Bergen County OKs 2024 budget. Here's what it means for residents
HACKENSACK — Bergen County's official budget will have a 2.22% increase from last year, which translates to a $31.30 tax bill increase for the average assessed home of $530,000.
The 2024 budget was adopted at Wednesday night's meeting of the county's Board of Commissioners after a March presentation and April introduction. The budget was adopted earlier than normal because of changed deadlines by the state.
"There are some increases and very few decreases, because most of what we do is provide necessary services for Bergen County," James Tedesco, the county executive, said when he first presented the budget. "So it's hard to reduce. We try to do better by gaining more revenue, and that's why we're able to keep up the level of services with zero or minimal increases year to year," he said at that time.
The critical services the county provides, Tedesco said, include Bergen New Bridge Medical Center and expansions in the Department of Human Services for veterans, seniors and residents with disabilities.
In March, before the commissioners held their budget meetings, the budget was looking at a 2.27% increase, or $32.02 for the average assessed home. During the meetings, the commissioners realized some minor savings, officials said.
What's in the budget?
The total $697.6 million budget accounts for community safety, education, critical services, public infrastructure, and parks and recreation.
The 2023 total budget was $670.98 million with an annual tax increase of $45 for the average assessed home, which was $500,000 at that time.
A breakdown of the budget shows 27% is going toward statutory and state mandates, such as health insurance and pension payments, and 23% is going toward community safety, which includes the Sheriff's Office, the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office and the newly formed Bergen County emergency medical services unit.
Capital and park improvements are also included in the budget, which calls for resurfacing 36 miles of county roads in 2024 for $35 million, Tedesco said.
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Helping to keep the budget increase low was money found in interest revenue that continues to grow. There was a $6.87 million increase in interest revenue from 2023, with projected interest revenue expected to be $10.275 million this year.
The financial staff took a closer look at money not earning interest and found ways to reinvest it, Tedesco said.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Bergen County OKs 2024 budget. Here's what it means for residents
