Kearny Council Members Vote “No” on Mayor’s Budget, Calling it a Ticking Time Bomb for Taxpayers

The mayor’s budget proposal failed to pass after council members on the “Team Kearny” slate called out the $14 million deficit and lack of a plan to address it

KEARNY, NJ — At the Kearny Town Council meeting on Tuesday night, the mayor’s budget proposal failed to pass after council members on the “Team Kearny” slate sounded the alarm on a rapidly growing budget deficit.

After a lively discussion, 1st Ward Councilman George Zapata, 2nd Ward Councilman Dennis Solano, 3rd Ward Councilwoman Eileen Eckel, and 4th Ward Councilman Stathis Theodoropoulos voted “no” on the budget resolution and called for a long-term plan to protect Kearny taxpayers. By the end of the meeting, Councilman Fred Esteves, who initially voted “yes,” joined Team Kearny’s call for a long-term plan.

The mayor’s proposal called for draining the Town’s savings to pay for the growing $14 million deficit. According to the CFO, the surplus is projected to run out by the end of 2027, a ticking time bomb that will cause taxes to spike for Kearny families.

"The fact that there’s no long-term plan to address the budget deficit is unacceptable. We can’t simply raise our hands and say, 'It is what it is' — I don't think that's responsible governance," said Councilman George Zapata. “We’ve made numerous suggestions and asked for ways to go outside the box to find savings, just like we did last year. This budget doesn’t do anything like that.”

“This is the second year that we've been bringing up the budget deficit, and nothing has been done to address it. When we blow through our reserves, this budget deficit looks like it's going to be hitting $20 million,” said Councilman Stathis Theodoropoulos. “Is the plan to hose our residents with a huge tax increase? It looks like we have to go off a cliff in order to do anything."

Councilmembers Zapata and Theodoropoulos sounded the alarm on the deficit last year, back when it was only $10 million, and were stonewalled by the mayor. They passed a resolution in June (2025 - (R) - 366) calling for a three-year plan for Kearny’s finances that was never acted on by the administration. Instead, the mayor removed them from the Finance Committee and chose to run candidates against them in this year’s primary.

"There's no plan here. It’s just kicking the can down the road and then we’ll have to figure out what we're going to do later,” said Councilman Dennis Solano. “I vote no on the introduction of the budget, because I vote yes for the taxpayers of Kearny. We have to come up with something better for Kearny families."

Kearny families are already facing rising costs. Last month, Hudson County raised Kearny's tax levy by 14.6% — the highest increase of any municipality in the county. Council members running on the independent “Team Kearny” slate have warned that without a real plan, Kearny taxpayers will be hit again with a massive tax hike when the town's surplus runs out.

The Democratic primary election is on June 2, 2026.

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