For the second consecutive year, West New York Mayor Gabriel Rodriguez and the Board of Commissioners announced the municipal tax increase will be under one percent despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to Rodriguez, the town is one of the only municipalities in the state that has “held the line” to under one percent for two consecutive years.
“This year has been among the most challenging in our state’s history, and the increased costs and loss of revenue associated with the pandemic is stressing local governments throughout New Jersey,” Rodriguez said.
“I am incredibly proud, however, of the work our team has done to put together yet another municipal budget with stable property taxes. I would like to thank Revenue and Finance Commissioner Margarita Guzman and our entire administration and finance team for their determination to help local taxpayers and renters weather this storm by providing the financial relief they need in the form of stable property taxes.”
‘Holding the line’
The 2020 budget, totaling $86.9 million, contains an overall tax increase of 0.97 percent, a total increase of 0.46 percent from 2019. The Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to approve the budget and subsequent tax increase.
“The Town of West New York is one of the only municipalities in the state that has held property taxes below a 1 percent increase in each of the last two years,” said Margarita Guzman, Commissioner of Revenue and Finance.
Guzman continued: “This could only be accomplished with careful financial planning and innovative thinking to reduce unnecessary expenses and attract new revenue – and I want to thank our CFO and our Municipal Administrator for their hard work. This is exactly the municipal budget that West New York taxpayers deserve, and I am proud to be able to present it to residents along with Mayor Rodriguez and our entire team.”
Rodriguez said his administration will continue working to do more with less and make local government as efficient as possible while still investing in local services.
“I look forward to continuing to work on behalf of our residents and community to come out of this pandemic stronger; this budget is yet another step in accomplishing that.”
As part of its efforts to improve online services for residents, the town is accepting online tax payments at www.westnewyorknj.org.
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