Tax Hike Floated In Montclair's Proposed Township Budget: Here's How Much

MONTCLAIR, NJ — Montclair homeowners got two glimpses of their future tax rates this week – and it will likely mean they have to dig into their pockets.

Earlier this week, the Montclair Board of Education heard a presentation about their 2026-2027 budget, which is still in development. The average Montclair homeowner would see an $851 tax hike if the spending plan crosses the finish line intact. RELATED: Proposed School Budget Would Hike Taxes, Make Staff Cuts

Now, Montclair homeowners may also face a separate, 2.5 percent increase on their taxes to the township.

Interim chief financial officer Joseph Monzo gave a presentation about the preliminary 2026 municipal budget at the town council meeting on Tuesday.

According to Monzo, homeowners with a property assessed at $639,630 would see a $140 increase under the latest proposal, which is still being hammered out.

The largest cost increase this year is for group insurance, which is going up $3.1 million, he said.

Monzo said the township made the “fiscally responsible decision” to extricate itself from the state health benefits plan in 2025.

“You’ve all seen the articles about the death spiral they’re in and the increases to their membership – which was 36.9 percent in 2026 – and it’s expected to be even higher than that in 2027,” he told the council.

The town is now insured through a private carrier, which saved about $188,000 compared to the state plan – a total that will hopefully increase as time goes on, Monzo said.

A preliminary budget is expected to be introduced on April 7. A public hearing and final vote will need to take place before the spending plan crosses the finish line.

In 2025, the average Montclair resident paid $22,487 in property taxes on a home valued at $639,628 (not including credits and deductions).

Property taxes in New Jersey are mainly made up of three parts: school, municipal and county. Here’s how that played out in Montclair for 2025, according to state data (percentages rounded up):

• School – 56.7%
• Municipal – 26.5%
• County – 16.9%

Watch footage from the March 24 town council meeting here, or view it below (video is cued to the budget presentation):

Send local news tips and correction requests to eric.kiefer@patch.com. Learn more about advertising on Patch here. Find out how to post announcements or events to your local Patch site.