Atlantic City picked up an important ally in its fight against a proposed state takeover when state Assembly Leader Vincent Prieto came out against the plan.
Prieto said he is concerned about an element of the takeover plan that would allow the state to dissolve the city’s union contracts.
“Collective bargaining rights should be sacrosanct, notably for police and firefighters who put their lives at risk daily,” Prieto said in a press statement. “We don’t need to destroy collective bargaining rights to fix Atlantic City.”
But Prieto also indicated that he might support a plan provided it steers away from “trampling” collective bargaining rights and ensures the city is not exempt from unfair labor practice rules.
State Senate president Stephen Sweeney has proposed a bill that would give the state sweeping powers over Atlantic City. The bill would give the state’s Local Finance Board power over city government, operations, assets, departments, budget, and contracts for up to five years and would allow the state to dissolve union contracts.
The city, led by Mayor Donald Guardian, strongly opposes the measure and Guardian has called the bill an attempt to create a “fascist dictatorship” in the resort.
City officials have said that many of the city’s unions—including police and fire unions—have signaled they are willing to negotiate possible give backs to the city in their collective bargaining agreements.
Any takeover plan must pass both the state’s Senate and Assembly and Prieto’s stance on the issue had been unknown. Prieto used his announcement to call for an end to the sharp rhetoric being bandied about by both sides and called for calm negotiations.
“The time for negotiating through press conferences and radio sound bites is over,” Prieto said. “It’s time for everyone to sit down, look each other in the eye and resolve this the right way.”
Meanwhile, the city faces a massive debt problem, owing about $350 million it does not have. Guardian has warned that the city may run out of money by the end of March and could have to file for bankruptcy.
Sweeney—who is the leader of an ironworkers union—said he sympathizes with Prieto’s statement.
“But I don’t know what the end game is,” Sweeney told NJ.com. “In bankruptcy, everything we’re trying to protect goes away.”
Governor Chris Christie also weighed in on the plan last week saying that Atlantic City’s government “is a mess” in a radio interview and that he is on the “same page” as Sweeney. He said Sweeney’s plan puts most of onus on his office to help the city.
“I’m not going to do it with one hand tied behind my back,” Christie said on New Jersey 101.5-FM. “I have to have the freedom to do what needs to be done down there to fix the problem.”
He also said the state will not bail out Atlantic City again.
“It’s not gonna happen,” the governor said. “Not on my watch.”
In a related matter, the nonpartisan state Office of Legislative Services also issued a memo that pointed out that the state could still take control of key local government functions even if the takeover bill never becomes law. Atlantic City’s finances are already monitored by the state.
According to the memo, the Local Government Supervision Act of 1947 gives the state significant powers to intervene in Atlantic City in a fiscal crisis.
Prieto noted the memo and said Christie and the state “already have sufficient power over Atlantic City’s finances to prevent a financial disaster.”
“I will not run roughshod over collective bargaining rights when it’s clearly not necessary,” he said.
Other Developments
In another matter, a state Senate committee on Monday advanced a bill to allow two “boutique” casinos to be built in Atlantic City. The bill allows for casinos significantly smaller than current law requires.
The legislature is trying to reboot a bill first introduced in 2011. Then, Hard Rock International seemed set to build a small casino in Atlantic City, but later backed off those plans.
The new bill removes a requirement that the casinos must be new construction and would allow existing buildings to be converted into small casinos.
Attempts to re-pass the law—which is seen as a way to entice developers to the city—have stalled in the legislature in recent years and no developers have come forward saying they want to take advantage of the law. One who would with significant changes to the law would be Curtis Bashaw, former CRDA director and owner of the boutique Chelsea Hotel. Previous versions of the bill required new construction, not existing properties.
Also, in a symbolic gesture, developer Glenn Straub lit up a large architectural ball at the top of his closed Revel casino. The illuminated ball serves as a unique decorative flourish to the property.
Straub said he hopes to have at least 500 rooms at the $2.4 billion casino—which he bought in bankruptcy for $82 million—operating by June. He said several restaurants at the site and a portion of a zip line obstacle course would also open by June 15.
Straub said the ball was being tested for the opening.
