Administration Introduces Budget with No Municipal Tax Increase

Unprecedented 30 straight months of stable municipal taxes; services maintained

TRENTON, N.J. – Mayor W. Reed Gusciora announced that the City will not need to raise municipal taxes in his 2022 proposed budget introduced to the Trenton City Council. The City transitioned from a fiscal year budget to a calendar year budget last year, so this budget proposal would represent an unprecedented 30-month stretch where the City did not need to raise the municipal portion of tax rates.

“This was a priority for me, and I know a priority for many Trentonians. Most importantly, we were able to preserve all City services,” said Mayor Gusciora. “We have to do more with less, no different than all of the families out there right now. We restricted new hirings, but at the same time we were able to increase pay for more than half of our workforce. We’re very proud of this budget and what it does for the Capital City residents.”

“The budget is a responsible spending guideline and it represents the Mayor’s wish list,” Business Administrator Adam Cruz said. “At the top of the list, he asked that we avoid raising municipal taxes on Trentonians. That was first and foremost, and I credit our excellent staff for achieving that goal. After that, we prioritized maintaining public service levels, restricting new hires, and leveraging funding from the federal, state, and county governments. We’re proud of the budget and look forward to working with Council toward passage in June.”

The City used a six-month transition year (TY) budget last year to move from fiscal year (FY) budgeting to calendar year (CY) budgeting. The FY2021, TY2021, and the proposed CY2022 budget represent a 30-month stretch with no municipal tax increase. Municipal property taxes have increased in the City in 25 of the last 30 years.

“In spite of the many challenges that Trenton faces, we have been able to accomplish quite a lot for our residents,” said Mayor Gusciora. “We have increased recreational programs for kids leveraging state and federal grant dollars, achieved covid vaccination rates above 80% and opened a neighborhood health center, taken down over 200 abandoned and dilapidated properties, instituted a sidewalk replacement and road paving project, and successfully negotiated an increase in capital city aid.”

A slideshow detailing the Administration’s budget proposal can be found here: CY2002 Budget Presentation – City of Trenton