Mayor Solomon Introduces 2026 Budget — Reduces City Spending By Over $58 Million, Responsibly Addresses Historic Fiscal Crisis
Posted on 07/11/2026

MAYOR SOLOMON INTRODUCES 2026 BUDGET — REDUCES CITY SPENDING BY OVER $58 MILLION, RESPONSIBLY ADDRESSES HISTORIC FISCAL CRISIS


An honest budget that reduces spending in 10 of 13 departments, protects public safety and youth programs, and confronts the largest fiscal crisis in New Jersey history

JERSEY CITY, N.J. (July 10, 2026) — Mayor James Solomon today introduced the City of Jersey City's 2026 municipal budget: a plan that cuts the true cost of running the city below last year's level by over $58 million, pays down $109 million in bills left unpaid by the previous administration, and protects the core services residents rely on every day. The 2026 budget proposes a 15.5% increase to the City's municipal property tax rate.

A summary of the 2026 budget can be viewed here. The full 2026 budget document can be viewed here.

The budget is the product of six months of work to open the books, cut spending, secure historic state aid, and confront a $255 million inherited deficit — roughly a quarter of the entire municipal budget, and the largest fiscal crisis in New Jersey history.

“At more than a dozen townhalls, I heard from Jersey City residents that the city must solve this historic budget crisis through smart cuts that protect core city services," said Mayor James Solomon. "This is an honest budget, and an honest budget that represents the difficult work of limiting the impact on taxpayers as much as possible, while maintaining a functioning city government. This task was made extraordinarily difficult by the presence of $109M in unpaid bills, deferred costs, and hidden spending that we are now honestly accounting for in this year’s budget. We didn't create this hole. But it is our job to climb out of it — honestly, and without the gimmicks that got us here."

How the $255 Million Gap Was Closed
The Administration closed the inherited deficit without one-time gimmicks, through a combination of:

  • $58 million in spending cuts made before asking residents for more.
  • $120 million in state support — a $105 million long-term, low-interest loan that responsibly spreads the cost of the prior administration's unpaid bills over years, plus $15 million in direct transitional aid.
  • Roughly $75 million in additional annual revenue from the 15.5% municipal rate increase together with growth in the City's ratable base.

A Budget That Is Actually Lower Than Last Year
To compare this year's budget to last year's, honestly, the administration first factored in unaccounted-for costs into last year's number, because the 2025 budget never reflected what it cost to run Jersey City.

The prior administration made the 2025 budget look smaller than it really was in three ways:

  •  The clearest example is health care. The 2025 budget set aside about $147 million for employee and retiree health insurance, when the true cost was roughly $195 million — an understatement of nearly $48 million. Other required reserves were left short in the same way.
  • Hiding operating costs in the capital budget. Everyday expenses were paid out of the capital budget, putting those costs on the city’s proverbial credit card. Money meant for long-term investments like buildings and equipment were used to pay for operating costs to keep them off books. The Via transit program, roughly $8 million a year, is the clearest case.
  • Leaving bills unpaid and deferred. Costs that came due were pushed into future years instead of being paid.

Add those left-out costs back in — about $109 million in all — and you arrive at what running the city actually cost in 2025:

  • 2025 budget as adopted, on paper (excluding grants): ~$736.1 million
  • Underfunding, hidden, and deferred costs left out: + ~$120.6 million
  • Recurring reserve funding: +$10.7 million
    2025 true cost of operations: ~$856.7 million

Compared honestly against the true 2026 operating budget, spending is down $58.3 million, or 6.8% (excluding grants.)

Put simply: last year's budget looked smaller only because major costs were left out of it — the way a household's spending looks lower if it skips the insurance payment and puts the rest on a credit card. The bill doesn't disappear; it just shows up later. This budget ends that practice and counts every dollar honestly.
The FY2026 budget totals approximately $886.5 million, of which $109 million is inherited, unpaid obligations the city is now legally required to clear (detailed below).

