Belleville Would See Tax Increase Under Proposed Town Budget

BELLEVILLE, NJ — Belleville homeowners would see an increase to the municipal portion of their taxes under the latest town budget proposal.

Belleville officials introduced the 2023 municipal budget during the March 28 council meeting. Watch a video of the meeting here (discussion on the budget begins around the 7:45 mark).

Belleville township manager Anthony Iacono said the $77.2 million spending plan is up about $1 million from last year. It would mean a tax increase of $89 for a home valued at $278,000. Read More: Property Tax Bills In Belleville And Nutley Are Growing, NJ Data Shows

Iacono said that if there’s a “white elephant” in the proposed budget, it isn’t a hidden secret – it’s health insurance. The town is now spending about $17.9 million on health insurance for its municipal employees, an increase from $16.6 million.

Town officials had previously looked into the state health plan as an option, but “that idea went out the window” when they realized the annual increase recently went up 23 percent, Iacono said. Read More: Rallies, Outrage In Essex County Over NJ Health Care Hikes

“And it’s only going to go up, it’s not going to go down,” he said, adding that “$17.9 million is a very tough pill to swallow – no pun intended – when it comes to medical benefits.”

The introduced municipal budget can be seen online here. A public hearing on the budget proposal is scheduled for April 28.

Property taxes in New Jersey are made up of three parts: school, municipal and county. Here’s how that played out in Belleville last year:

• School – 38.8%
• Municipal – 48%
• County – 13.2%

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