Still High Taxes in Hoboken City Despite 1.9% City Property Tax Cut

Property owners of Hoboken City may still be expecting high taxes even after the city council approved the 104.8-million-dollar municipal budget, a means to lower taxes on city property by 1.9%. Apparently, the 1.9-percent tax deduction isn’t enough to offset the 9-percent hike on taxes.

The city council approved the municipal budget recently. Jennifer Giattino, a councilwoman, voted against it, but her sole vote lost to the approving seven. Her disagreement arose from what she reckons as issues in funding a number of programs included in the initial budget. When the state approves the budget, the Hudson County tax board shall set the levy and consequently send tax bills to local property owners.

So what happens is if you have a $145,000 property, the municipal tax for that would now be $2,435, instead of $2,482.

Juan Melli, city spokesman, said they need the certified tax rate from the county so they could ascertain how the country budget will affect the property owners of Hoboken. The Hudson Country freeholders have adopted a 495-million-dollar budget for 2013, suggesting a rise in Hoboken’s taxes by 8.8%.

It’s clear that the property taxes in many municipalities in New Jersey have increased. However, Mayor Dawn Zimmer implied that their new budget should reduce municipal taxes by more or less 10%. Zimmer disagrees with the city council’s decision to put off key projects, but he thinks it is consistent with the budget his administration proposed earlier this year.

The city council has to postpone some of Mayor Zimmer’s proposed projects to cut back on expenditure. Included in the deferred plans are 9/11 Memorial, pedestrian safety improvements, and flood rescue vehicles.