UPDATE: Jersey City Mayor James Solomon announced Monday evening a revised 15% tax rate increase, down from the initial proposal of 20%.
“The Administration intends to bring forward a detailed reorganization and service-reduction plan to the City Council with the 2026 budget on July 15…The City will continue to report on this process openly and will provide updates as the reorganization plan is developed,” Solomon wrote in a statement.
Original story below:
New Jersey will provide Jersey City with $120 million in state aid to help close a massive budget deficit, city officials announced Monday. But residents should not expect relief from tax increases.
The aid package, which the city says is the largest municipal assistance deal in state history, was passed Monday by the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee and the Assembly Budget Committee as part of the state’s general appropriations bill.
The city is facing a roughly $255 million budget deficit, which current Mayor James Solomon has blamed on the previous mayoral administration. So far, the city has cut $55 million on its own through measures including cuts to a transit service contract and audits of tax abatement agreements with developers. The $120 million in state aid reduces the remaining gap to approximately $80 million for 2026.
But the money does not solve Jersey City’s deeper problem. The city faces a $90 million structural deficit - a gap between what it spends and what it takes in - that will recur every year until addressed, which it still plans to do through a combination of tax increases and cuts to city services.
The aid package is split between $105 million in long-term, low-interest loans and $15 million in outright grants.
A 20% property tax increase has been under discussion in Jersey City for months, with plenty of controversy surrounding it from residents who say it’s simply unaffordable.
Despite the state funding, that figure was already calculated assuming state aid would come, meaning without Monday’s announcement, the proposed increase would have been even higher.
Solomon is expected to present a full budget to the Jersey City Council on July 15, with a vote targeted for mid-August. That budget will detail what services face cuts and how much taxes will rise.