Statement by Mayor Baraka in response to Testa letter.

"The letter State Senator Michael Testa sent to Gov. Phil Murphy asking for oversight of Newark’s finances was so filled with falsehoods and mischaracterizations, it’s hard to know where to start,” Mayor Ras J. Baraka said.

"As a member of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee it’s alarming that Sen. Testa doesn’t know the difference between “gifts” and loans, or how property revaluations can create havoc on municipal finances, especially in Newark where property values have grown astronomically.

"First and foremost, the money we have received from the state are not gifts, as Testa says in the letter, but loans the city will use to cover increased costs to Essex County due to increased property assessments.

The first loan is for a six-year, $22 million with 0 percent interest.

"The second is a bridge loan for $30 million that will be paid back in six months, also with 0 percent interest.

"These loans provide funding to supplement our budgets due to the increase in Essex County taxes payable by the city.

"The reason for these loans is not because Newark finances have “run amuck” as Testa falsely charges in his letter to the governor but because the city’s county tax levy grew by $30 million since 2023.

"In that year, our tax levy was $63,716,926.34. This year it is $95,195,808.82.

"Without these loans, we would have to increase taxes on our residential homeowners by 30 percent,  impossible in a city where the average annual income is $36,000.

"To ask our homeowners and renters (through rent increases) to shoulder the entire burden of the jump in our property values, would have been punitive and unfair.

"When our own property revaluation is completed in 2027, the increased tax burden will be shared more equitably by Newark’s commercial and industrial properties.

"Sen. Testa has never been a mayor but he represents a New Jersey district which includes three working class cities of Bridgeton, Millville and Vineland. He should have a better understanding of our issues in Newark, rather than make claims that our city is guilty of “notorious waste.”

"The language throughout the letter is petty and uninformed. I invite Sen. Testa to help my city and the cities in his district, raise wages, build affordable housing and reduce the tax burden on working families.”