June 16 Newsletter
Wesley Bridges Confirmed as City Law Director
City Council voted to officially confirm Wesley Bridges as the City's Law Director. Bridges, a graduate of Rutgers Law School, is a local talent who comes with over 18 years of legal experience. After working at various practices in Philadelphia and Princeton, Bridges created his own law firm, The Bridges Law Group, right here in Capital City. His mission statement: “excellence through diversity.”
We are grateful to have Wes on board!
City Transition to Calendar Year Budget Moves Forward
City Council voted to approve our Calendar-Year budget transition last week. Next stop is the Local Finance Board, which will meet July 14, 2021.
If approved by the Local finance Board, Trenton will begin a six-month transition period in July 2021 before shifting to a 12-month calendar at the start of 2022. The move will streamline the budget process and align Trenton with how most municipalities and counties in the state operate.
This move provides numerous benefits for the City and its residents as the shift will allow the City would to get two State aid payments in November 2021 and November 2022, resulting in millions of dollars in surplus. Because of this aid infusion, the City predicts a 0% tax increase in both the six-month Transition Year budget and the twelve-month Calendar Year 2022 budget marking an unprecedented 30 total months without a tax increase.
Additionally, a transition to a Calendar Year means that the City of Trenton will only need to send out a single tax bill each year, making the tax payment process much easier to understand and predict.
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Trenton Celebrates Annual LGBTQ+ Pride Month Flag Ceremony at City Hall
On June 7th, Mayor Gusciora signed a Proclamation recognizing June 2021 as LGBTQ+ Pride Month in the City of Trenton and raised a Pride Flag over City Hall. He was joined by Kadja Manuel, the LGBTQ Committee Chair of the Trenton Branch NAACP and Executive Assistant and Community Organizer with Garden State Equality, as well as Assemblywoman Verlina Reynolds-Jackson and Councilwoman Marge Caldwell-Wilson.
The Mayor's Proclamation can be viewed here.
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City Breaks Ground on Vessel Housing Redevelopment Project
On June 9th, we broke ground on a new housing initiative in the North Ward! Headed by Vessel Technologies Inc., this property, located at 121-125 Perry Street, is in the Canal Banks Redevelopment Zone. A Vessel affiliate purchased the property from the City of Trenton in order to redevelop it into a modern, affordable, luxury housing site.
The plan calls for a modular, productized housing system that features six two-bedroom units with smart-home integrated technology allowing residents to control lighting, temperature and other features with voice commands or mobile devices. The units will also feature high efficiency LED Lighting and energy efficient appliances. Completion is tentatively planned for Labor Day this year.
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Newly Recruited Trenton Police Dog Sniffs Out First Major Drug Bust
K9 handler Detective Nicholas Mahan and K9 Ugo uncovered 4,500 decks of heroin and $582 in suspected drug proceeds during a traffic stop at Hills Place and Furman Street in Trenton.
K9 Ugo - a black labrador retriever - just graduated last month from the University of Pennsylvania Vet Working Dog Center.
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