Mayor Solomon to Take $1 Salary in 2026 as Jersey City Confronts $250 Million Deficit

Mayor James Solomon announced he will take a one-dollar salary in 2026, one day after releasing a report that revealed a $250 million budget deficit left by the previous administration.

“Yesterday, we delivered a report on the state of our city’s finances. The picture is even worse than we thought,” Solomon said. “We have tough decisions ahead, and I believe in leading by example.”

The February 4 document, titled A Report to the People of Jersey City, stated that “Jersey City faces a full-blown financial crisis, with a 2026 budget deficit of approximately $250 million, roughly 28 percent of the City’s projected annual operating budget”.

“This crisis was not inevitable,” the report continued. “It was not caused by forces beyond anyone’s control or an act of God. In fact, it was built during a time of prosperity for Jersey City… the direct result of choices made by former Mayor Steven Fulop.”

Solomon said, “I didn’t run for mayor for personal gain. I ran because I love this city and the people who make it work. And when times are tough, we lead from the front.”

The report alleged that former Mayor Fulop “spent nearly 70 percent, one hundred million dollars, of the City’s federal COVID relief funding primarily to provide a one-time, election year property tax cut in 2021.” It also stated that he “emptied the City’s entire rainy-day fund” and “sold off almost one thousand city properties for at least one hundred million dollars”.

The report identified eleven major drivers of the deficit, including “fifty-two million dollars in unpaid healthcare bills from 2024 and 2025” and “fifteen million dollars” in “accounting gimmicks to create fictional revenue”.

Solomon concluded, “That’s what Jersey City deserves. That’s what you’re going to get.”