Jersey City Residents Voice Anger Over Tax Increase at Budget Meeting

As the Jersey City Council prepared to adopt its 2026 budget, residents used the public hearing to voice frustration and fear over a property tax increase they said they cannot afford.

The budget, adopted August 26, 2026, raises the city’s portion of property taxes by about 15% to help close a $255 million deficit. For many who spoke at the meeting, the increase felt like a burden falling on those least able to bear it.

“We have homeless in Jersey City. With this 15 and a half percent property tax, we’re going to have more homeless people,” one resident said. “There are people that cannot afford the rent. Something has to give. This should not fall on us.”

Several speakers questioned the city’s finances and warned the increase could repeat. “It tells me that we’re going to have the same problem next year, and I may have another 15% increase. I can’t afford it,” one resident said, also objecting that higher parking fines would hit taxpayers twice, as homeowners and as drivers.

Others focused on the city’s most vulnerable residents. One speaker urged the council to reconsider before voting, noting that many seniors would not qualify for relief programs.

“You have a lot of senior citizens, and they are not all going to qualify for that program,” the resident said. “People that have been here 40, 50, 80 years, my family has been here 100. Reconsider it, come back, help the poor, middle-class people in this community. They really need your help.”

Another speaker pressed the council on how the city was using its state aid, asking how much of the $120 million was going toward paying down deferred charges inherited from the previous administration.

Despite the objections, the council adopted the budget.