Hopatcong reviews draft 2025 budget as officials consider using $1.9 million in surplus and an 8–10% tax increase

Hopatcong Borough officials spent a work session reviewing a draft 2025 budget that relies on a planned withdrawal from fund balance and anticipates higher tax revenue, but took no formal action.

Administrator Shelby Snow told the council the draft is a working document produced after meetings with department heads and that it shows both required expenditures and “wishlist” items. “What you have here is a working document and it's basically, it's the things that we know we have to pay for,” Snow said, describing the next steps for council review and direction to staff and department leaders.

The draft assumes using about $1.9 million of the borough’s surplus for 2025. Council members and staff discussed recent fund‑balance history: Snow and CFO Judy said the borough’s surplus balance had been reported at about $5.1 million and was updated to $5.3 million; the borough drew roughly $2.5 million from fund balance in the prior year. Officials said reducing the fund balance now would lower the reserve toward a target range they discussed with finance staff.

CFO Judy and other finance staff told the council the budget as drafted anticipates an…