The Municipal Council of the City of Bayonne on July 23 adopted amendments to the calendar-year 2025 municipal budget following a second reading and a public hearing that produced no public comments.

City Clerk Miss Medina called the roll before the council heard the budget amendments had been published and posted as required. A motion to close the hearing was offered when no one from the public spoke; the motion carried by recorded voice votes from Council members Booker, Carroll, Perez, Weimer and LaPalouse.

The council then voted to adopt the resolution finalizing the 2025 municipal budget. The adoption passed unanimously; each council member recorded an affirmative vote.

Councilman Carroll, who said he voted in favor of the budget, urged the council to avoid approving a future budget that raises taxes without first taking legislative steps to address housing affordability. "I just want to renew a cry from last year . . . we wouldn't vote for one that includes a tax increase unless . . . we take action in the intervening 12 months to do something, resolution, ordinance, or legislatively to address rent stabilization, workforce housing, or affordable housing in a meaningful way," Carroll said.

Miss Weimer said she also intended to vote in favor of the budget and announced plans to introduce a resolution that would allocate funds from future pilot programs to the school board budget. "I also intend to put forth a resolution that would allocate funds from future pilot programs to the school board budget," she said, and praised Donna Mauer for her role in preparing city documents and operations.

An unidentified speaker raised parking as a priority for residents and said developers should contribute to a fund to build neighborhood parking garages; the comment was presented as a future policy proposal rather than an adopted measure.

With no further business on the agenda, the council moved to adjourn and recorded unanimous consent. The meeting concluded after the adoption of the budget and the brief remarks by council members about housing, school funding and parking.