Kerrie Joyce 
The Hoboken City Council voted 5-3 to approve a $150.26 million municipal budget that will result in a 4.5% tax increase for residents. The increase is lower than the original tax hike in the initial budget passed in May. Discussions became heated along the way towards getting a budget passed for the 2025 Fiscal Year. Keep reading for more of what went into getting a budget passed, and what the amended version will change for residents in Hoboken, New Jersey.
TLDR: The Hoboken City Council amended the 2025 municipal budget, resulting in a 4.5 percent tax increase for residents. The resulting budget includes cuts across city departments and wage cuts for certain city employees.
The Timeline
The City of Hoboken’s 2025 budget was first introduced at an April 24th City Council meeting. At the time, outgoing Hoboken Mayor Ravi S. Bhalla said via a statement, “Despite the current challenges, our proposed budget continues to maintain one of the lowest tax rates in Hudson County and supports critical infrastructure plans while preserving quality of life.” The budget was introduced and passed upon first reading at this meeting.
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The original budget was passed on May 7th. Between calls to avoid losing control over the budget to the state, and keeping promises to taxpayers, the $150M budget was passed, requiring temporary budget appropriations. Multiple Councilmembers expressed frustration with the steep tax hikes it would require of their constituents. This budget would have resulted in a 6.9% tax increase for residents, per the The Hudson County View.
On July 10th, The Hudson County View reported that a $43M temporary budget appropriation was passed to finalize the budget and avoid a government shutdown. The temporary budget appropriation was passed 6-2 with Councilmembers Presinzano and Russo voting against it.
Weeks later, on July 29th, the City Council met and passed an amended budget, led by Councilwoman and mayoral candidate Tiffanie Fisher and Council President Jim Doyle, that would cut the initially proposed tax increase from 6.9 percent to 4.5 percent. The new budget cuts $1.6M in spending and reallocates healthcare funding.
This budget was approved at the City Council’s August 20th meeting. The council voted 5-3 to approve the amended $150.26 million budget, which will result in a tax increase of 4.5% for residents, according to the The Hudson County View. Councilmembers Fisher, Cohen, Quintero, Jabbour, and Council President Jim Doyle voted yes. Councilmembers Presinzano, Russo, and 4th Ward Councilman Ruben Ramos voted no.
What’s in the Approved Budget
According to City of Hoboken spokeswoman Marilyn Baer, the following cuts were included in the approved budget.
City Clerk: Cut $30,000 from operating expenses (OE)
Corporation Counsel: Cut $125,000 from OE
Insurance: Cut $265,000 in the employee group health line
OEM: Cut $40,000 in OE + $70,000 in salaries + wages
HPD: Cut $100,000 in salaries + wages
Security: Cut $50,000 in salaries + wages
Health: Cut $190,000 in salaries + wages
Community Development & Planning: Cut $150,000 from O&E
Division of Housing: Cut $100,000 from O&E
Zoning Board of Adjustment: Cut $40,000 from O&E
Parks, Rec, + Public Works: Cut $100,000 in salaries + wages
HPU: Inserts $300,000 more of surplus from HPU into the amended budget
Included in the amended budget was $300,000 in additional parking garage revenue from the Hoboken Parking Utility (HPU).
Statements from Officials
The Hoboken Girl has contacted all current City Council members for statements about the budget. We will update this piece as we get more responses. As of publication on August 22nd, 2025, the comments we received are included below.
A representative from Ruben Ramos’ campaign shared the following statement:
“I will be voting no on this budget because it not only includes a property tax increase, it also makes significant cuts to important priorities like public safety and housing where we should be investing more, not less. I worked closely with Councilman Presinzano to identify $2.2 million in responsible cuts from the Mayor’s original budget proposal that could have reduced the tax increase significantly without threatening core services, but unfortunately Councilwoman Fisher and Councilwoman Jabbour refused to consider them and instead voted for an unnecessarily high tax increase. Hoboken deserves better, and as Mayor I’ll get our city back to basics and instill the fiscal discipline we need to protect Hoboken taxpayers.”
Hoboken Mayoral candidate Dini Ajmani shared the following statement:
“Once again council has spent all year papered over the our fiscal problems. Unfortunately, we have run out of road. Surplus has dwindled down. Council will have no choice but to raise taxes by double digits next year.:
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