Paterson council moves Urban Enterprise Zone five-year plan to regular meeting after questions on outreach and budget

The Paterson Municipal Council on Sept. 9 received a presentation of a draft five-year strategic plan for the city's Urban Enterprise Zone (UEZ) and voted to place the resolution authorizing transmission of the plan to the state on the regular-meeting agenda for additional review.

The plan was prepared by consultant CME Associates under contract to the city; the consultant and the UEZ director described a process of background analysis, public and business surveys and a small number of business-focused forums. Council members questioned the depth of business outreach and the plan's financial detail.

UEZ director and consultant remarks UEZ Director Roy (title given in meeting) said the plan is required by the state for municipalities that want continued UEZ allocations and that the document sets a five-year strategy, projects and goals. CME Associates' project manager described demographic, economic and community-engagement work and said appendices include survey responses and a business participant list.

Council concerns Council members raised three recurring concerns: (1) limited business participation in direct engagement (council members noted the plan lists a modest number of businesses who took part in meetings), (2) lack of a clear accounting of remaining UEZ funds and how previous allocations were spent, and (3) consultant cost and capacity. Council members asked for a fuller list of the businesses engaged and for a ledger of previous UEZ spending.

Contract and staffing details During questioning council members cited the consultant contract maximum (the consultant was described as retained up to $123,000 in the meeting record) and asked about the UEZ director's budget and staffing; the director answered that the director's salary appears in the budget and said the plan would be accompanied by a request for further details about UEZ balances. Council members requested those figures before a final vote.

Council action Rather than adopt the resolution on Sept. 9, the council agreed to move the item to the regular meeting for additional materials and for the council to review business outreach lists and UEZ account balances.

Why it matters UEZ funds are a direct state-local program intended to support small-business incentives, fae7ade improvements, job creation and other local economic development measures. The state has asked municipalities to prepare five-year plans to justify continuing or expanding allocations; a plan approved by the council and accepted by the state unlocks additional program funding and project eligibility.

What to watch next Council members asked the UEZ director and administration to provide a list of businesses contacted or participating in engagement, to provide a current balance of UEZ funds and to explain the scope and cost of the consultant contract. The item was placed on the council's regular agenda for a follow-up vote.

Ending Council members said they want the plan to include clearer links to specific small-business programs and to show where money would be spent if the state approves additional allocations; the council deferred a final decision until it had those details.