Proposed 2024 Mercer Co. Budget Includes Tax Increase For Residents

MERCER COUNTY, NJ — Mercer County Executive Dan Benson presented his administration’s first budget at a meeting of the Board of Commissioners.

This year's budget was especially challenging as the new administration said they faced financial challenges left over from the previous officer holder.

The proposed budget for the county includes a tax increase of 1.3 cents for every 100 dollars of assessed property value. According to officials, it will amount to $42 anually for an average Mercer County household.

The budget includes a $12 million increase in debt service payments and $4 million in increased expenses for Inmate Medical Services and the Youth Detention Center contract combined.

“I don’t take any tax increase lightly,” Benson said, but “this is the only way to avoid drastic and unacceptable cuts to essential services.”

The County Executive went on to highlight the shambolic financial situation he inherited from the previous administration.

Some of the challenges faced by the new administration were $4.5 million in fines and interest revealed by the State Comptroller’s office last year and over $10 million in deferred charges.

“From the moment I took office, our Chief Financial Officer and his team began working day and night to sort through disorganized financial records and an outdated computer system… and what we found was over 10 million dollars in deferred charges that must now be paid for in the 2024 budget,”

During his presentation, Benson went on to break down the deferred charges, and other examples of financial mismanagement under the Hughes Administration:

• Department salaries and operating expenses were under-budgeted by 6.4 million dollars
• 2023 revenue projections were overestimated by 2.1 million dollars
• Capital and grant accounts were over-expended by 1.8 million dollars
• Failure to budget for close to 1 million dollars in unfunded county debt, that was due to be paid in 2022
• The 2022 Annual Financial Statement had significant errors that needed correction
• The 2022 audit was incomplete, threatening Mercer County’s credit rating

The new administration completed an accurate 2022 Annual Financial Statement, as well as the 2022 audit.

“The great news here is that, despite the challenges, we were able to maintain our bond rating – not because we’re hiding from problems but because the financial institutions and rating agencies see that we are committed to the ‘financial fundamentals’ that will allow Mercer to remain strong for years to come,” the County Executive said.

He also noted that many departments in the County asked to find areas where they could reduce costs and the administration took the hard decision not to fill vacant positions at many offices including the Office of Information and Technology, Division of Public health, the Office of Emergency Management, and the Prosecutor’s Office.

“I want to be clear, this budget does require some serious sacrifices... Despite these difficult decisions, this budget isn’t all bad news… [It] makes down payments on many of the innovative ideas that came from our transition team.”

The County Executive went on to highlight some important new initiatives contained in the budget proposal:

• Establishing an Office of Travel and Tourism to build Mercer County’s brand as a tourism destination during the nation’s 250th anniversary celebrations, and beyond
• Drafting a detailed funding plan for completion of the Trenton-Mercer Airport Terminal Replacement Project
• Creating an office of LGBTQIA+ services to assist the community with their needs and connect them with key services
• Conducting a full audit of Mercer County’s IT systems and capabilities
• Expanding staffing at the procurement office, allowing the county to send more contracts out to bid through a fair-and-open process
• Laying the foundations to implement much-needed set asides in county contracting, enhancing opportunities for minority-owned, women-owned, and veteran-owned businesses
• Engaging an engineering firm to do a comprehensive facilities assessment of the Mercer County Corrections Center, the first step towards systematically updating the facility

“Budgets reflect values. And as you can see in this budget, we value transparency, accountability, and responsibility. It’s time to stop playing games with taxpayer money,” Benson said.

Despite the "challenges" highlighted by the County Executive, he said he remains "genuinely optimistic."

"We will face a difficult year or two, but we will emerge stronger and with valuable lessons learned. We will make the investments we need in our infrastructure, our economy, and our people. Mercer County’s best days are ahead of us, and together we will make this a county government with leadership that works for everyone, and one we can all be proud of,” Benson said.

Benson's budget presentation was accepted positively by the Board of County Commissioners.
Commissioner Chair John Cimino said everyone knew the 2024 budget would be difficult after the last administration’s "well-documented financial mismanagement."

"With all that in-mind, we believe the initial draft of the budget is strong and we look forward to working with this administration to finalize a responsible budget that meets the needs of residents, and our shared vision,” Cimino said.

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