JERSEY CITY, N.J. — Hudson County Executive Craig Guy walked into the Commissioners' Chambers on May 12 and asked for $42 million more in property taxes.
The money is part of a $769.6 million budget that hikes the county-wide tax levy to $495.18 million, a 9.27 percent jump over last year's $453.18 million. For Jersey City specifically, the county tax increase is steeper. According to county finance officials, Jersey City's equalized value rose 13.12 percent year-over-year, which shifts the county tax allocation formula. On a home assessed at $487,500 in Jersey City, the county tax alone rises from $501 annually to $560. Commissioners will introduce the spending plan May 14 at 4:30 p.m. State law bars adoption for at least 28 days, pushing any final vote into mid-June.
According to county finance officials, the primary driver behind the spike is a 36 percent jump in State Health Benefits Plan costs, which added $22 million to the county's health insurance line. The statute excludes that growth from the cap. The second driver is an $11.7 million increase in the Hudson County Schools of Technology levy, after a forensic audit exposed hidden deficits.
The county lost $8 million in state funding according to Guy's budget address: $7 million from the DCA Housing First Re-entry Pilot and $1 million from a DCA Housing First Grant. Guy's administration pushed the 2025 increase to 5.59 percent, already above the 3.5 percent cost-of-living ceiling. The county levy has climbed steadily since 2020, when it stood at $386.68 million. It stayed flat in 2022, then resumed climbing through 2023, 2024 and 2025. The budget maintains the county's AA bond rating and contains no layoffs.
Guy said in his budget address that he intends to meet with Governor Mikie Sherrill within the next ten days to discuss the redlined funding. The Governor's public schedule and press releases do not yet confirm a meeting.
The county levy lands on a tax base already absorbing three other pressures.
The county is also raising the Hudson County Schools of Technology levy by $11.7 million. A March 25 forensic audit found the prior administration was concealing the school's true operating costs through "questionable budgeting gimmicks, which were hidden from the school board," in Guy's words. According to the audit, the previous leadership "either did not understand accounting and financing for government agencies or willfully ignored the correct procedures." They failed to record $4,247,051 in State Health Benefits Plan invoices as of June 30, 2025. That liability grew to more than $11 million by January 2026. They froze employee health contribution percentages at 2019 levels, creating an unfunded liability. They ran a transportation consortium that produced a $991,340 operating deficit in FY2025, with projected actual-cost shortfalls of approximately $4.7 million
The audit exposed the gap between the budget the prior administration presented and the actual cost of running the schools. The county is now raising the levy to cover that gap. Superintendent Tom Macagnano stated that the increase is the "first significant adjustment in years." Board of Commissioners Chair Anthony Romano floated charging municipal tuition fees to school districts per student per year; the proposal failed for 2026-2027 but may resurface for 2027-2028. The Appellate Division held in 2003 that HCST operates under education law, not county government law, with an independently appointed Board of Education. It is a separate legal entity from Hudson County general government.
The K-12 district is running its own parallel squeeze. The Jersey City Board of Education approved a $1,096,541,152 budget on May 2 for the 2026-2027 school year. Trustees still cannot settle on the final school tax rate because city and county calculations remain incomplete. According to the May 2 coverage, School Business Administrator Francine Luce presented an average increase of $66.25 per month, or $795 annually, on a home assessed at $487,501. Trustee Matthew Schneider calculates the jump at "north of 10 percent." Dejon Morris, Board Vice President, cites 2.01 percent. Superintendent Norma Fernandez says it is "too early to commit to a number." State aid to Jersey City schools dropped from $133.6 million in 2025 to $129.6 million in 2026, a 3 percent decrease, as the S-2 funding formula continues to phase out aid to former Abbott districts.
Jersey City itself is the fourth pressure point. The city faces a structural deficit exceeding $250 million. City records show the Council approved Resolution 26-093 on February 25, authorizing a $150 million transitional aid application and explicitly agreeing to state oversight. Governor Sherrill's proposed budget does not include the money. According to NJ.com, the state is not budgeting for the bailout.
At a March 3 City Council meeting, then-Acting Business Administrator Peter Horton stated that transitional aid would come with a state monitor possessing "override power over everything in the city. They could veto everything." Ruby B. Choi took over as Business Administrator on May 4. She has not publicly addressed the county levy hike or the monitor threat since taking office.
