Council Adopts 2026 Budget as Revaluation Nearly Doubles Property Values; Typical Tax Bill Up 2.6%

Councilman Lefkovits and the borough's Chief Financial Officer, Matt Larrissy, presented the 2026 municipal budget before the council held a public hearing (no residents spoke) and unanimously adopted it. A borough-wide property revaluation lifted the town's total assessed value from about $1.73 billion to roughly $3 billion; because the revaluation is designed to be revenue-neutral -- reallocating, not increasing, the total tax burden -- the typical residential municipal tax bill still rose about 2.6%, from $5,353 to $5,491, even as the municipal tax rate itself fell sharply, from 0.771 to 0.457, reflecting the higher property values. Municipal taxes remain the smallest major share of a typical resident's bill, at 21%, behind the Board of Education (61%) and Essex County (17%), with the library making up about 1%. Officials said this year's biggest cost driver was health insurance, and that the borough saved money by leaving the state health benefits plan -- whose costs rose 36% -- for an alternative plan that rose 18%. Councilmembers separately approved a budget amendment reducing anticipated surplus by $46,500 and adding $65,000 in payment-in-lieu-of-taxes revenue from a development known as the Clarence, and authorized refunds to a handful of taxpayers who made duplicate payments. All budget-related votes were unanimous.

Councilman Law marked the sixth anniversary of the May 2020 line-of-duty death of Officer Charles Roberts, who died after contracting COVID-19 following two decades on the force; an annual memorial golf outing was set for Monday, May 18, 2026, at Glen Ridge Country Club. The council also unanimously approved the $123,526 purchase of two 2026 Ford Police Interceptor vehicles from Cherry Hill Winner Ford.

On infrastructure, the council adopted an ordinance accepting a $500,000 New Jersey Special Legislative Grant to fund a borough-wide watershed and flood-risk analysis, and unanimously approved a $328,800 grant application to the state Department of Transportation for a stormwater and paving project on Madison Street, along with a $182,328 contract increase for engineering firm NV5 on the Safe Routes to School study, fully reimbursable through a federal highway grant. Councilwoman Moody reported the borough's affordable-housing filings were completed by the March 16, 2026 deadline, preserving the town's protection from builder's-remedy lawsuits through 2035.

During public comment, a resident named Wilson raised a lengthy complaint about an incident roughly three weeks earlier in which he said a library supervisor called police over his presence near the library's 8 p.m. closing time; he alleged retaliation against a staff member who had helped him and said he was escorted out of the building. Council members responded that library personnel matters fall under the library's own board of trustees rather than the council, and offered to follow up with him individually after the meeting. Earlier in the meeting, resident Gordon Levitt thanked the borough for quickly addressing a poison-ivy complaint at a neighboring property and praised the borough's senior lunch program.

What to watch

• Council said it plans to look at redesigning the borough's employee health insurance plan to control rising costs, with no timeline given.
• The borough's $328,800 NJDOT grant application for the Madison Street stormwater and paving project is pending a funding decision.