Jersey City Council Gives First OK To $620M Budget

JERSEY CITY, NJ — A resolution to introduce the $620 million municipal budget was unanimously approved by the Jersey City Municipal Council at Wednesday night's meeting, but not without some questions from councilors.

The proposed budget would come with a $967 annual tax decrease per household and is backed and helped by $69 million the city received from the American Rescue Plan.

Councilman at-Large Rolando Lavarro voiced concern that the budget was "an election year budget" and pointed out the amount set aside on bonding for street resurfacing.

"That particular tax dollar is going to cost the people of Jersey City nearly $2 million on a down payment in the 2021 budget," Lavarro said. Overall, he agreed to support the introduction of the budget because it came with tax reductions for residents. Lavarro added that he looked forward to a deeper explanation of the expenditures in the budget.

The municipal budget's tax reductions come at a necessary time, when the Jersey City Board of Education passed the first fully funded school budget in years at $814 million. The school budget would increase taxes by $1,000 for Jersey City homeowners.

The tax increase was proposed and passed as the way to implement a fully funded school budget after the state cut funding to Jersey City schools by $152 million this year.

The municipal budget includes $5 million to fully fund the Department of Recreation and Youth Development and ensure all recreational programs are fully reinstated, with all safety protocols in place and a new, fully funded Jersey City Police Department De-escalation Training Facility.

Another $7.5 million will go to the Department of Health and Human Services budget and $4.9 million budgeted in for capital improvement project.

The proposed tax reduction will offset costs like the Jersey City Municipal Utilities Authority solid waste services, an average increase of $25 a month per household, implemented this year to "create more fairness so that all entities citywide pay their fair share," the city said.

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