Essex County Releases Proposed 2016 Budget: $762 Million

Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo Jr. presented a $762 million proposed budget for 2016 to the Essex County Board of Chosen Freeholders for review on Monday.

County officials highlighted several aspects of the proposed budget in a news release on Monday.

According to officials:

• Over the last 12 years, Essex County’s workforce has been reduced from a high of almost 4,000 employees in 2003 to 3,524 in the 2016 budget proposal.
• Over the last four years, Essex County has held the increase in property taxes to about 1.9 percent, which is under the state cap of 2 percent.
• $12 million in fund balance is being used as revenue in the 2016 budget. In addition, because of savings in the previous budget, the total fund balance will be about $64.4 million.
• Total pension costs amount to $37.6 million.
• Total health insurance and prescription costs have increased to $99 million, an increase of $13 million.
• Over the last four years, Essex County has held the increase in property taxes to about 1.9 percent, which is under the state cap of 2 percent.
• Several other Essex County facilities continue to generate recurring revenue through shared service agreements with other government agencies. The Essex County Correctional Facility is anticipated to generate $41.25 million in revenue by housing federal inmates, immigration detainees and inmates from Gloucester County; the Essex County Hospital Center is anticipated to generate $14.6 million in revenue through reimbursements from the state for admitting patients from the state, Passaic County and Middlesex County; the Juvenile Detention Facility is anticipated to generate $3.3 million by accepting juvenile detainees from Passaic County.
• $835,000 is being deposited into the county’s “snow bank,” a dedicated fund that can be used in case the snow removal budget of $3.5 million is completely spent. With this year’s allocation, the snow bank’s dedicated funds will increase to $2.9 million.
• $19,000 is being allocated to a new Mosquito Control Reserve and it is anticipated as much as another $100,000 could be deposited by the end of 2016.

Photo courtesy of Glen Frieson