Long Branch Introduces 2022 City Budget

Long Branch –  The City Council introduced the city budget at the July 6th meeting. The finance director announced that the budget contains a zero increase in the tax levy over last year, meaning that the amount raised by local property taxation will remain the same as in the 2021 budget.

“We will continue to aggressively seek grant, state, and federal money to help offset costs associated with running this city,” Mayor Pallone stated. “We are proud that even with inflation and prices continuing to go up, we were able to still keep the tax levy the same for our residents,” Pallone continued.

“Some of the main cost increases we saw this year were due to pension payments, fuel costs, public safety/ security, and utilities. We were able to use surplus to cover these additional costs,” City Administrator George Jackson said.
In 2022, the average home in Long Branch is assessed at $568,576.00 compared to $502,000.00 in 2021. The overall assessed valuation in the City increased from $5,407,753,980 in 2021 to $6,077,321,400 in 2022. The estimated tax rate is 1.781 this year, a 0.217 reduction from the 1.998 tax rate in 2021.

The actual amount that individual Long Branch residents will pay in taxes will depend on their assessment. The value of property in Long Branch continues to increase. The overall tax rate for the city will decrease, a continual trend for the Pallone administration.