Kathryn Kinney, who was employed by Bayonne accounting firm Donohue, Gironda & Doria and assigned "full-time" to the Hoboken Finance Department as a financial specialist, pleaded guilty in Monmouth County Superior Court for stealing more than $10,000 from a nonprofit organization.

Before working for Hoboken, Kinney, 42, was working as the executive director of the Poricy Park Conservancy in Middletown.

A woman who worked as a financial specialist for a firm the city used was arrested this week for allegedly stealing more than $10,000 from a nonprofit she worked for in Monmouth County.

Before she worked in Hoboken, Kathryn Kinney, 42, was working as the executive director of the Poricy Park Conservancy in Middletown.

She is charged with stealing $10,219 from the nonprofit organization, according to the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office. Kinney allegedly took the money to stall foreclosure proceedings on her home in Bridgewater.

Kinney, 42, is charged with third-degree theft and third-degree misapplication of entrusted property.

U .S. Rep. Albio Sires of West New York attended the Hoboken St. Patrick's Day dinner on Feb. 22, and he brought his own leprechaun who had no pot of gold for the Mile Square City.

Yet, as transcripts of the June 6, 2008, state Local Finance Board meeting reveal, the panel's chairman and sprite, Richard Turner, who also doubles as mayor of Weehawken, had offered the Mile Square City council members something better than a pot of gold. He gave them priceless advice - approve the municipal budget already. Unfortunately for Hoboken taxpayers, it was ignored.

City Council members Beth Mason, Dawn Zimmer, Peter Cunningham, Michael Russo and Theresa Castellano were all present, according to the transcripts released by The Jersey Journal's HobokenNow blog. After reading the transcripts, you come away wondering "what were they thinking?"

Six months ago, state fiscal monitor Judy Tripodi came to Hoboken to oversee the city’s finances, in the wake of the City Council’s last-minute budget passage. Since then, she has uncovered some problems and errors in City Hall’s financial initiatives that the taxpayers may have to pay for.

As the May mayor/council election approaches and city officials jockey for attention, several city officials said last week that Tripodi may be asked by the state to extend her stay in Hoboken from August 2009 to August of 2010.

Why was Hoboken taken over by the state? For not adopting a 2008 budget by June 6, 2008. We know, we know, the state takeover of Hoboken was a while ago. But we figured everybody should be able to read the following transcripts from when several Hoboken City Council people went down to Trenton last June to speak with the Department of Community Affairs regarding Hoboken's budget mess.

The Hoboken Tax Reform Coalition (www.hobokenrevolt.com) has come up with a questionaire for potential mayor and council candidates for this May.

1. Objective: Drive a significant reduction in property taxes without compromising the safety and soundness of Hoboken.

Question: Do you agree that the annual operating budget for Hoboken should be reduced?

What do you think the appropriate budget for each of the next five years should be? Do you have a detailed plan to accomplish this? If so, what are the significant initiatives you will support to reduce the annual operating budget?What is the timeline to implement the plan?

Please explain any calculations of savings that may be included in your plan.

What concessions, if any, will be necessary in the upcoming Police and Fire contracts in order to achieve the target budgets you propose?

What revenue-enhancement opportunities do you see?

Tickets for running a stop sign or ignoring a "No U-Turn" sign soon may be less expensive for drivers in Roseville but much more profitable for the city.

It's all part of Roseville's plan to encourage police to write tickets for certain types of moving violations under the city's municipal code, rather than the state vehicle code.

The plan would put conservative Roseville shoulder-to-shoulder with Berkeley and a few other cities. But the plan doesn't sit well with the insurance industry.

The difference for offenders? A lower fine – $100 instead of $146 for first offenses – and a driver's record without added "points" that can lead to higher insurance premiums or even a revoked license.

An extensive investigation into several current and former city employees who were incorrectly receiving city health benefits has turned up some interesting names and little explanation from the administration.

State-appointed fiscal monitor Judy Tripodi confirmed the names of five individuals – including two former members of the City Council – who were sent letters by the city in October and November stating they would be removed from municipal benefits because they are no longer qualified. The city gave the individuals 30 days to object, and none did.

Both Tripodi and Mayor David Roberts blamed the situation on “oversight,” and Roberts said this sort of thing happens in every city. “One division didn’t know what the other division was doing,” he said. “I don’t want to minimize this. This and every issue will be taken seriously and handled accordingly.”

In a move to streamline Hoboken's budget, the city announced yesterday that seven provisional municipal employees have been laid off.

The layoffs mark the first stage of a workforce reduction in the city under the control of state monitor Judy Tripodi. The city is expected to reduce its workforce by 65 employees, or 10 percent of all full-time municipal workers, throughout this year.

The city’s financial firm of the past three years is out, as is controversial Tax Collector Louis Picardo.

Due partly to the mile-square city’s precarious financial situation and to scheduled retirements, several top Hoboken officials and consultants retired or were replaced in the past few weeks.

The city’s state-appointed fiscal monitor, Judy Tripodi, has hired a new full-time financial director, Nick Trasente, at $125,000 per year. She hopes he can help lead the mile-square city out of its financial difficulties, which led to a 47 percent overall tax hike this year.

The financial firm of Donohue, Gironda, and Doria was under contract to handle city finances for the past three years, but their contract recently expired and was not renewed by the city.