BAYONNE – Administration officials announced that Bayonne residents will likely see a tax increase of approximately three percent when the municipal budget is introduced next month.
“It is estimated to be 2.9 percent above the 2014 budget,” Chief Financial Officer Terrence Malloy said at the Bayonne City Council’s regular meeting on March 18.
That figure could change because the budget is still being worked on, he added.
Malloy attributed much of the tax increase to the city’s structural deficit, a recurring annual debt of between $21 million and $24 million.
Business Administrator Joseph DeMarco and Malloy had addressed the council and others gathered during the meeting’s public portion. DeMarco said that was done so that there could be an “open dialogue” on the budget process.
Malloy gave the audience a primer on the city’s structural deficit, saying its beginnings reached back at least to the late 1990s.
Officials said that the 2015 budget should be introduced at the council’s April regular meeting, with a goal of a June adoption.
Third Ward Councilman Gary La Pelusa said he looked forward to receiving the budget and anticipated looking over it closely. –Joseph Passantino
City announces tax increase at council meeting
