Hoboken Council Adopts Amended Municipal Budget 8-1

The Hoboken City Council, during a specially convened, virtual meeting on Wednesday night, adopted an amended municipal budget for 2020 totaling $177.8 million.  The Council reduced the municipal tax levy portion from the introduced spending plan’s proposed 9.8 percent increase, down to a 7.5 percent hike.

The 9 member body was able to achieve this by voting to use more of the city’s surplus funds as revenues.  The amount to be raised by taxes decreased from approximately $67.9 million to $66.5 million.  The vote to adopt was 8-1, with Councilman Michael Russo dissenting.

Because Hoboken’s total tax rate is comprised of 5 entities; municipal, county, school, library, and open space taxes, a municipal tax levy increase of 7.5 percent, means the total tax bill for a taxpayer will actually increase by just 0.75 percent when it is combined with the other 4 tax levies.  That’s because Hoboken’s portion of the county tax decreased by $6.4 million.  That’s 8.5 percent.  That figure is mainly because development taking place in other municipalities in the county provided more ratables, which directly affected Hoboken’s number.

Following the adoption of the revised budget, Mayor Ravi Bhalla stated, “I thank the City Council, as well as Hudson County and County Executive Tom DeGise for working collaboratively with my administration to overcome the unprecedented challenges of a pandemic to pass the 2020 budget. I’m proud that this budget maintains city services and invests in our future, while delivering one of Hoboken’s lowest overall tax increases in the last decade, at only .75% or an average of $70 per household.”