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Jersey City council votes to end most municipal pool fees, citing equity and access
Summary
After months of debate and nearly 30 public speakers, the Jersey City Municipal Council adopted ordinance 25-011 to eliminate summer pool fees for residents and to remove most adult fees collected year-round, with supporters citing equity and safety.
The Jersey City Municipal Council on Wednesday adopted ordinance 25-011 to remove municipal pool fees, making resident access free during the summer and ending most adult daily charges, council members said.
Supporters said the change reverses a brief experiment in user fees that caused lines and discouraged low-income residents from using public pools. Councilperson Frank Gilmore and Councilperson James Solomon cosponsored the measure and led a push to restore more open access.
The ordinance drew a long public-comment period. Lanisha Trent, a Ward F constituent service liaison, told the council the fees were “a financial burden on some” and said the city had collected about $50,000 in pool fees, which she described as “a drop in the bucket” compared with the city’s overall budget. “Adding yet another fee . . . widens the gap between who can afford access to recreation and who cannot,” she said. Several speakers framed the issue as one of life safety and equity, arguing that free pools are important cooling centers during heat waves and a place for children to learn swimming skills.
Council members who supported the ordinance described trialing fees and finding they did not produce the intended revenue and instead limited access. Councilperson Ridley said the fees “didn’t generate the money that we thought it would” and that if the city can offer pools free, it should. Councilperson Saleh clarified the measure’s scope on the floor, stating that the council had already removed children’s fees previously and that “this ordinance is to make the pools free for the adults.” Gilmore described witnessing a young visitor turned away at a pool because she did not have money and said he offered to pay the fee rather than let the child go without; he argued the pilot had failed and needed reversal.
The measure also includes six-month membership pass language on the ordinance’s fee schedule; some commenters asked the council to reconsider the level and structure of those pass fees for frequent adult users and seniors. Members of the AquaNuts, a water-aerobics group at Pershing Field Pool, and other senior speakers urged lower or zero costs for older adults who rely on low-impact exercise.
Council debate was short and largely supportive. Multiple council members thanked the dozens of residents who turned out to speak. Councilperson Solomon and Councilperson Gilmore said the change restores public access to widely used facilities and helps families and seniors with limited financial means.
City ordinance 25-011 was adopted by the Municipal Council. The ordinance text and the council’s motion show its purpose is to revise chapter 660 (fees and charges) to eliminate the daily summer fees and remove the broad adult fee structure in favor of free resident access during the defined summer period. The record shows broad council support during the final vote and no recorded roll-call opposition to final adoption during the public meeting.
The ordinance takes effect under the city’s standard timetable for adopted municipal ordinances; the administration will publish details about operational changes, summer hours and pass procedures before Memorial Day.
