Parsippany ‘Finally’ On Sound Financial Ground With 2024 Budget: Mayor

PARSIPPANY, NJ — Parsippany residents will likely face another tax increase this year, but officials say they have a sound financial plan for 2024 and beyond after a few years of tight spending.

The preliminary $89 million budget for 2024 includes a 2.86 percent increase in the municipal tax rate. With the county and school taxes factored in, this would be a 2.78 percent increase. That represents an increase of $6 monthly/$72 annually for a home assessed at the township average of $313,513, said officials.

In a statement to Township Council, Mayor James Barberio said the spending plan does not have any "one shot tricks" and will not use any surplus money from the water and sewer utilities.

"Fixing our financial position allows us the flexibility to not only make significant and strategic investments in the areas most requested by residents," he said. Barberio added that the town would be able to fill vacant positions, hire three more police officers, and invest in recreation and public works projects with how this budget is laid out.

The proposed increase is slightly lower than last year’s increase of 3.76 percent and much lower than 2022’s municipal hike of more than 14 percent, which was offset by the decrease in county and school budgets that year but still increased the average tax bill by more than $300.

"Fixing our financial position allows us the flexibility to not only make significant and strategic investments in the areas most requested by residents," Barberio said.

Township Council had a special budget hearing on Tuesday, April 9 where the public got a look at the proposed plan. Residents can comment at an official public hearing at the May 21 session, where members are likely to adopt the budget.

Click here to see the 2024 draft budget and related documents, as well as the tentative timeline for adoption.

Property taxes in New Jersey are made up of three parts: school, municipal and county. The average Parsippany homeowner paid an average of $10,366 in property taxes last year, according to the most recent data released by the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs.

Of that average bill, 10 percent to the county, 26.9 percent went to the town, and 63 percent went to the school district.

Morris County Commissioners approved their county spending plan this week, which included no new tax increases. The Parsippany-Troy Hills School Board is in the process of finalizing the tentative district budget for 2024-25, and will have a public hearing on the proposal before an expected vote at the April 25 meeting.