NEWARK - City officials, including Mayor Ras J. Baraka, have clarified the purpose of a $52 million transitional aid loan agreement with the state Department of Community Affairs and the factors that prompted the need for this loan to balance this year’s municipal budget.

The loan agreement was approved by City Council during its Aug. 28 budget introduction meeting in order to balance the budget and provide funds for tax increases owed to the county, as the city undergoes its property revaluation. One state senator has demanded that Newark be placed under state oversight because of this $52 million loan, claiming it will be used to “prop up a profligate and unbalanced budget.”

The City Council passed a resolution on Aug. 28 to rescind a 2024 Transitional Aid Loan Agreement with the sta

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