Hoboken: Budget Battles

Headline numbers

The headline number for the town's budget, four years out from state takeover,  is a 10% decline in Hoboken's tax levy. However this number doesn't tell the whole story.  Hoboken has seen a growing population, spreading the levy over more people and inflation has eaten into the value of those dollars.

Adjusting for inflation and population growth, the tax levy has dropped 25% in real terms.

What about my bill?

So why haven't property taxes fallen?  Well, inflation obviously does not affect the absolute number, but the big culprit is Hudson County taxes which are also drawn from property taxes.  Just this year, county-wide taxes rose over 4 percent, but hit Hoboken disproportionately with a 10 percent rise just this year.  Unfortunately this is an all too common occurrence.

Historic budget data came from the city's presentation earlier this year. This year's levy is the same as last.