According to state Treasury data, Jersey City's equalization ratio sits at 72.82 percent, meaning assessed values lag actual market values. The city's general tax rate jumped from 1.604 in 2021 to 2.233 in 2024. The city adopted its temporary budget January 15, based on 35 percent of the prior year's $660.8 million in adjusted appropriations. The temporary document shows $190.7 million in operating expenses and $29.7 million in debt service.
Mayor James Solomon stated in his March 30 Senate testimony that Jersey City generated an estimated $1.3 billion in income, sales and corporate tax in 2024, roughly 3.1 percent of the state's major tax collections. His office later told NJ.com the city generates $1.5 billion in overall tax revenue. No Treasury document independently verifies either municipal breakdown.
Guy praised Solomon at the March 30 Senate Budget Committee hearing and called the mayor "transparent, decisive, and accountable." He pledged in March to be a "willing, ready, and able partner" for Jersey City. His 9.27 percent county levy now lands on Solomon's constituents, while Solomon negotiates a $250 million-plus deficit and a state monitor that Sherrill's budget will not fund.
Four budgets. Four governing bodies with separate revenue streams and separate accountability. All four budgets impose property tax levies on Jersey City residents.
The Board of County Commissioners meets on May 14 at 4:30 PM to introduce the budget. The public hearing calendar will follow. Adoption comes in mid-June, and the school budgets take effect July 1. By then, the rates for all four jurisdictions will be set, and taxpayers will know the total.
Related Articles
• Some NJ Districts Face Major Aid Losses Under Record School Budget
• Jersey City Requests $150 Million in Transitional Aid, Largest Municipal Bailout in State History
• Jersey City School Board Approves 17% Tax Levy Amid $74M Aid Loss
Sources
• Dan Israel, Hudson County View, "Guy presents $769.6M Hudson County budget with 9.9% tax levy hike" (May 13, 2026)
• Dan Israel, Hudson County View, "Hudson County finance officials break down prelim tax hikes for each municipality" (May 13, 2026)
• JC Times, "County Executive Pitches Budget with Significant Tax Hike for Jersey City" (May 13, 2026)
• Daniel Ulloa and John Heinis, Hudson County View, "Jersey City BOE narrowly approves $1.1B budget" (May 2, 2026)
• Hudson County View, "Hudson County Schools of Technology Faces $3.64M Deficit Carryover, $13.5M County Tax Levy Increase" (March 25, 2026)
• Hudson County View, "Jersey City Business Administrator warns of state monitor with 'override power'" (March 3, 2026)
• Daniel Ulloa, Hudson County View, "NJ Senate Budget Committee hears push for $150M transitional aid for Jersey City" (March 30, 2026)
• Jersey City Council, Resolution 26-093, "Transitional Aid Application" (Feb. 25, 2026)
• Jersey City Council, Resolution 26-006, "Temporary Budget" (Jan. 15, 2026)
• Jelani Gibson, NJ.com, "This N.J. city wants a huge $150M taxpayer bailout — but the state says it's not in the budget" (May 9, 2026)
• New Jersey Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee, Hearing Transcript, Jersey City municipal aid testimony (March 30, 2026)
• Mayor Solomon's Office, Insider NJ, "Mayor Solomon Appoints Ruby B. Choi as Jersey City Business Administrator" (April 27, 2026)
• Patch, "Jersey City Taps Ruby Choi, Who Served 4 NYC Mayors, As Business Administrator" (April 27, 2026)
• New Jersey Division of Local Government Services, Local Finance Notice 2025-14 (2025)
• Hudson County, 2025 Budget Summary (June 11, 2025)
• Hudson County Board of County Commissioners, Meeting Calendar — May 2026 (2026)
• New Jersey Department of Education, FY2026 K-12 State School Aid District Details (2026)
• New Jersey Department of the Treasury, 2026 Hudson County Equalization Table (2026)
• New Jersey Division of Taxation, General Tax Rates by Municipality (2024)
• Board of Chosen Freeholders v. County Executive, 362 N.J. Super. 100 (App. Div. 2003)
• Secaucus v. Hudson County Bd. of Taxation, 133 N.J. 498 (1993)
• New Jersey Statutes Annotated, N.J.S.A. 18A:54-16 (vocational education district governance)