Edison residents facing tax increase in 2024 proposed budget

EDISON – A $175.9 million municipal budget for 2024 which increases the township tax rate by 2.52 percent was recently introduced by the Township Council.

The budget was unanimously introduced at the May 8 meeting during which Council President Nishith Patel was absent. Councilman Richard Brescher indicated he planned to meet with the township business administrator to discuss some questions.

Under the budget, the municipal tax rate will increase from 1.4407 to 1.4770. The budget shows $109,648,165.42 is the local purpose tax levy, which is up $3,318,485.57, or 3.12 percent, from 2023.

For a property assessed at $225,000, the estimated total tax would be about $13,406.37, which is an increase of $83.72 over the previous year's budget and includes $3,323.25 for local taxes.

More: Edison looks to purchase commercial property listed by township councilman

The budget includes $77,306,074.27 in salaries and wages, which is up $ 4,224,755.12, or 5.78 percent, from the year before, and a total of $97,872,938.22 in direct employee costs. Edison has 633 municipal employees, according to budget documents.

The budget also includes $12,750,000 in surplus which is up $5,292,236.76, or 70.96 percent, from the 2023 budget. The township will still have $4,636,019.44 remaining in surplus.

Also included in the budget is $16,252,954.00 in state aid which is down $2,430,145.88, or 13.01 percent, from the year before.

Earlier this month the Edison school board unanimously approved a $367 million budget for the 2024-25 school year which includes no tax increase for the fourth consecutive year. The school tax rate will decrease about $11 over the calendar year, school officials said.

A public hearing on the $175.9 million municipal budget is scheduled for the council's June 26 meeting.

Email: srussell@gannettnj.com

Suzanne Russell is a breaking news reporter for MyCentralJersey.com covering crime, courts and other mayhem. To get unlimited access, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Edison NJ residents facing tax increase in 2024 proposed budget