$51.4M Budget With Tax Increase Approved In Bridgewater

BRIDGEWATER, NJ — A $51.4 million municipal budget for 2025 was approved by the Township Council at the Thursday night meeting, which includes a 0.001 municipal tax rate increase.

"We are very proud of this budget compared to what is going on around us in other communities, as well as what we’ve seen throughout the country with regard to inflation and increased costs," said Mayor Matthew Moench on Thursday. "To be able to deliver a budget that only goes up 1 percent with inflation, without cutting services. We are very proud of it."

An average home assessed in 2024 at $576,459 will pay an increase of $34 per year for the municipal services portion of the tax bill.

Of the $34 increase, Moench said $6 represents the tax rate increase. The other $28 is attributed to higher property value assessments, which are determined by the Tax Assessor in accordance with state regulations and not controlled by the Township.

Councilmen Michael Kirsh and Timothy Ring both sat on the Budget & Finance Committee.

"Councilmen Kirsh and Ring have done a tremendous job in working with the administration, and the administration has done a great job of working with the council," said Councilman Allen Kurdyla. "Thank you for what you did, guys. You did the residents of Bridgewater well."

The adopted budget includes funding for public safety, road maintenance, snow removal, parks, code enforcement, recreational programming, and more.

The overall budget has increased 1.077 percent from last year, which Moench pointed out is "way below inflation, which is 2.9 percent."

"A budget is not a perfect process, it's give and take. It's a collaborative effort to put together a budget. Everyone has different priorities, different views and beliefs, and it's finding that balance. There is a lot of work that went into this budget," said Ring.

About 25 percent of the municipal budget is comprised of non-discretionary, state-mandated expenses such as pensions, health benefits, and debt service — costs that cannot legally be reduced.

Moench also reminded the public that only 11 percent of the average Bridgewater property tax bill is allocated to the municipal government. The remaining 89 percent is divided between the Bridgewater-Raritan Regional School District (around 67 percent), Somerset County (around 20 percent), and local fire districts (around 2 percent).

The Township Council approved the budget, with the exception of Councilman Filipe Pedroso who voted against it.

"Real estate taxes in Bridgewater have gone up too much. In fact, in the past 4 years, your municipal taxes have gone up 22 percent. It’s time to give relief to the taxpayers who shoulder this burden," said Pedroso.

Pedroso proposed amending the budget to give taxpayers a true 0 percent increase. He also proposed a $21.63 refund per household this year and a lower sewer rate going forward.

"It’s fair, it’s responsible, and it’s the right thing to do," said Pedroso.

Moench noted that he did receive Pedroso's amendments to the budget late on Wednesday night.

"They are not a serious proposal and I'm not going to waste anyone's time going through them line item by line item. But they include things such as cutting $100,000 from recreation, which would be the elimination of the basketball program. Cutting $300,000 from sewer, which is a bill that is given to us from SRVSA[Somerset Raritan Valley Sewerage Authority]. So apparently, we are not going to pay for the sewer bill as well as fire hydrants... but the proposed amendments by Councilman Pedroso are an election year stunt, not meaningful governance. And our residents deserve better."

The 2025 Bridgewater Municipal Budget can be found online at www.bridgewaternj.gov.

Have a news tip? Email alexis.tarrazi@patch.com.