JERSEY CITY, NJ — A newly released independent audit is raising fresh questions about Jersey City’s financial management at a time when residents are already facing the prospect of a significant property tax increase.
The annual audit, required under state law, examined the city’s finances for 2025 — the final year of former Mayor Steven Fulop’s 12-year tenure — and identified weaknesses ranging from health-benefit spending to inadequate financial controls and incomplete records of city-owned property.
Among the findings, auditors said Jersey City lacked adequate internal controls for tracking certain revenue and spending and did not maintain a complete inventory of all land, vehicles and equipment owned by the city. The audit also raised concerns about spending on employee health benefits.
Audit Arrives During a Major Budget Crisis
The findings come as Mayor James Solomon’s administration works to close a structural budget deficit estimated at approximately $254.8 million when the new administration took office in January. The city’s own interim budget report describes the gap as roughly one-quarter of the municipal budget.
Solomon’s administration has blamed much of the fiscal crisis on one-time revenue sources, unpaid obligations and spending practices inherited from the previous administration. Those are claims made by the current administration; the newly released audit provides a separate examination of the city’s 2025 financial controls and accounting practices.
The city has been working to reduce the deficit through spending cuts, new revenue and state assistance. Jersey City’s proposed 2026 budget cuts the cost of city operations by more than $58 million and includes payment of $109 million in previously unpaid bills, according to the administration. (Jersey City)
Residents Could Pay More
For taxpayers, the timing of the audit is especially significant.
The administration’s 2026 budget proposes a 15.5% increase in Jersey City’s municipal property tax rate, which officials say would generate approximately $75 million in additional annual revenue toward closing the deficit. (Jersey City)
An earlier attempt to move forward with a roughly 15% increase was rejected by the City Council in July, but the broader financial problem did not disappear.
That means the debate over Jersey City’s finances is no longer simply about numbers in an audit.
It is increasingly about how much residents will ultimately have to pay to fix them.
A Financial Reckoning for Jersey City
The audit does not by itself determine who is politically responsible for every aspect of Jersey City’s current fiscal problems. But its findings add another layer to an already contentious debate over how the city managed its money in previous years and what should happen next.
With a deficit approaching a quarter-billion dollars, proposed service reductions and a double-digit municipal tax increase on the table, residents are likely to hear much more about the city’s books in the months ahead.
For Jersey City taxpayers, one question now stands above the rest:
How did one of New Jersey’s fastest-growing cities reach this point — and how much will residents have to pay to get out of it?
Sources: Gothamist; City of Jersey City 2026 Interim Budget Report and official budget releases. (Gothamist)
By NJ RADAR Team