Newark Council OK's Budget Calling for Lower Taxes, More Cops

The Newark Municipal Council has approved a $640 million municipal budget calling for a property tax cut and the hiring of more police officers. 

Earlier this year Mayor Cory Booker had promised to introduce a budget allowing for the hiring of more police and without relying on emergency aid from the state, which Newark has received since 2010.

But Booker also he would introduce spending plans that did not rely on “one-off” sources of revenue. Factored into this year’s spending plan, however, is a one-time payment from the Hess corporation, which is building a natural-gas power plant in the Ironbound.

The budget contains particularly good news for taxpayers, who will see property taxes reduced by 13 percent, from $3.45 per $100 of assessed value to $2.98. It’s the first reduction in property taxes in several years, officials said.

Under the spending plan, about 50 police officers will be hired, along with 20 civilian employees who will take over tasks now performed by sworn officers, freeing them up for patrols and other hands-on police work.