Passaic introduces $118.7 million 2025 budget; officials project a 3.9% municipal tax-rate impact

Passaic City officials introduced the mayor's 2025 municipal budget at the July 15 council meeting, proposing $118,671,554 in appropriations and a 4.25% increase in the tax levy that administration says translates to a roughly 3.9% municipal tax-rate impact after higher assessed values. The administration said the typical municipal tax bill on a $275,000 assessed home would rise to an estimated $7,415 from $7,137 in 2024, an increase of $278 a year.

Omar Garcia, the city's chief financial officer and finance director, framed the budget as a balance of rising costs and service preservation. "The proposed appropriations for 2025 is a $118,671,554," Garcia said, and he highlighted major cost drivers: a $2,470,000 increase in employee health benefits, a $1,992,000 rise in salaries tied to contractual obligations, and higher garbage-collection costs driven by new bid contracts.

Garcia said the city will rely on multiple revenue changes to balance the plan. Federal American Rescue Plan funds were fully…