The Newark Municipal Council held a regular meeting on July 15, 2026, starting at 12:34 PM and adjourning at 6:28 PM. The meeting included public hearings, ordinance adoptions, resolution approvals, and extensive public comments. Key topics included tax abatements, affordable housing, the 2026 municipal budget, and community concerns.
Note: The meeting adjourned at 6:28 PM.
I all did these extensions 10 years, 15 years, 25, and 30 years. For what reason? When you haven't come up with a tax abatement extension for the people suffering in my community. Seniors dealing with HOA fees, the increased property taxes. Why are we not dealing with the people that are suffering instead of giving extensions to the people that already have tax abatements? When is a moratorium going to come in place over anything over five years to come back to the table and reapply? The city is broke. Where is this money coming from? When I become mayor, we become mayor. I'm still the mayor. Um did oh, both of these intelligent women came before you and asked and unanswered. Where's this money coming from? Why does the wealthy federal FBI get a tax abatement on the backs of minorities here in the city of Newark? How does that work? Where's my tax abatement? I have a letter here demanding a tax abatement. I'm going to present it to the clerk for each of you to have a copy, and I want to find out what office is given these abatements because I need an abatement ASAP. I don't have the money that the Nazi regime of the Trump administration has. Okay. But I know you don't know what this is about. You just got here. Why are you even considering this? And if you consider this and you pass this with this, yay, yay, yay, now we know where you stand and what you're about. And you must be getting something from the FBI, because we're not speaking. That's right. No one here. Oh, somebody gotta come up. Good afternoon, Eric Pennington Business Administrator. With respect to generally the questions that came about uh on this property, the applicant uh for the property clerm properties presented a request to extend the abatement. In order to extend an abatement, there are certain criteria that have to be met, one of which is that there is a significant uh renovation to the property or additions to the property. They have complied in all respects with the request for the extension, and those are the circumstances under which we have sought to have that uh approved. There have been general statements about the city needs money. This tax abatement is not a tax exemption. The it may be listed uh technically as an exemption, but it doesn't mean that they don't have to pay, they do. They pay a significant sum to the city. Uh indeed the payment will be uh equivalent to, if not more, than what it would be if they were paid under uh ordinary taxes. Uh to to address a couple of other issues quickly, uh there are requests here to indicate that the residents are not eligible for abatements, and that's just not true. Any new construction is eligible for a five-year tax abatement, essentially as of right. If a new construction comes before uh uh the tax assessor's office and asks for that abatement, it is essentially granted. It still has to go before the council, but it's essentially granted. There's also had been sort of a suggestion that Society Hill has not received an appropriate abatement. Society Hill received a 30-year tax abatement. That was more than 30 years ago, that tax abatement expired. They have the right, like anyone else to request uh an extension of that tax abatement, and if they comply and if they qualify under the terms of the long-term tax exemption law or otherwise, uh, it would likely be approved if it came to the council. That has not happened. Um so the suggestion that the residents of the city are are being mistreated by this uh extension going forward just isn't true. And if someone wants to present an application to extend an abatement, we consider it just like any other one. I'm happy to answer any other questions. Thank you. Roll call.