East Brunswick Introduces New $81.4M Budget Proposal For 2025

EAST BRUNSWICK, NJ — Mayor Brad Cohen on Monday introduced the $81,460,755.56 municipal budget for 2025.

The proposed tax increase is less than 1 percent, amounting to $26.90 annually for the average home, Cohen said.

The municipal part of a resident’s tax is around 20 percent, with about 65 percent going to schools, and 15 percent is the county, the Mayor clarified.

Cohen noted that 20 percent of the tax bill is managed by the council, with an average property assessment of $122,000 and an equalization rate of 18.83 percent.

He also reminded residents that the township is facing a long-overdue property revaluation, which will adjust property tax assessments to reflect market value. The revaluation process, which will impact local property tax rates, could take a year to two years.

“The tax increase that we're proposing for this year amounts to less than 1 percent that is consistent with what we've done for the last eight years,” Cohen said.

Key cost increases include solid waste and recycling, up by $1 million annually over five years, and parking utility maintenance.

Cohen informed residents that it was costing money to maintain the parking utility, but the township will see increased revenue thanks to a contract it signed with Coach USA. Although the company has filed for bankruptcy, township officials were able to sign a new contract with their successor company.

The budget includes adding staff to the police department and considering outsourcing ice rink operations.

The council has also put out a request for Proposal or RFP, for programming partners to assist in the development and implementation of programming for the ice rink.

Cohen expects the rink to become a steady source of income for the town, with the rink likely to be either break even or profitable almost from its inception. But since the rink will not open until the end of the year, the hiring of more people may not affect the 2025 budget.

Revenue sources include property taxes, energy tax credits, and host community benefits.

“The other large source of money comes from our host community, benefits that we get by allowing the county to use the landfill, which brings us about $3 million a year,” Cohen said.

The biggest expense in the budget comes from salaries and health care costs.

“Over the last eight years, we've been able to keep health care costs at somewhere between a 2 to 3 percent increase per year over the last eight years, almost unheard of in the industry. If you're in the state health benefits plan, they've been going up the last couple of years at double digit increases per year. And of course, we have pension costs, as opposed to other entities,” Cohen said.

The township's debt ratio remains low, and significant funds are allocated for road repairs and utility maintenance.

Almost $4 million this year is set aside for road repairs and it does not include the work on Route 18 or county road work.

Cohen thanked the finance department for putting together a fiscally responsible budget.

Public hearing on the budget will be held on April 14.

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