participating in and benefiting from the advantages of the UEZ program, according to the website. These include a number of tax and other financial incentives. Since the program’s inception, more than 26,000 businesses have enjoyed the program’s benefits.

From the initial 10 zones designated in 1984, the program has grown to 32 zones in 37 municipalities throughout the state. Long Branch and neighboring Asbury Park share a joint zone.







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