Hudson County freeholders pass $545M budget with 4.2% tax increase

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The annual Hudson County budget, totaling $544,582,544.36 with a 4.2 percent tax increase in fiscal year 2016-2017, was approved by the board earlier this week.

Freeholders

By Sibrena Stowe Geraldino/Hudson County View

The Board of Chosen Freeholders voted 7-2 on the measure at a special hearing inside their chambers, located at 567 Pavonia Ave., on Tuesday night.

Freeholders Tilo Rivas, Gerard Balmir, Al Cifelli, Kenny Kopacz, E. Junior Maldonado, Caridad Rodriquez and Anthony Vainieri voted to pass the budget budget, while Jersey City Freeholder Bill O’Dea (D-2) and Hoboken Freeholder Anthony Romano (D-5) voted against it.

“Our votes against it were more about some of the problems with the first equalized evaluations that’s required by state law, which shifts the burden of increases and spending to those cities, based on how much their property values go up year-to-year and we find that to be unfair,” explained O’Dea after the meeting.

“That’s the counties fault, not a state one. That was really the reason for not voting on it.”

Jersey City, Bayonne, Weehawken, East Newark and Kearny have all been notified by the state that they will have to perform tax revaluations in the next couple of years.

The amount of taxes expected to be raised for the 2016-2017 fiscal year is $337,343,763.11 and the total revenue for the county is $540,084,367, a $15 million increase from last year’s total budget revenue of $524,944,837.

No members of the public spoke during the special budget hearing, which lasted only a few minutes.

A copy of the budget can be read here.


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2 COMMENTS

  1. It’s common practice when budgets jump every year independent of inflation to conduct an internal audit.

    Is that EVER going to happen in Hudson County?

  2. While Romano’s no vote is nice it is certainly no profile in courage. He needs to push to have an independent audit of the county budget done. I’m sure he’ll be hyping his no vote at all the parties he attends as he tries to become Hoboken Mayor but he has a terrible track record

    Thanks but No thanks to Romano in 2017

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