Disciplined Cuts Across Departments & Significant Reductions to Structural Expenses
Before asking residents for more, the Administration cut spending across City government while protecting public safety and other core services.
Excluding public safety, across departments, this budget cuts roughly $9.7 million in real costs. Those savings are partly reinvested in the services residents count on most — public safety, safe and clean streets, and youth programming. Net of that deliberate investment, departmental budgets are down $1.2 million — a lean result in a year of rising costs.

While the Administration cut spending in ten of thirteen departments, the largest savings come from structural lines that sit outside any single department — the kind of recurring costs that drove the crisis in the first place.

The single biggest driver is employee health insurance, which falls $25 million — from roughly $195 million to $170 million — after the City switched benefits administrators with no reduction in the coverage employees receive. It is the clearest example of the Administration's approach: find real savings in how the City buys services before asking residents to pay more.
Beyond health care, the reductions come from several structural lines:

  • Personnel and other contingency reserves are down $7.3 million (−28%), right-sizing reserves that had been carried above what the City's current fiscal condition warrants.
  • Via microtransit operations are down $4 million, cut roughly in half, while preserving the service for the peak hours residents rely on most.
  • Paying down prior years' deferred spending falls by roughly $15 million, as the City uses state aid to responsibly retire debts that came due rather than pushing them further into the future.

Taken together, departmental discipline and these structural savings account for the bulk of the $58 million (−6.8%) reduction in true operating spending.

$109 Million of This Budget Is Inherited, Unpaid Bills
This year's budget is inflated by $109 million in one-time obligations incurred under the prior administration but never paid for — costs the city is now legally required to clear. They include:

  • Deferred charges the prior administration pushed into future years
  • Reserves that should have been funded annually — including for expired union contracts and tax appeals
  • Everyday operating costs improperly run through the capital budget, including the Via Transit Program
  • Capital leases and other accumulated obligations

Strip these one-time inherited bills out, and the underlying operating budget is down year over year.

What This Means for Taxpayers
It is important for residents to understand what the city does and does not control. A property tax bill funds three separate entities — the City, the Board of Education, and Hudson County — and the City sets only its own rate. The Board of Education and the County set their rates independently.

The FY2026 budget is balanced in part through a 15.5% increase to the City's municipal tax rate, which — with growth in the City's ratables — accounts for roughly $75 million in additional annual revenue toward closing the inherited structural deficit.

For the average residential property:

  • City (municipal) portion: +$51/month* — the only portion set by this budget
  • Board of Education portion: +$63/month — set independently by the BOE
  • Hudson County portion: +$26/month — set independently by the County
    The municipal portion accounts for roughly one-third of the average tax bill. That increase addresses the structural, recurring deficit and begins to put the city on stable footing.

What We Protected

The Administration will not compromise on public safety or on the city's young people. Even while cutting, the budget deliberately invests in the things residents count on most:

  • Public safety. A re-established Traffic Enforcement Division, a re-established Domestic Violence Unit, and a completely rebuilt 911 system — to make sure emergency calls are answered.
  • Youth. A major expansion of youth programming through JC Next powered by securing $4,442,500 to date in grants and philanthropic investments supporting parks, recreation, youth employment, education, and community development. .
  • Basic services. A re-established pothole unit, sustained sanitation and housing inspections, and a relaunched Vision Zero effort to make streets safer.

The Path Forward

This budget is one year of a longer plan. Working with an outside team of municipal budget experts, the Administration is building Jersey City's first true multi-year financial plan to completely close the recurring structural deficit — bringing recurring revenue in line with recurring expenses so the budget stabilizes and taxpayer impact shrinks over time. The Administration will also continue auditing PILOT agreements and holding developers accountable for what they owe.

The proposed 2026 budget is being introduced at the July 15, 2026 meeting of the City Council.





Nathaniel Styer

Communications Director

City of Jersey City

[email protected]

616-403-4693