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Paterson fees to renovate, build, will likely rise. Here's why NJ forced city's hand
PATERSON — With $1 million in state funding at risk, the Paterson City Council on Aug. 18 took a preliminary step toward increasing the city's construction fees for the first time since 2011.
The New Jersey Department of Community Affairs has said it would reduce Paterson's $29.7 million transitional aid award by $1 million if the city doesn't increase the construction fees by Sept. 30.
Tuesday night's vote by the council puts Paterson in position to meet that deadline.
Even with the full $29.7 million from the state, Mayor Andre Sayegh's administration has not been able to balance its $302 million budget for 2025, with almost two-thirds of the year gone had asked for $33 million in transitional aid. But the state in early July decided to give Paterson less than that, leaving the city facing a $3.3 million budget gap. Since then, the Sayegh administration has not made public any proposed spending cuts or revenue increases to close the shortfall.
Sayegh's business administrator, Marc Seemon, said Paterson property owners would face a 4% tax increase if the city doesn't get additional money from the state.
Several officials said the mayor seems to be waiting to see if Gov. Phil Murphy will give Paterson extra funding to balance the city budget, as requested by local state legislators.
Changes in renovation, demolition fees
But the Murphy administration seems frustrated by what officials described as Paterson's failures to fulfill its obligations under previous transitional aid agreements, such as not increasing construction fees and sewer rates.
The proposed changes in Uniform Construction Code, or UCC, fees were detailed in a city report that discussed several dozen categories of fees. For example, the fee for renovations would rise from $30 to $35 for up to $50,000 worth of work. The demolition fee would go from $100 to $200. The lead abatement fee would rise from $176 to $200.
In 2024, Paterson collected about $1.55 million from various construction code fees. The Sayegh administration has not revealed any projections on how much additional money Paterson would get from the proposed new fee rates.
'The increases will strengthen operations by enabling the city to hire the necessary staff, improve service delivery, and ensure the UCC office becomes self-sustaining,' said Sayegh spokesperson Dania Nunez. 'The impact of these increases will help ensure that the city's general budget no longer has to subsidize the UCC office.'
Council President Lilisa Mimms said the extra money from the fee increases would help Paterson address its 'desperate need of staffing for key enforcement concerns.'
Backlog: construction office has 17 staff, should have 35
Paterson's economic development director, Tiffany Harris-Delaney, told the council the construction office currently has about 17 employees, but should have 35.
'Right now, there's a backlog because there's not sufficient staffing,' the director said of delays in issuing permits by the construction office.
Two council members — Michael Jackson and Luis Velez — voted against the fee increases, saying they wanted more information on revenue projections.
The council is scheduled to hold a public hearing and take a final vote on the fees on Sept. 16.
Nunez said the administration also would ask the council to approve the city budget in September. Twice in the spring, the council voted down Sayegh's city spending plan.
This article originally appeared on NJ prods Paterson to raise fees to renovate, build, demolish
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