Council presses administrator over delayed budget; BA says draft will arrive by month'9s end

Council members on the Newark City Council pressed Business Administrator Eric Pennington on May 20 for a full city budget after members said they had requested the document in March and had not yet received it. Councilman Gonzalez said the council needed notice of any shortfalls before being asked to vote.

"We have requested the budget since March. It's already May 20th tomorrow," Councilman Gonzalez said, adding that members should be informed of possible shortfalls and remedies before votes. "I would love to see this say that we have movement going on and that the council is advised of any shortfalls in the budget before they have to vote on something that they don't know about."

Pennington, introduced to the meeting as the Business Administrator, told the council he was working to deliver the materials. "I'm here working on it. I'm here until the 30th... my plan is to make sure that we get something to you," he said, and offered to meet individually with council members to review scenarios.

Why it matters: council members are already approving appropriations and grant items while saying they lack a consolidated view of the fiscal year picture, including uncertainties about state aid. Council members asked whether anticipated state support or tax increases were already reflected in any plan and urged the administration to provide clear scenarios so the council can weigh shortfalls and options.

Pennington said the administration had prepared four or five internal scenarios and would share them after a meeting with the budget team. He also described recent conversations with the Department of Community Affairs and said converting prior state loans to grants had been denied in earlier rounds. "With respect to a grant... that would require significant oversight," he said in response to a council question about seeking additional state aid.

Council members signaled they expect a follow-up briefing and asked for a public delivery of the budget document and an itemized explanation of any recommendations for tax or spending changes. Pennington said he would return with additional detail and meet with council leadership and individual members as requested.

Next steps: The administration said it will provide the draft budget materials by the end of the month and schedule briefings with council members; councilmembers said they will require the information before advancing major appropriations.