Long Branch council adopts 2025 municipal budget; municipal levy unchanged

The Long Branch City Council adopted the 2025 municipal budget on June 11 with a unanimous roll-call vote on Resolution 103-24.

Chief Financial Officer Michael Martin presented the budget and told residents "the amount collected through taxes will not increase this year. In other words, Long Branch was able to keep the amount asked of its taxpayers." He said the municipal portion of the property tax rate is estimated at 51.8 cents.

The budget presentation laid out how property tax bills are split: 2.5% supports library operations, Monmouth County receives 13.5%, the city receives about 35% to provide municipal services and the school district receives the largest share, 49%. Martin said average residential assessments have increased from $698,575 in 2023 to $757,597 in 2024 and to $842,499 for 2025, and that the city’s total property valuation has grown to nearly $9 billion.

The biggest single line-item in the municipal budget is public safety, which Martin cited at approximately $19,800,000. The presentation highlighted other appropriations and increases residents asked about during the public hearing: special events other expenses at $173,000; contributions totaling $70,000 to the city’s two volunteer first-aid squads; the Office of Senior Citizens other expenses rising from $48,700 to $124,000 for expanded programming at the new senior center; and arts-and-cultural programming other expenses increasing from about $22,000 to $40,000.

Martin said the budget complies with New Jersey limits, noting two state benchmarks: the appropriation cap and the tax levy calculation, which restricts tax increases to state guidelines (generally a 2% cap). He said the budget comes in under the permitted limits.

During the public hearing, resident Vincent Lepore read a statement he said came from a Pier Village Phase 3 developer asserting that a 30-year tax abatement would "save the owner of a $1,700,000 4 bedroom condo $782,460 in taxes over the life of an abatement." Lepore urged transparency in budgeting and said he would oppose Resolution 103; his remarks criticized abatements and the city’s level of budget detail available to the public prior to adoption.

Mayor Pallone and council members thanked staff and the finance office for the budget work before the roll call. The council vote on Resolution 103-24 was recorded as yes from Mister Dangler, Mister Rassus, Missus Wittes, Doctor Vogt and Mister Viera; the motion passed.

No additional formal amendments or funding changes were made at the meeting. The administration said staff and council would be available to answer resident questions about specific line items and programming following adoption.