Council adopts state-requested amendment to 2026 municipal budget

Hackensack City Council voted unanimously May 12 to adopt Resolution 135-26, a municipal budget amendment requested by state reviewers that reclassifies certain debt-service and spending items but, according to the city’s chief financial officer, does not change the overall tax levy.

The amendment was introduced by the presiding officer and discussed briefly before a roll-call vote. Council members moved and seconded the measure, and the vote passed with all recorded members in favor.

The council asked Jim, the city’s CFO, to explain the state’s requested corrections. Jim said the state asked for two fixes: an adjustment to debt service so principal and interest on a wastewater loan match the audit, and a set of shifts between amounts classified as inside-cap and outside-cap spending. Jim said those adjustments were "a wash" for the total taxes to be raised and were intended to satisfy the state’s accounting requirements.

"When we sent the budget down to the state for approval, they asked for two corrections to be made," Jim said. "One had to do with debt service ... we had to shift money around. Nothing changed as far as the amount to be raised by taxation." He described standard exceptions to the tax and spending caps — debt service, capital, grants and deferred charges — and noted the state has, in recent years, allowed other exceptions such as health-benefit increases or extraordinary storm costs.

Council members framed the vote as a necessary, technical step to bring the municipal books into compliance. In remarks after the vote, a council member described the adopted budget as "a budget of necessity" that addresses inherited fiscal challenges and steps taken to improve the city’s fiscal health, including rescinding certain pilot programs earlier in the term.

During public comment, a nonresident who identified himself as Sam of Teaneck asked what the amendment covered. The presiding officer responded that staff would explain before the vote. Reverend Davis asked later whether an Anderson Street/Passaic Street development (the former Walgreens/Rite Aid site) was proceeding; the presiding officer said that project had been approved prior to the current administration, work had paused, and the city expected the developer to return to work.

Deputy Mayor Toomey thanked residents and staff for their work on the budget and said the council is "still learning" but intends to do better going forward. Another council member warned that earlier pilot programs have shifted some tax burden onto regular taxpayers because some buildings are paying a minimum rather than full taxes, and the council said it will review pilot programs to determine remedies.

The council’s formal action on Resolution 135-26 was recorded by roll call and carried unanimously. The council then reopened public comment for other items, addressed questions about local development projects, and adjourned.

What the amendment changes: the CFO described two administrative adjustments — (1) increased principal and interest entries for a wastewater loan paired with a decrease in deferred charges, and (2) the reclassification of certain line items between inside-cap and outside-cap categories — all to satisfy state review. Specific dollar amounts were not specified during the discussion.

Next steps: Resolution 135-26 was adopted at the May 12 meeting; any follow-up review of pilot programs or project-specific updates (including the Anderson/Passaic Street site) will occur in future meetings or through staff reports, as noted by council members.