Sussex 2021 Budget Cuts Spending By $2M Compared To Last Year

HOPATCONG, NJ — The Sussex county budget was adopted in a meeting last Wednesday. At around $97.4 million, it cuts down spending by $2 million (or 1.9 percent) compared to the previous year.

The 2021 budget represents the lowest tax increase in the last six years, according to the Sussex County Board of County Commissioners.

Renegotiations with public employees led to a significant decrease in spending, with nearly $1 million saved in a new healthcare plan with the same benefits.

Spending cuts came also from a revised debt repayment plan and the refinancing of debt from a solar project. According to commissioner director Dawn Fantasia, the board devised a shorter-term debt reduction plan.

“People really need to understand that if the county had not had good, conservative financial planning in the previous years, we would have never been able to present this type of a budget tonight,” commissioner Sylvia Petillo also said in the meeting on Wednesday.

Deputy Director Anthony Fasano described the 2021 budget plan as fiscally responsive while putting into priority defeating the COVID-19 pandemic, providing services to residents, and investing in the future.

"Keeping Sussex County safe and affordable has to be the biggest priority, and I think this budget reflects that well," he said.

The board also approved an ordinance of $3,1 million in spending for road improvements, information technology, communications, and the acquisition of buses, among other improvements.

Another ordinance for various 2021 improvements in the total of around $15 million was also passed. Funding is coming from grants ($7,4 million) and authorized bonds ($7,6 million).

The full meeting is available here.