Trenton Passes Calendar Year Transition Budget Without a Tax Increase

City on Track for an Unprecedented 30 Months Without a Local Purpose Tax Increase

Trenton, N.J. – Mayor W. Reed Gusciora announced today the adoption of a six-month budget that completes Trenton’s transition to a calendar-year cycle and secures millions for street paving, rank and file employee salary increases, and other critical expenses, all without needing a local purpose tax increase.

“My thanks to City Council for adopting this budget and to DCA for its assistance throughout this whole process,” said Mayor Gusciora. “My administration worked hard to deliver a six-month budget that not only finalizes our transition to a more fiscally prudent calendar-year budget cycle, but also sets aside millions to increase employee salaries and fund extensive paving projects throughout Trenton. The best part is we can do all of this without asking for a municipal tax increase from our residents.”

Trenton City Council voted on Tuesday to adopt the budget by a vote of six to one.

City Council approved an ordinance on June 10, 2021 that moved the City’s budget from a fiscal-year cycle to a calendar-year cycle. During the 18-month budget transition from July 2021 through December 2022, Trenton only needs to make one pension payment in April 2022. However, the City will still get two state aid payments in November 2021 and November 2022, resulting in millions of dollars in additional revenue.

Due to the one-time infusion of state aid, the Gusciora Administration also predicts a zero percent tax increase in the twelve-month Calendar Year 2022 budget, which will result in 30 months without a local tax increase.

The finalized budget includes $2 million to help fund a Department of Public Works paving project targeting more than 50 roads that is tentatively scheduled for Spring 2022. The budget also includes over $4 million in salary adjustments for city employees.

The budget also makes use of $7 million in revenue replacement under the American Rescue Plan. The Mayor last week released the second version of his Trenton American Rescue Plan (ARP) proposal, which incorporates City Council and community input in the development of new spending items regarding youth engagement, public safety, and infrastructure. The updated plan, which now outlines over $71 million in spending items, can be viewed on https://talktrenton.org/.